At least 11 children died in an air strike against civilian-inhabited areas on 16 September. A school in Tabayin Township, in the Sagaing region, in Myanmar, is also the target of the raids. While further details are still being verified, UNICEF, in announcing this, extends its condolences to the parents and families who have lost their children. At least 15 children from the same school are still missing. Unicef calls for their immediate and safe release. Schools must be safe. Children must never be attacked, a statement read.
In reporting on the attacks, the Guardian cites a school principal who told how while trying to take students to safe shelters, two of the four government Mi-35 helicopters flew over the area north of the village of Let Yet Kone, about 110km away. northwest of Mandalay, they began to attack. Helicopters fired machine guns and heavier weapons at the school, which houses 240 students of different grades, from kindergarten to eighth grades and is located in the village’s Buddhist monastery complex. The UN has documented 260 attacks on schools and education personnel since the military ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February last year.