Myanmar Airstrike on Schools Kills Students in Rakhine State

Myanmar’s military allegedly bombed two schools in Rakhine, killing at least 19 students and injuring over 20. UNICEF condemned the attack as part of rising violence since the 2021 coup.

Several people, most of them students, have been killed in an airstrike allegedly carried out by Myanmar’s military on two private schools in a small village located in the western state of Rakhine. Both the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic minority armed group, and local media outlets in the region reported the incident, describing it as one of the deadliest recent attacks on civilians in the ongoing conflict.

The tragedy comes against the backdrop of Myanmar’s worsening civil war, which began after the military staged a coup in February 2021, overthrowing the elected civilian government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi. Since then, the country has descended into a patchwork of armed conflicts involving pro-democracy groups, ethnic militias, and resistance forces fighting the junta’s control.

Rakhine State, which lies along Myanmar’s western coast bordering Bangladesh, has been one of the flashpoints of resistance. The Arakan Army, representing the Rakhine ethnic minority, has emerged as a powerful force challenging the military. In November 2023, the group launched a major offensive in the region, managing to capture a strategically significant regional military headquarters as well as gaining control over 14 of Rakhine’s 17 townships. This has made Rakhine one of the areas where the junta is rapidly losing ground.

In its statement released on Saturday through the Telegram messaging app, the Arakan Army accused the junta of deliberately targeting civilian spaces. It said the military struck two private high schools in Thayet Thapin village, situated within Kyauktaw township, which is currently under AA control. According to the statement, the airstrike killed 19 students between the ages of 15 and 21 and left 22 others wounded.

Kyauktaw township, where the incident took place, lies approximately 250 kilometers (150 miles) southwest of Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city and an important commercial and cultural hub.

Reports from local online media outlets painted an even grimmer picture. Some claimed that 22 students were killed in the attack. The independent outlet Myanmar Now reported that the strike involved a junta warplane dropping two massive 500-pound (227-kilogram) bombs directly on one of the schools just after midnight on Friday, while students were asleep in the building. The timing of the attack, they suggested, made it even deadlier as the students were resting and unprepared to take cover.

The two educational institutions identified as being hit were the Pyinnyar Pan Khinn Private High School and the A Myin Thit Private High School, both of which served local families in the conflict-affected area. These schools, despite the escalating violence in the state, had continued operating as places of learning for children and young adults—a fact that has made the attack particularly shocking for local communities.

Due to strict military controls, communication blackouts, and the remoteness of the area, independent confirmation of the details remains extremely difficult. The Myanmar military has not issued any official statement acknowledging or denying responsibility for the airstrike.

The attack quickly drew international condemnation. UNICEF, the United Nations children’s agency, described the incident as a “brutal attack,” stressing that it fits into what it called “a pattern of increasingly devastating violence in Rakhine State.” The organization emphasized that children and families are repeatedly paying the ultimate price in Myanmar’s war, with schools—traditionally protected spaces in times of conflict—becoming targets.

The Myanmar military, also known as the Tatmadaw, has long faced accusations of launching indiscriminate strikes on civilian communities, including the use of air power in villages, marketplaces, and religious buildings. Since the February 2021 coup, watchdogs and human rights organizations estimate that more than 7,200 people have been killed nationwide by security forces. This figure highlights the scale of brutality faced by civilians as the junta struggles to suppress multiple uprisings across the country.

Rakhine State itself carries a painful legacy of military violence. In 2017, the Tatmadaw conducted what it called a counterinsurgency campaign against the Rohingya Muslim minority in the region. That campaign was marked by widespread reports of mass killings, sexual violence, and the burning of villages. The violence forced approximately 740,000 Rohingya to flee across the border into Bangladesh, creating one of the world’s largest refugee crises. To this day, the majority of those displaced remain in overcrowded camps in Bangladesh, with little prospect of safe return.

The latest attack on schools in Kyauktaw has once again highlighted the continuing humanitarian disaster unfolding in Myanmar. As the conflict deepens and both sides escalate military operations, ordinary civilians—especially children—remain the most vulnerable, caught in the crossfire of a war that shows little sign of abating.