The airstrike, launched in the early hours of July 11, targeted a monastery packed with families fleeing conflict in the Sagaing region.
BY PC Bureau
July 11, 2025: In a brutal escalation of violence, Myanmar’s military junta launched an airstrike on a monastery sheltering displaced civilians in Lintalu village, Sagaing township, in the early hours of July 11. At least 28 people were killed and dozens wounded in the attack, which has drawn international outrage and highlighted the worsening humanitarian crisis in northwestern Myanmar.
According to local sources and resistance groups, two consecutive airstrikes were launched at approximately 1:00 AM local time. The monastery, long a sanctuary for internally displaced persons (IDPs), was housing hundreds of civilians fleeing ongoing conflict.
Eyewitnesses described a night of horror. “The bombs came without warning,” said a villager, speaking anonymously for fear of reprisal. “The monastery was full of families, children, and the elderly. Now it’s just rubble and chaos.”
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Rescue operations continue amid the devastation. Social media accounts from local activists reported casualties ranging from 21 to 30, with fears that the final toll could be higher. Medical volunteers noted grievous injuries, including limb loss and head trauma, while underscoring the lack of access to treatment due to the destruction of local clinics and restrictions on aid.
Massacre in Sagaing: Monastery Airstrike Kills Civilians, Including Children
Around 1 AM today, Myanmar’s military launched an airstrike on a monastery in Lin Ta Lu Village, Sagaing. Displaced civilians were sheltering inside.#WarCrimesOfJunta#WhatsHappeningInMyanmar pic.twitter.com/g1lNF766N8— naingnaingaung (@naingnaingaung) July 11, 2025
Pattern of Violence Against Civilians
This is the latest in a series of airstrikes on civilian infrastructure in Sagaing, a stronghold of armed resistance since the February 2021 military coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government. The junta has increasingly used aerial bombardments to target schools, religious sanctuaries, and civilian shelters.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), Sagaing has recorded the highest number of civilian casualties from airstrikes year after year. Since the coup, more than 1,505 civilians have died nationwide from junta air raids, a number likely underreported.
In May 2025, a junta airstrike on a school in Ohe Htein Twin village killed 24 civilians, including 22 children. These attacks are seen as part of a deliberate strategy to break the morale of resistance-supporting communities.
Humanitarian Crisis Worsens
Myanmar’s humanitarian crisis is deepening. The UN estimates over 3.25 million people have been displaced nationwide. Sagaing, along with neighboring Magway and Mandalay regions, was further devastated by a March 2025 earthquake that killed nearly 3,800 and displaced tens of thousands more.
Even in quake-affected zones, the junta continues its scorched-earth tactics. As a result, nearly 6.3 million people are now in urgent need of aid, according to humanitarian organizations.
🚨 Airstrike in Sagaing
Jul 11, 2025 (12:00 AM)Myanmar junta airstrike hits Lin Ta Lu Village monastery in Sagaing twice, where IDPs were sheltering. At least 21 killed.
Geolocation imagery and local reports confirm the location and scale of the attack. Check in 🧵 2 👇
(1/2) pic.twitter.com/5qO3rxXbPs— Robert Minn Khant (@minn_robert) July 11, 2025
Outrage and Condemnation
The National Unity Government (NUG), Myanmar’s shadow administration, condemned the Lintalu airstrike as a war crime. “The junta bombs monasteries, schools, and hospitals, claiming resistance fighters are present. These are lies to justify atrocities,” said NUG spokesperson Nay Phone Latt.
Local resistance groups, including the Sagaing People’s Defence Force (PDF), said no combatants were present in Lintalu. “The monastery was a place of refuge, not a military base,” a PDF spokesperson told Myanmar Now.
The attack also drew sharp criticism internationally. A UN Special Rapporteur told the BBC that the junta’s behavior was “nothing short of incredible,” denouncing the use of airstrikes amid an ongoing humanitarian crisis. ASEAN’s March 2025 call for a ceasefire, backed by Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, has gone unheeded.
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Aid organizations, including the Free Burma Rangers, expressed alarm. “These attacks are not only killing people—they are cutting off aid and hope,” said a representative. The junta has repeatedly blocked humanitarian access to conflict areas.
A Country in Collapse
The airstrike in Lintalu comes as the civil war intensifies. Resistance forces—including the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and various PDFs—are gaining ground in Sagaing, Shan, and other regions. In response, the military has escalated its use of airpower, artillery, and forced conscription.
A report by Nyan Lynn Thit Analytica documented 4,157 junta airstrikes between 2021 and early 2025, resulting in 2,224 civilian deaths and 3,466 injuries. Of the 1,129 civilians killed in airstrikes this year alone, 95% were targeted by the military.
Despite announcing a ceasefire following the March earthquake, the junta reportedly carried out 140 airstrikes between March 28 and April 24, per the UN Human Rights Office.
Analysts argue that the air raids are designed not just to destroy resistance but to terrorize civilian populations and prevent them from offering support to opposition forces.
The Aftermath: Displacement and Despair
Hundreds of survivors from Lintalu have been forced to flee again, taking shelter in nearby forests and villages. Many have no access to food, clean water, or medical help. Volunteers are treating the wounded under trees.
“Every time we hear a jet, we run,” a local resident told the Shan Herald Agency for News. “There is no safe place left.”
Local clinics and makeshift hospitals, already under strain, cannot cope with the influx of injured civilians. Many remain untreated and traumatized.
Call for Global Action
The Lintalu monastery bombing has intensified calls for international intervention. Rights groups say the junta’s use of cluster munitions and indiscriminate bombings may constitute war crimes under international law.
Analysts are urging the UN Security Council and ASEAN to adopt tougher measures—targeted sanctions, arms embargoes, and the creation of humanitarian corridors to protect civilians.
Richard Horsey of the International Crisis Group said, “The junta’s attacks on civilians must face consequences. Without global pressure, these atrocities will persist.”
However, ASEAN remains divided, and the junta continues to resist mediation or external scrutiny—leaving millions of civilians at risk.
The July 11 airstrike on Lintalu’s monastery is a tragic reminder of Myanmar’s deepening civil war and humanitarian catastrophe. As survivors bury their dead and flee yet again, the world is once more confronted with the cost of inaction. Without sustained international pressure and meaningful intervention, Myanmar’s civilians will remain caught in a deadly war waged by their own military.
