Junta airstrike kills 20 children at Myanmar school


Tue, 13 May 2025 

A Myanmar junta airstrike hit a school Monday, killing 22 people, including 20 children, witnesses told AFP, despite a purported humanitarian ceasefire called to help the nation recover from a devastating earthquake.

The strike hit a school in the village of Oe Htein Kwin – some 100 kilometres (65 miles) northwest of the epicentre of the March 28 quake – at around 10:00am (0330 GMT), locals said.

“For now, 22 people in total – 20 children and two teachers – have been killed,” said a 34-year-old teacher at the school, asking to remain anonymous.

“We tried to spread out the children, but the fighter was too fast and dropped its bombs,” she added.

An education official from the area of the village in Sagaing region gave the same toll.

AFP said it couldn’t reach the Myanmar junta spokesman for comment.

Myanmar has been riven by civil war since the military deposed a civilian government in 2021, with the junta suffering stinging losses to a myriad of anti-coup guerrillas and long-active ethnic armed groups.

The military pledged a ceasefire throughout this month “to continue the rebuilding and rehabilitation process” after the magnitude 7.7 quake in Myanmar’s central belt that killed nearly 3,800 people.