At least 22 students killed in airstrike on schools in Rakhine State

The Arakan Army (AA) vowed to retaliate on Saturday after an airstrike killed 22 students and injured an unknown number at two private high schools in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, on Sept. 12.

The airstrike was carried out by the Myanmar Air Force on Pyinyar Pan Kin and Amyin Thit schools in Thayettapin village, which is located 60 miles (96 km) northeast of the Arakan State capital Sittwe.

Seven school buildings, including classrooms and dormitories, were either damaged or destroyed in the aerial bombardment, according to the AA. Kyauktaw Township was seized by AA in February 2024.

The U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released a statement condemning targeted attacks on schools, which is considered a war crime under international law.

“The attack adds to a pattern of increasingly devastating violence in Rakhine State, with children and families paying the ultimate price,” stated UNICEF in its press release on Sept. 12.

The U.N. warned of escalating violence and deepening hardship in Arakan, calling on the AA and regime forces to stop attacks against civilians, safeguard schools and homes, and allow humanitarian aid to reach those in urgent need.

Five airstrikes across the state have killed 89 civilians and injured 91 others between January and August, according to the AA, which called on the international community “not to stand by and watch the military’s war crimes and crimes against humanity, but to take effective action.”