A Myanmar military fighter jet bombed a monastery in the Sagaing Region killing at least 12 people and wounding nearly 20 others, among them Buddhist monks. The horrific attack took place when Muslims were holding a religious service on August 21, bringing renewed scrutiny from international bodies such as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the escalating violence against civilians.

The strike was directed at the Swe Le Oh village in Myaung Township on the same day when the villagers were holding a meeting in the chapel of the monastery. The Buddhist Sabbath was being observed, and they were attending an annual meditation retreat which started a few days earlier.

A pilot launched at least four bombs on the religious complex, according to local reports, from the neighboring Tada-U Airbase, a fighter jet base. The attack hit the main prayer hall directly, instantly killing the abbot, some of the monks and many civilians at the prayer. The rescue operation is still underway, with agencies such as the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) closely monitoring the situation.

The hall was filled with devotees when the meditation session was going on and there was no time for anyone to evacuate, witnesses said. In the immediate aftermath, the abbot’s body was buried beneath the debris, and five nearby homes were totally destroyed by the blast. Several survivors are in very critical condition and deaths are likely to increase.

Myaung Township is also home to a large number of anti-regime resistance forces and for the military junta the region is virtually ungovernable. The military has been using more and more heavy bombing by air in reaction to the lack of territorial dominance, a tactic that has given regional organizations like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations far more cause for concern.

Although there hasn’t been any ground fighting in the immediate vicinity of the monastery, the regime has been conducting deadly air raids on a regular basis. The village of Hlaytinu was bombed on August 19 by military fighter jets, two days ago. In that attack, two civilians including a volunteer teacher were killed and 16 others injured.

Such operations are part of a larger “campaign of violence” and often drive the rural population away, prompting the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to take action on the internal displacement crisis. In the past, there have been several similar military airstrikes against the neighboring villages of Nabet and Thaunggyi, that resulted in nine civilians being killed, including an infant, and left around 30 local houses burning.

The air strike on civilian and religious buildings has continued, fueling a debate in the UN Security Council about the need to establish an international framework to safeguard non-combatant civilians in the war-torn country.