Conflicts & War

4 children killed, 15 wounded in school bombing by military junta in Myanmar

Bangkok, Feb 5 (EFE).- At least four children aged 12-14 died and another 15 were injured – some under three years old – following the bombing of a school by the military junta in Myanmar on Monday, activists reported.

The air strike on the school in the town of Dee Maw Soe, in eastern Kayah State, occurred around 10.15 am local time, according to a statement by the Karen Human Rights Group.

The nonprofit said at least 10 attacks were carried out by three military aircraft on the facilities of the Daw Si EI educational center, and the casualties were minors taking refuge in the building.

The rights group of the Karen ethnic minority group underlined that the new escalation of attacks on schools, in particular, was indicative of the military’s disregard for the lives of the most innocent.

The group also claimed that ground troops fired six rounds of mortar at another school in the town of Loi Nan Pa, killing three people – two of them teachers – and wounding five, without specifying the ages.

These two towns are located near the state capital of Loikaw, where strong fighting has been underway for weeks between the Army and members of the rebel Karen guerrillas that are opposed to the military junta.

In recent months, the army has resorted to air and artillery strikes to try to stop the rebel offensive in several regions of the country.

One of the deadliest airstrikes was the one recorded in April 2023 when military junta planes dropped a thermobaric bomb, or vacuum bomb, on a rebel settlement in the Sagaing region leaving more than 160 fatalities.

The Feb.1 military coup in 2021 plunged Myanmar into a deep political, social and economic crisis, opening a spiral of violence with new civilian militias that have exacerbated the guerrilla war that has plagued the country for decades.

At least 4,484 people, including pro-democratic and civilian activists, have died from the repression of the military junta, according to data from the local nonprofit Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

The 2021 coup ended a decade of democratic transition in the country, overthrowing the democratically elected government led by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under arrest since then. EFE

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