4 children killed as junta warplanes bomb school in Myanmar

Myanmar junta warplanes attacked a school in Karenni (Kayah) State’s Demoso Township on Monday (February 5), leaving at least four children dead and more than 10 injured, reports Irrawaddy.

Two fighter jets dropped two bombs and unleashed machinegun fire on the school in Dawsieei village at around 10 am, a volunteer from Demoso said.

The attack came despite no clashes between junta forces and resistance groups in the area, the volunteer said.

Dawsieei is around 10 miles west of Demoso town on the road to the Karenni State capital of Loikaw, which is now partly under the control of the Karenni National Defense Force (KNDF).

“The school teaches students from kindergarten to eighth grade. There are bomb shelters in the school compound to protect from junta airstrikes and shelling but the attack happened suddenly and the children had no time to take cover,” he said.

The bombing destroyed 90 percent of the school’s buildings, while many of the children injured in the attack are in serious condition, he added.

Dawsieei offers shelter to people displaced by fighting elsewhere, and the village school was being attended by both local and displaced children.

The warplanes also bombed the neighboring Demoso village of Loi Nan Hpa, but casualty figures from the attack are not yet known.

“The fighter jets flew over the village all morning and dropped bombs on the school, killing three children on the spot and injuring many more, but it’s difficult to give exact casualty figures,” Karenni Army spokesperson Ko Hpone Naing told the Irrawaddy.

Karenni State has been bombed heavily by the junta since the coup as residents launched an uprising against a military government they view as illegitimate.

The junta conducted over 160 artillery strikes and 76 airstrikes in Karenni State last year, killing over 180 civilians and injuring around 140, according to data from the Karenni Human Rights Group.