Bangkok, May 10, (dpa/GNA) – At least 16 people have been killed in a Buddhist monastery in Myanmar in an airstrike by the military junta.

Around 50 others were injured in the attack on Thursday morning in the Magwe region in the centre of the country, an eyewitness who was also involved in the rescue work told dpa on Friday.

The military had attacked just after a meeting had taken place in the monastery in the Saw community. Members of the local defence forces, who are resisting the junta, and several village chiefs from surrounding villages took part in the meeting.

According to the information, the number of dead could still rise. Most of the victims were burnt beyond recognition. The abbot of the monastery and several monks were also killed. The monastery was completely destroyed by the attack.

“The bomb was extremely powerful,” said the witness.

The generals in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, have ruled with an iron fist since their coup in February 2021, suppressing any resistance with brutal force. The military repeatedly attacks places from the air.

As recently as the end of April, at least four people were killed and many more injured in an airstrike on a rebel-controlled region on the border with India. The bombs hit a hospital in the town of Mindat in the state of Chin.

According to the independent research institute ISP-Myanmar, the junta troops have already carried out more than 20 massacres against the population since their overthrow – killing more than 10 people in each attack.

In total, more than 500 people, including children and the elderly, were killed in these attacks between February 2021 and October 2023, according to the report.

GNA