Naypyidaw (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – On Saturday, a Myanmar ethnic minority armed group, Arakan Army (AA), reported that a Myanmar ruling military junta air strike in western Rakhine state killed at least 19 students, including children.
On Saturday, the AA posted a statement on Telegram saying that an attack on two private high schools in Kyauktaw township took place just after midnight on Friday. The attack killed 19 students, aged 15 to 21, and injured 22 others.
“We feel as sad as the victims’ families for the death of the innocent students,”
The statement said.
It pinned the blame on the junta for the strike. According to local media outlet Myanmar Now, a junta warplane dropped two 500-pound bombs on a high school while students were sleeping.
Why are the Junta and the Arakan Army fighting over Rakhine?
Myanmar’s military is locked in a fierce battle with the AA for control of Rakhine, an area where the AA has taken over large tracts of land in the past year. Myanmar’s Rakhine conflict is part of the brutal turmoil that has gripped the country since the military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government in a 2021 coup, triggering a nationwide armed uprising.
As of 2025, the AA controls 14 of the 17 townships in Rakhine and has declared its intention to liberate the whole state, including critical areas needed for China’s Belt and Road Initiative, as well as the regional capital, Sittwe, and strategic ports and pipeline sites.
The military junta is rapidly losing territory everywhere, as ethnic armed groups, including the AA, have increased their territorial control in Rakhine and other parts of the country. The AA has gone as far as to set up its own local governing entities in the areas it occupies.
UNICEF also issued a statement condemning the “brutal attack”, saying it “fits a disturbing pattern of escalating violence in Rakhine State, where children and families are bearing the brunt of the impact.”
What previous incidents highlight the growing violence in Rakhine State?
In one particular instance, in January 2025, airstrikes in Mrauk-U Township, Rakhine, resulted in the killing of 28 people and the injuring of 25 others. In northern Shan state, an airstrike killed 11 civilians, including children, and injured many more. Strikes have targeted camps and villages, devastating property, infrastructure, and killing those inside, forcing millions of people out of their homes.
