{"id":1072836,"date":"2023-06-07T20:51:13","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T20:51:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/myanmar\/schools-06072023163030.html"},"modified":"2023-06-07T20:51:13","modified_gmt":"2023-06-07T20:51:13","slug":"myanmar-military-is-stepping-up-attacks-on-schools-ahead-of-school-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2023\/06\/07\/myanmar-military-is-stepping-up-attacks-on-schools-ahead-of-school-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Myanmar military is stepping up attacks on schools ahead of school year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n \n
Myanmar\u2019s military has stepped up attacks on schools run by anti-junta paramilitaries and ethnic armed groups, according to a Thai-based NGO, in what an aid worker says is a bid to force children to study under its education system.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n While the military began using airstrikes against schools following its successful coup d\u2019etat in February 2021, the number of attacks increased ahead of the start of this year\u2019s school season on June 1, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said in a statement.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Several of the airstrikes took place in Kani and Kale townships in Sagaing region, as well as in Tanintharyi region \u2013 two hotbeds of anti-junta resistance since the takeover \u2013 the June 5 statement said, labeling such attacks \u201cwar crimes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThe junta has definitely been committing war crimes like these \u2013 everyday they violate what the International community has prohibited,\u201d said an AAPP official, speaking to RFA Burmese on condition of anonymity, citing security concerns.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThe schools they attacked are in areas controlled by the [People\u2019s Defense Force] and other revolutionary forces where they have no authority.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Among the attacks was one by military helicopters on a school in Kale\u2019s Shu Khin Thar village on June 5 that a local PDF group known as the CNO Upper Chindwin Region said took place while village elders were holding a meeting. The attack killed one person and injured four others, the group said in a statement, adding that the junta has ordered such strikes to \u201cthreaten families\u201d who send their children to village schools run by anti-junta groups.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The AAPP said it had also documented a June 5 attack by a junta Mi-35 helicopter on a school in Sagaing\u2019s Kani township that injured two children and damaged the building, as well as nearby homes. There was no fighting or military activities taking place at the time.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n And early in the morning of June 6, military fighter jets dropped bombs on San Pha Lar village in Kayin state\u2019s Kawkareik, destroying the village school and four houses. Local media reported that teachers and students in the village are now too frightened to go to school.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n