At least 19 high school students were killed, and more than 20 others injured in a military airstrike by Myanmar forces on two private boarding schools in Kyauktaw township, located in the western Rakhine state. The attack occurred late at night while students were sleeping, as reported by the Arakan Army and relief organizations.
The schools targeted were Pyinnyar Pan Khinn High School and A Myin Thit High School, both private institutions with many students residing on-site. Victims of the airstrike ranged in age from 15 to 21 years old.
According to local media outlet Myanmar Now, a junta warplane dropped two 500-pound bombs on the high schools. These institutions, situated in territory claimed by the Arakan Army-currently in conflict with the Myanmar military-sustained severe damage, and numerous nearby houses were also destroyed in the aftermath of the strike.
UNICEF issued a statement condemning the airstrike, deeming it a “brutal attack” and emphasizing the significant toll the ongoing conflict in Rakhine is taking on children and civilians.
The military is grappling with resistance on multiple fronts throughout Myanmar and has come under repeated criticism for utilizing air and artillery strikes against civilian communities.
