Junta Airstrike on Myanmar School Kills 22, Including Children

[geovalin]

 Depayin Township’s Brothers

 

An airstrike by Myanmar’s military has killed up to 22 people, including 20 students and two teachers, after a bomb hit a school in central Sagaing region on Monday morning, according to resistance fighters and aid workers. The attack occurred in Ohe Htein Twin village, Tabayin township, an area known for pro-democracy resistance.

 

Witnesses described the strike as deliberate, with a fighter jet reportedly dropping a bomb directly onto the school premises while classes were underway. Around 50 others, mostly children, were wounded in the blast, which also damaged nearby homes. There were no reports of fighting in the area at the time.

 

Myanmar’s military has not issued any statement on the incident. Since the 2021 coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, the junta has faced widespread armed opposition, particularly in Sagaing—a stronghold of the anti-junta People’s Defence Forces. The military has increasingly relied on airpower to suppress resistance, often striking civilian sites such as schools, monasteries and refugee camps.

 

Nay Phone Latt, a spokesperson for the opposition National Unity Government, confirmed the casualty figures and accused the regime of targeting civilian infrastructure under the pretext of flushing out resistance fighters. He warned that the death toll could rise as more details emerge.

 

The attack echoes similar tragedies in the region. In 2022, helicopter strikes on a school in the same township killed at least 13, including children. A year later, another air raid in Sagaing’s Kanbalu township left as many as 160 dead during a civilian gathering.

 

Monday’s bombing has drawn condemnation from local and international observers, with growing calls for accountability. Human rights groups have previously documented a pattern of indiscriminate airstrikes, often in defiance of ceasefire agreements, including one declared after the March 2024 earthquake.

 

With no air defence capability, the resistance movement remains vulnerable, while civilians increasingly pay the price in what has become one of the world’s most brutal internal conflicts.

 

 

-2025-05-13