Due to the military council’s violence, the number of casualties of children aged below 18 reached 23 in late September this year, according to the statement by the Human Rights Program of the New Myanmar Foundation (NMF).
According to the NMF’s statement, the number of children who were killed by the military council’s shelling and airstrikes on schools and civilian houses in Sagaing Region, Bago Region and Karen State, is higher.
Among them, a 10-year-old child from Wuntho Township of Sagaing Region and four children from a school in Hteewowhta village in Hpapun Township of Karen State were killed by the military council’s airstrikes and shelling, the NMF statement said.
A total of 31 people, including a 6-month-old child and an 8-year-old child from Shwekyin Township, Bago Region and the above-mentioned townships, were wounded, according to the statement.
A local woman from Nyaunglebin District of Bago Region said: “Child casualties are linked to shelling, airstrikes and landmines. Most children died at their homes due to the army’s indiscriminate shootings. The military council has planted landmines along the roads when they withdrew. The displaced children face landmine explosions when they return to their home to take rice.”
Schools are frequently closed and reopened due to the military council’s increased artillery shelling and airstrikes in Nyaunglebin District in the Brigade-3-controlled territory of Karen National Union (KNU) throughout 2023. As a result, the school-aged children are facing a delay in pursuing their education, according to the ground news sources.
The NMF urges international organizations, including the United Nations, to swiftly create accountability and responsibility for the military council and subordinate groups that violate international humanitarian law, and implement sanctions by effective means.
Established in 2008, the NMF based in Mae Sot of Thailand is an organization that provides food and employment opportunities for Myanmar people who fled to Thailand during the military coup, including humanitarian aid.
At least 25 children were killed and at least 19 were wounded due to the military council’s airstrikes and heavy shelling in the KNU-controlled areas since the military coup, according to the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG).
In 2022, there were more than 500 cases about the child casualties across Myanmar, and more than half of the cases were committed by the military council, according to the United Nations Secretary-General’s 2022 Report on Children and Armed Conflict released in June.
Sent by KIC.