Air Delivered event in Seikkhun, Mahasi Monastery area, Myanmar on Sun 11th October 2026

The U.S.-based Burma Research Institute (BRI) has strongly condemned the military's aerial bombing attack on the Mahasi Monastery located in Seikkhun Village, the birthplace of the Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw, in Shwebo Township, Sagaing Region, and has again urged U.S. President Donald Trump to designate the attack as a war crime.

At approximately 11:44 a.m. on October 11, a military fighter jet that took off from Tada-U Air Base carried out three bombing runs against the Mahasi Monastery. Civilians displaced by the conflict were sheltering within the monastery compound, and as a result of the airstrike, two elderly displaced civilians who were practicing and following religious teachings were killed, while at least eight others were injured.

In addition, numerous religious buildings within the monastery compound, including Dhamma halls, meditation facilities, and covered walkways, were also damaged.

The Mahasi Monastery is also a historic site located in the birthplace of the Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw, who is deeply respected and revered by Buddhists.

BRI issued a statement strongly condemning both the aerial attack on a Buddhist monastery and the deaths and injuries suffered by civilians sheltering within the monastery compound.

Zo Tum Hmung, President and Chief Executive Officer of BRI, stated that bombing sacred places of worship constitutes a violation of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and is also related to war crimes as defined under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

"By bombing sacred places of worship, the military violated the 1954 Hague Convention, which protects cultural heritage during armed conflict, and also committed acts that are defined as war crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. We urge President Trump to publicly condemn this deliberate attack and determine that it constitutes a war crime," he said.

Myanmar signed the 1954 Hague Convention on December 31, 1954, and ratified it on February 10, 1956.

In addition, on October 9, 2026, a Presbyterian Christian church in Chin State, along with its property, was also attacked by a Myanmar military fighter jet.

BRI stated that, in addition to condemning the attack on a Christian church, it also condemned the attack on the Mahasi Monastery located in the birthplace of the highly revered Mahasi Sayadaw, and again called on the U.S. government to designate the incident as a war crime.