One year after deadly school attack, Myanmar children continue to be the victims of the military’s air campaign

Geneva, 12 May 2026 – One year after the Myanmar military’s deadly attack on a school in Oe Htein Kwin village in Sagaing Region that killed more than 20 students, the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar continues to investigate this atrocity, along with more recent incidents of children killed or injured in bombardments of schools, hospitals, places of worship and homes. Airstrikes that deliberately target civilians, or are indiscriminate, violate international law. 

Earlier this month, an air attack killed at least five children between the ages of five months and 10 years at a village playground in Chin State. This tragic incident follows multiple airstrikes across the country which have caused the death and injury of children in the past year, including attacks on villages in Mandalay, Bago Region and Rakhine State (March and April 2026); a church in Tanintharyi Region (March 2026); two schools in Rakhine State (September 2025); and a monastery sheltering internally displaced people in Sagaing Region (July 2025). 

“The Mechanism is focusing on air strikes that appear to directly target civilians in locations where children are likely to be present, which may be war crimes or crimes against humanity,” said Nicholas Koumjian, Head of the Mechanism. “We are collecting and analysing the evidence, including the composition of the Myanmar Air Force and its chain of command, to identify the perpetrators involved so that they can be held to account.” 

Based on the available data, which is likely an underestimate, children were killed or injured in at least 640 airstrikes between the military takeover in February 2021 and 2025. Even for children who have not personally experienced an attack, the danger and stress from the risk is having a deep and lasting impact on them. 

“Attacks on children are particularly heinous,” said Koumjian. “Children in Myanmar should be able to sleep, study and play without fear.” 

The Mechanism urges anyone with first-hand information about air attacks to make contact securely via Signal at +41 76 691 12 08 with disappearing messages enabled, or to email contact@myanmar-mechanism.org from a Proton Mail account, which is free to set up.   

The Mechanism prioritizes people’s safety and treats their information and any details about their identity with utmost confidentiality. It encourages people to only make contact when it is safe to do so.  

The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM or Mechanism) was created by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2018 to collect and analyse evidence of the most serious international crimes and other violations of international law committed in Myanmar since 2011. It aims to facilitate justice and accountability by preserving and organizing this evidence and preparing analysis that can be used by authorities to prosecute individuals in national, regional and international courts.

For more information, visit iimm.un.org or contact iimm@un.org.

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