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27 June 2024

Killing of Monks Raises Fear of a Holy Conflict in Myanmar

Luke Hunt

Fears that the junta in Myanmar is attempting to trigger a holy war between the Buddhist clergy and anti-regime forces have resurfaced after two monks were shot dead, crimes that the military initially blamed on the rebels.

The dead included Sayadaw Bhaddanta Munindabhivamsa. He was a 78-year-old senior abbot from the Win Neinmitayon Monastery in Bago Region, who was shot and killed by soldiers from a truck while his car was driving out of Mandalay International Airport last week.

His driver lost three fingers in the attack while fellow monk Sayadaw Bhaddanta Gunikabhivamsa sustained head injuries from the smashed glass. His phone was confiscated by those who fired and then fled before other soldiers arrived and interrogated him at a camp in Mandalay Palace for five hours.

As the questioning continued, Gunikabhivamsa’s wounds went untreated and broadcaster MRTV declared that Munindabhivamsa had been killed by the opposition People’s Defense Force (PDF) during a firefight with the military. One suggestion was that the PDF had lobbed a landmine at the two monks.

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