An airstrike on a school in Myanmar’s southeastern Karenni state killed four children and injured at least 15 others, according to five witnesses.
The victims, all boys between the ages of 12 and 14, were students at a school in the village of Do Si Ei, with about 200 students and run by local residents and former government teachers. Two other children sustained head and abdominal injuries and remain in critical condition.
The mother of one of the victims reported seeing a plane following the fighter jets over the village at 10 a.m. Monday.
“Right after the bombs were dropped, I didn’t even have the courage to go outside and look,” said Hey Brut Moo. “My children were so scared after escaping the airstrike that they hid under the bed and cried, especially the youngest. He hugged me and cried for a long time.”
Witnesses said students at the school were about to break into the bunker when the strike occurred. Communities across Myanmar routinely dig underground trenches outdoors to protect themselves from military airstrikes.
The attack reportedly reduced the school facility to rubble and left the surrounding area stained with blood stains.
A 16-year-old boy who arrived at the school shortly after the attack said he saw the bodies of three of the victims, including his 14-year-old brother. He said the fourth victim died as people tried to take him to the nearest medical facility run by local resistance forces and community members.
Since seizing power in a coup in February 2021, Myanmar’s military has struggled to suppress opposition to its rule, relying on airstrikes and scorched-earth tactics to push back opposition.
The military has not yet issued a statement about Monday’s airstrikes, but in the past they have targeted civilian areas and infrastructure such as schools, medical facilities and religious sites.
Junta-affiliated media claimed that reports about the airstrike on the village were false.
In January, the United Nations announced that as part of the military’s strategy, it regularly targets sites protected under international humanitarian law, such as medical facilities and schools. Disruption of basic communications services means civilians often have little or no advance warning of these attacks, the group said.
Fierce fighting continues in Karenni state between the military and pro-democracy forces. Fighting intensified in November, with local resistance groups launching new attacks and the military retaliating by expanding attacks to include civilian areas.
Mo Lei, whose 12-year-old son was killed in Monday’s airstrike, said the attack occurred as students were preparing for exams. “It’s very sad, but you can’t do anything during a war…even if… [the military] They are targeting my house,” he said.
A 36-year-old teacher who was at the school at the time of the incident, speaking on condition of anonymity due to safety concerns, questioned why the military would target the school. “Our school is far from active conflict areas and no resistance fighters are staying here,” she said. “This is a place where innocent students study.”
Another airstrike on a school in the village of Loynampa, two miles away, injured a teacher and left him without a leg.
In total, more than 80% of Karenni state’s population has been internally displaced since the coup, according to the Karenni Human Rights Group, a regional group that monitors human rights incidents in the state.
The organization strongly condemned Monday’s attack, saying, “The junta is deliberately destroying civilian infrastructure and shelter for thousands of Karenni people who have been forced to flee their homes…attacks on schools… “The further escalation of the situation shows the military’s disregard for security.” …The lives of children. ”
The United Nations has recorded a total of more than 554 civilians killed in Myanmar since October, and more than 1,600 killed in 2023, about 300 more than the previous year. A further 19,973 people remain in detention for political reasons, according to the United Nations.
