18, mostly students, killed in Myanmar strike on Rakhine schools: armed group

UNICEF condemns the attack, calling it part of growing violence that is harming children and families

Myanmar’s military has carried out an airstrike on two private schools in a village in western Rakhine State, killing at least 18 people, most of them students, according to local media and an armed group.

Khaing Thukha, spokesperson for the Arakan Army (AA) that controls the area, told an international news agency on Friday that a jet fighter dropped two bombs on Pyinnyar Pan Khinn and A Myin Thit Private High School in the Thayet Thapin village in Kyauktaw township.

He said most of the victims were “17- to 18-year-old students from the private schools”.

Independent verification has been difficult, as internet and mobile phone access in the village remains largely unavailable, he added.

“We feel as sad as the victims’ families for the death of the innocent students,” said the AA in a statement on Telegram, blaming the military for the strike.

Wai Hun Aung, who directs relief work in Rakhine, said those killed in the air strike were among 30 to 40 boarders from the schools.

He added that at least six houses near the schools were damaged, and 21 people were injured, including six who were in critical condition.

Local news outlets reported that a military warplane dropped two 500lb bombs on a high school as students slept. They also posted photos and videos online showing debris and damaged buildings.

In a statement on Saturday, the UNICEF condemned the “brutal attack”, which it said “adds to a pattern of increasingly devastating violence in Rakhine State, with children and families paying the ultimate price”.

Al Jazeera reported that Rakhine, previously known as Arakan, had witnessed a military crackdown in 2017, forcing about 740,000 Rohingya Muslim minorities to flee to Bangladesh.

The AA serves as the armed wing of the Rakhine ethnic minority movement, which is pushing for autonomy from Myanmar’s central government. Since launching its offensive in November 2023, the group has taken control of a key regional military headquarters and 14 out of 17 townships in Rakhine.

Kyauktaw, 250km (150 miles) southwest of Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, was captured by the AA last February.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military seized power from Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government on Feb 1, 2021. Following a deadly crackdown on peaceful protests, widespread armed resistance has emerged across the country.

According to independent estimates, more than 7,200 people have been killed by security forces since the coup.

The military junta has recently intensified airstrikes against the pro-democracy People’s Defence Force (PDF), whose fighters remain largely defenceless against aerial attacks.