The Myanmar military carried out an airstrike on a school on Monday. Initially, 17 schoolchildren were reported killed, but the toll has risen to 22. According to an AFP report, 20 of the 22 killed were children. The attack was carried out amid a humanitarian ceasefire after a devastating earthquake.
The attack occurred as people devastated by the earthquake were trying to get everything back together. According to locals, the attack took place in the village of Oo Htaen Kwin in the area around 10 am.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was deeply concerned by the news of the airstrike. His spokesman told the media in New York, “Schools should be places where children can study safely, not where bombs can explode.”
The green school was reduced to rubble in the attack. The school’s metal roof had collapsed and huge holes had been left in the walls. More than a dozen abandoned schoolbags lay piled up in front of a Myanmar flagpole outside the school. Parents were burying the bodies of their children.
A 34-year-old teacher at the school (who did not want to be named) said, “So far, 22 people have died. 20 of them are children and two teachers. We tried to save the children, but the warplane came too fast and dropped its bombs.”
“I have not been able to collect the full casualty figures yet because the parents are disoriented,” he added. However, a local education official gave the same number of deaths.
However, the Myanmar military has called the incident a “rumor” and said, “There was no military target, so no airstrikes were carried out.”
Myanmar has been in the throes of civil war since a military coup in 2021. The military has suffered heavy losses but continues to fight against various ethnic armed groups and rebel forces. However, the military government said it had declared a ceasefire this month to continue the reconstruction and rehabilitation process. The ceasefire was given after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake killed several people.
Source: AFP