Myanmar Military Helicopter Fires at School, Six Children Reportedly Killed And Dozens Injured

JAKARTA - At least six children were killed and 17 injured when army helicopters opened fire on a school in Myanmar, media reports and residents said on Monday.

The Myanmar military said they opened fire because rebel groups used the building to attack their troops.

Details of the violence that occurred on Friday in the village of Let Yet Kone, central Sagaing region, cannot be independently verified.

According to reports on the Mizzima and Irrawaddy news portals, army helicopters opened fire on the school housed in a Buddhist monastery in the village.

Several children died on the spot after the shooting, while others died after troops entered the village, the report said.

Two residents, who declined to be named due to security concerns, said by telephone the bodies were then transported by the military to the township 11 km (7 miles) away and buried.

Images posted on social media showed what appeared to be damaged, including bullet holes and bloodstains in a school building.

Meanwhile, in a separate statement, the military said the Kachin Independence Army, a rebel group, and the People's Defense Forces (PDF), an umbrella organization of armed insurgents that the junta calls "terrorists", have been hiding in monasteries and using villages to transport weapons in the area. the.

Security forces dispatched by helicopter had carried out "surprise inspections" and were attacked by PDF and KIA inside houses and convents, he said.

It said security forces had responded and said several villagers had died in the clashes, while the injured were taken to a public hospital for treatment.

The statement accused the armed group of using villagers as human shields, saying a number of weapons including 16 handmade bombs were seized.

In a statement following Friday's violence, Myanmar's pro-democracy shadow government, known as the Government of National Unity (NUG), accused the junta of carrying out "targeted attacks" on schools.

The NUG also called for the release of 20 students and teachers it said had been arrested following the airstrike.

Documented violent attacks on schools jumped to around 190 in 2021 in Myanmar from 10 the previous year, according to Save the Children, a non-governmental organization.

The use of schools as bases by the military and armed groups is also increasing across the country, the organization said in a report this month, disrupting education and endangering children.