Two children over the age of 10 died on the spot and two others were wounded in Pethaung village in Kyaukkyi Township, Nyaunglebin District – an area controlled by Karen National Union (KNU) Brigade 3 – when they were hit by artillery fire from Myanmar army troops, according to local residents.
On the evening of 13 August, indiscriminate artillery fire by the Myanmar army hit a self-supporting home school. Two students were fatally hit and a mother of one student and a child were injured, said a Kyaukkyi resident.
“The artillery hit the house when the children were studying. The self-supporting home school is teaching the children, so their education will not be interrupted in the interim. Two children were killed instantly. The mother of one of the deceased children and another child were injured,” the local said.
Pethaung village on the eastern bank of the Sittaung River is inhabited by Karen and Bamar peoples. Junta attacks have displaced them, leaving them without livelihood security and vulnerable, according to the locals.
A local woman said, “Mamayan village was also hit by artillery shells early this morning. Planes have also been flying in recent days.”
In July, the Myanmar army fired nearly 300 artillery rounds at villages in the ethnic army-controlled Nyaunlebin District, injuring ten local residents, including an 18-year-old and a 12-year-old student.
In addition, five locals were tortured and killed by military council soldiers, according to the KNU on 11 August.
Similarly, the regime’s air and ground attacks destroyed schools in KNU-controlled areas.
The junta’s attacks have destroyed the lives and homes of school-age children, leaving them without access to education, the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) said on 5 Aug.
Sent by KIC.