Two Novices Killed and 11 Others Injured in Aerial Bombardment on Lashio Aung Mingala Namhsan Monastery  

Two novices who were staying at the monastery were killed and 11 others were injured due to the Terror Military Council’s plane dropping a bomb on the compound of the Aung Mingala Namhsan Monastery in Lashio Township on August 1st at 5:00 pm.

A monk who witnessed the incident said, “A bomb hit a novice in the monastery building and he was split into two pieces. When I heard someone shouting, ‘Someone’s been hit outside’, I couldn’t get out properly as there were many broken glasses, and again, another novice was also hit. When I looked at him, he was lying face down, unable to communicate with anyone. There was no one to take care of him. When the airplanes came, the monks at the monastery had to tie him with their robes to stop the bleeding in the park west of the monastery. He was screaming that he was hot and painful, asking for water to drink. He was so badly injured that he couldn’t take it anymore, so he also passed away. The rest of the 11 novices were only injured after being hit by the shrapnel,” he said.

The first bombardment by the Terror Military Council destroyed the buildings and facilities in the compound of the monastery including the three-story teaching building, ordination hall, and a pound and clean water shelf. And, the second bombardment killed a refugee man, who was near the entrance gate, on the spot.

“The war refugees staying at the monastery were terrified and didn’t know what to do. That night, some thieves came to steal motorbikes. Nobody dared to switch on the lights, so they slept in the cave. The next day, people checked the cars to drive out of the place, they found many cars were also destroyed,” the monk told the Ta’ang Women’s Organization.

It has been learned that there were 50 war refugees and 40 novices and monks staying in the Aung Mingala Namhsan Monastery compound, and there were no armed groups based in the monastery. 

The injured novices, monks, and some of the war refugees who were staying in the monastery moved to Mandalay. 

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