Airstrike in central Myanmar kills up to 22 people at a bombed school

An airstrike by Myanmar’s military on a village in the country's central Sagaing region hit a school on Monday, killing as many as 20 students and two teachers, according to a member of a resistance group, an aid worker and media reports.

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The morning attack on Ohe Htein Twin village in the region’s Tabayin township, also known as Depayin, also wounded dozens of students, they said.

State-run MRTV television denied the reports of the airstrike on Monday evening’s news broadcast, saying subversive media outlets were intentionally spreading fake news.

The military has increasingly used airstrikes to counter a widespread armed struggle against its rule, which began in February 2021 when it seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. More than 6,600 civilians are estimated to have been killed by security forces since then, according to figures compiled by non-governmental organizations.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern at reports of the airstrike on the school in a region impacted by a recent earthquake. He said that “even in times of armed conflict, schools must be protected,” his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.