Struck in their sleep: Airstrike hits monastery shelter in Sagaing

Evidence links a reported airstrike that killed more than 20 civilians, wounding dozens more, to the Myanmar Air Force.

In the middle of the night on 11 July 2025, an airstrike reportedly tore through a monastery in Sagaing Region, where internally displaced persons (IDPs) were believed to be seeking refuge. 

At around 01:00 local time, the Myanmar Air Force reportedly bombed Thitsa Wardi monastery, Lin Ta Lu village, in Sagaing Region, destroying the place of worship. People’s Spring reported that around 22 people, including 15 women and three children, were killed, and over 50 people were injured, many severely. According to Red Peacock, the monastery was sheltering IDPs who had fled from ongoing military operations in the region. In its report, Red Peacock stated that around 10,000 people from Sagaing township had fled following clashes on the Sagaing-Shwebo road, which started on 17 June 2025. 

Several Pro-State Administration Council (SAC) Telegram channels, including Ko Thet, Kyaw Swar, Hmine Wai, and Truth Media, disputed the reports and claimed the military carried out an operation in Lin Ta Lu village but were targeting what they alleged were ‘terrorist PDF gatherings’. 

To start its investigation, Myanmar Witness utilised user-generated content (UGC) and cross-referenced it with satellite imagery and geolocated the monastery to [22.087944, 95.756306] (figure 1). Satellite imagery from Sentinel-2 and Planet was then also reviewed to try to confirm the time of the incident, but verification was limited due to heavy cloud coverage. 

Following this, visuals uploaded online by [GRAPHIC] Khit Thit Media and Mandalay Free Press were analysed and documented. Although the clips could not be geolocated due to a lack of identifiable features, preventing a full verification, the Myanmar Witness team was able to identify 16 bodies, including at least four women, based on appearance (figure 2). 

By cross-referencing UGC, the team observed that the same wrapped blankets, covering six bodies inside the monastery, appear again among the deceased in other imagery – this reinforces the claims that the victims had died inside the monastery building when the strike took place (figure 3). 

Additionally, fragments that were reportedly collected from the site (shared by Red Peacock) were analysed and found to be potentially consistent with air-delivered munitions. However, at the time of publishing, this analysis remains preliminary.

Finally, in Mandalay Free Press’s report, it is stated that the aircraft involved in the incident departed from Tada-U airbase shortly before the strike. Alongside this, air route monitoring channels on Telegram support this claim with the tracking of one particular jet. This and the pro-SAC media’s narrative indirectly corroborate the reports that the MAF did conduct the airstrike on the monastery. 

Taken together – the geolocated damage footage, the matching of victim imagery, reported remnants and aircraft tracking – the evidence does support the claims that the monastery was hit by the MAF on 11 July 2025, resulting in at least 22 deaths and over 50 injuries among the IDPs sheltering there.