Myanmar Monstery Attack.Photo: Karenni Nationalities Defense Force-KNDF
At least 22 people, including three monks, were killed at a Buddhist monastery in Myanmar.
According toCNN, 22 bodies were recovered at a bullet-ridden monastery in the eastern Myanmar village of Nam Nain in the country’s southern Shan State on Saturday.
CNN reports that the country’s military-backed junta and local armed resistance groups are both blaming the other for the attack.
Citing the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force, an armed insurgent group, theBBCreports soldiers ambushed the monastery, where it’s believed villagers spent the past month seeking shelter and protection from the ongoing battles between the military and armed civilians ever since a February 2021 military coup ended the country’s attempt at a democracy.
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According to the network, citing Myanmar local news outletThe Kantarawaddy Times,a spokesperson with the KNDF said, “It was like the [military] made them line up in front of the monastery and brutally shot them all, including the monks.”
“The monk called me at 8 a.m. on Saturday,” the man said, per the outlet. “He said ‘They are entering into the village. I can hear the sounds of gunshots and artillery,’ and he suddenly hung up the phone.”
Myanmar Monstery Attack.Karenni Nationalities Defense Force-KNDF
An unnamed leader of the Karenni says he witnessed about 100 soldiers torching homes and unleashing a barrage of bullets on the village, per ABC News.
But a spokesperson for the government blamed resistance groups, which he referred to as “terrorists,” for the deaths over the weekend, reports say.
“When (the) terrorist groups violently opened fire, it was seen that some villagers were killed and injured,” the spokesperson said, according to ABC, citing state-run newspaper Global New Light.
According to ABC, earlier this month, military soldiers were accused of raping and beheading at least 17 people in western Myanmar villages.
source: people.com
