Buddhist monk, two IDPs injured in junta airstrike on village monastery in Taungup Twsp

By Admin 05 Jul 2024

DMG Newsroom
5 July 2024, Taungup

A Buddhist monk and two internally displaced people (IDPs) were injured in a junta airstrike on a monastery in Paukinn Village, part of Arakan State’s Taungup Township, on Thursday afternoon.

A junta jet fighter dropped two bombs on the monastery at around 1 p.m. on July 4, destroying some religious buildings and wounding three people, locals said.

“A junta jet fighter dropped two bombs on a monastery in Paukinn Village, injuring three people including a Buddhist monk. The [conditions of the] injured people are considered not life-threatening, but some religious buildings were badly destroyed by the regime airstrike,” said a local woman.

The monastery is said to be a shelter for hundreds of IDPs from Taungup, Ann and Ramree townships, and the regime carried out its air assault without any fighting in the area, locals said.

“There was no fighting in the area. Hundreds of IDPs are taking refuge at the monastery. I think the regime intentionally launched an airstrike on the monastery,” said a local man in Taungup Township.

Paukinn Village is located about 20 miles from Taungup, and a junta jet fighter also attacked the village on February 14.

On June 18, five people were reportedly killed in a junta airstrike on Kanseik Village on Pantin Island in the west of Taungup Township.

The junta’s No. 5 Military Operations Command, and Light Infantry Battalion Nos. 544 and 346 are based in Taungup Township, where the Arakkha Army (AA) has been attacking military positions since June.