SW News: In the latest military operations in Myanmar, at least six children were killed and 17 injured when army helicopters shot at a school in the village of Let Yet Kone in the central Sagaing region on Monday.
The school administrator Mar Mar told Associated Press that troops kept firing at the school from the chopper non-stop for an hour. During that time, the students and teachers had no option but to pray.
Two residents said that the bodies were later transported by the Army to a township 11 km away and buried. According to reports that appeared in Mizzima and Irrawaddy news portals, the school was inside a Buddhist monastery. Some children died on the spot, while others were killed after troops entered the village.
The military said it opened fire because rebels were using the school to attack its troops. The country has been gripped by violence since the army overthrew an elected government early last year.
Violent movements have emerged across the country, which the military has countered with force.
In a statement, the military said rebel group Kachin Independence Army and armed guerrillas group PDF were responsible for the attack.
The statement accused the armed groups of using villagers as human shields and said that weapons including 16 handmade bombs had been seized.
The shadow National Unity Government (NUG) accused the generals of “targeted attacks” on schools and called for the release of 20 students and teachers who had been detained following the air raids. Myanmar’s People's Defence Force (PDF) was established by the NUG in response to the fight against military rule. The generals have dismissed them as “terrorists”.
According to Save the Children, a non-governmental organization in Myanmar, violent attacks on schools have increased from 10 in 2020 to about 190 in 2021.
The organization said in a report this month that both the military and armed groups across the country use schools as bases, which endangers the lives of children and disrupts their studies.
Despite the continuing raids, the UN Security Council is yet to take action on a United Kingdom-drafted resolution that seeks to end violence, ban transfer of arms, and impose UN sanctions on Myanmar.
The resolution would also call on the Army to release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, implement the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) peace plan, and allow for a democratic transition.