Schools in Kyaikto Township, Mon State, Remain Closed Amid Airstrike Fears

A school in Kyathaungseik village, Bilin Township, after a junta airstrike. (File photo: KNU)

Schools across multiple village tracts in Mon State’s Kyaikto Township have remained shuttered since September, as continuous junta airstrikes, drone bombardments, and heavy artillery barrages prevent normal operations, according to residents and Karen National Union (KNU) authorities.

Throughout September, regime forces launched near-daily aerial and artillery attacks targeting the Hngetpyawtaw and Kyaukhpyar village tracts within Thaton District, displacing the majority of residents and forcing all educational facilities to suspend classes indefinitely.

"Most residents from the villages in Kyaukhpyar village tract have had to flee," a KNU Kyaikto District Administration official said. "Schools still cannot reopen because parents live in constant fear of renewed airstrikes, drone strikes, and shelling. Hngetpyawtaw faces the same situation. For now, children are trying to continue their education through makeshift arrangements while taking shelter in safer areas."

Besides the educational disruptions, displaced families face severe hardships in securing adequate shelter, food, and healthcare.

A displaced woman from the Kyaukhpyar village tract described living under constant surveillance and the perpetual threat of bombardment, noting that military reconnaissance drones patrol the airspace every night.

"We are terrified of planes, drones, and heavy artillery," she said. "We don’t dare travel by motorbike or even walk around freely. In the morning, we cook enough food to last the entire day. At night, so many drones monitor the area that nobody dares to turn on lights or even use their mobile phones."

According to monitors tracking military movements in KNU Brigade 1 territory, regime troops have been observed operating along the route between Bilin town and the Sittaung Bridge, though they have not yet entered residential villages directly.

KNU records indicate that junta attacks targeting villages across Kyaikto Township between September and October 12 resulted in at least five civilian deaths—including women and children—and left at least six others injured.