21 children injured in Myanmar military strike on school, opposition claims
Bangkok, Aug 4 (EFE).- Myanmar’s opposition to the military junta, the self-proclaimed National Unity Government (NUG), claimed on Wednesday that at least 21 children were injured when the military launched artillery attacks on a school in a rebel-controlled region of the country.
NUG’s human rights minister Aung Myo Min said during a press conference that the attack took place on September 27 in the Joe-Taung Ywama village of northwestern Sagaing region.
The military, using howitzer heavy artillery, struck the area with several mortars that landed in different locations.
The minister alleged that at least three mortars had struck the school, wounding 21 students aged between 7 and 14 years old, with seven of them sustaining serious injuries.
One teacher was also injured, he said.
The affected school’s principal Daw Mya Mya said during the press conference that the mortars hit the school’s cafeteria, while it was filled with students.
“The children ran in fear. It was a total chaos and nightmare,” she described.
Aung accused the military of indiscriminately targeting civilians and children.
He claimed that at least 119 schools and education centers had been destroyed in military attacks, since the junta sized power in a coup in February 2021.
The military takeover, which ended a decade of democratic transition, has plunged Myanmar into deep political, social and economic crises and reopened a spiral of violence with the emergence of new militias, including the People’s Defense Force, created by the NUG.
The NUG’s armed wing, mainly composed of young recruits, has gained ground against the military in some regions.
However, the military continues to launch fierce attacks on NUG-controlled regions, particularly in Sagaing, considered a stronghold of NUG forces.
In April, the military’s air force bombed a NUG gathering in Sagaing, killing 168 people, including 40 children.
Last month, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights warned that the Myanmar army’s brutal attacks against “defenseless population” had been escalating day by day.
According to the UN body, between April 1, 2020, and July 31, at least 4,108 civilians were killed in military operations, including airstrikes, massacres, and village burnings. EFE
ak-pav/bks/ia
