Bangkok: A deadly airstrike carried out by Myanmar’s military reportedly struck a school in the conflict-torn Sagaing region on Monday morning, killing up to 22 people, including students and teachers.
Local resistance members and humanitarian workers have confirmed the attack, which took place in Ohe Htein Twin village, located in Tabayin township.
According to sources close to the local resistance, a military aircraft dropped a bomb on the school just after 9 am.
The school was operating under the administration of Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement and was attended by students ranging from primary to high school age.
One member of the White Depayin People’s Defence Force, a local resistance group, said 20 students and two teachers were killed, and approximately 50 others sustained injuries.
The source, who requested anonymity for safety reasons, stated there was no combat activity in the immediate vicinity at the time of the strike. The blast also damaged at least three nearby homes.
So far, Myanmar’s military junta and state-run media have not issued a response or acknowledged the reported bombing.
Opposition spokesperson Nay Phone Latt, affiliated with the National Unity Government (NUG), confirmed receiving similar casualty figures and warned that the death toll could rise.
He condemned the military’s alleged tactic of targeting civilian areas—including schools, monasteries, refugee camps, and medical facilities—under the pretext that they are being used by resistance forces.
Local media reports and other eyewitness accounts have varied slightly in their death toll estimates, ranging from 17 to more than 20.
A volunteer working with displaced persons in Tabayin reported at least 12 confirmed student deaths, with many more wounded.
This incident adds to a growing list of airstrikes targeting civilian areas in Myanmar since the military seized power in February 2021, overthrowing the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Human rights groups estimate that over 6,600 civilians have died at the hands of security forces since the coup.
Sagaing region, located northwest of Mandalay and bordering India, has emerged as a major hub of armed resistance.
The military has ramped up the use of air power in this region, where local defense forces—poorly equipped to counter aerial assaults—have taken root.
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This is not the first time Myanmar’s military has been accused of deadly airstrikes on schools. In September 2022, a similar attack in Let Yet Kone village in the same township left at least 13 dead, including seven children.
Another airstrike in April 2023 killed as many as 160 people during a pro-democracy gathering in Pazigyi village, Kanbalu township.
The continued use of airstrikes, even after major natural disasters like the March 28 earthquake when both military and resistance forces declared temporary ceasefires for relief efforts, has drawn sharp criticism from the United Nations and international human rights organisations.
