At least 19 students, including children, were killed in western Rakhine state after a junta air strike, according to a Myanmar ethnic minority armed group.
The Arakan Army, which has been battling Myanmar’s ruling military for control of Rakhine, reported the attack, noting that it had seized significant territory in the region over the past year.
The ongoing conflict in Rakhine is part of a broader wave of violence that has engulfed Myanmar since the military toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government in 2021, triggering a widespread armed uprising.
In a statement posted on Telegram on Saturday, the AA said the strike targeted two private high schools in Kyauktaw township just after midnight on Friday, killing 19 students aged 15 to 21 and injuring 22 others.
“We feel as sad as the victims’ families for the death of the innocent students,” the statement said.
The group blamed the junta for the attack. AFP was unable to obtain a response from the military spokesman regarding the incident.
Local outlet Myanmar Now reported that a junta warplane dropped two 500-pound bombs on a high school while students were asleep.
UNICEF condemned the “brutal attack,” warning it “adds to a pattern of increasingly devastating violence in Rakhine State, with children and families paying the ultimate price.”
AFP also reported difficulties reaching Kyauktaw due to patchy internet and phone services.
The military, struggling to quell opposition on multiple fronts, has faced repeated accusations of using air and artillery strikes against civilian communities.
