UN investigative body asks for evidence in deadly junta bombing of Kyauktaw school

By Admin 16 Sep 2025

DMG Newsroom

16 September 2025, Kyauktaw

The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) on Tuesday issued a call for witnesses and first-hand knowledge of a junta airstrike on a boarding school in Thayet Ta Pin Village, part of Arakan State's Kyauktaw Township, to share on-the-ground evidence.

The IIMM announced that 19 students under the age of 18 were killed and 22 others injured in the regime's aerial assault early on September 12.

The IIMM is requesting information on injuries, damage, photographs or videos of aircraft and ammunition, information on the victims, information on the types of aircraft and weapons used in the airstrikes, information on the pilots involved and the orders given.

"It is good that IIMM is asking for this information," said a resident in Arakan State. "Only then can we get a lot of information to take action against Myanmar's military regime. In addition, there are still many mass airstrikes in Myanmar other than Arakan State, so the international community should take action against the military regime as soon as possible."

The Thayet Ta Pin incident is one of several serious attacks on schools by the military regime since the 2021 coup, IIMM said.

"This incident has exacerbated the suffering of all ethnic groups in Arakan State, who are already facing attacks, killings, forced displacement, and starvation," an IIMM statement said.

The military regime has been conducting airstrikes targeting civilians in areas controlled by the Arakan Army (AA), leading to a rise in civilian deaths, including children.

"I want international help to take action against junta chief Min Aung Hlaing over the death of my son. The international community must somehow help the revolutionary forces defeat the Myanmar military," Daw Ma Ni Khaing from Min Thar Taung Village, Kyauktaw Township, told DMG.

Among those killed in the junta attack on the Kyauktaw boarding school was Daw Ma Ni Khaing's son, 16-year-old Grade 10 student Maung Myint Myat Soe.

The deadly airstrike has been condemned by civil society organisations, including the Arakan Student's Union, as well as international organisations and human rights activists.

The Arakan Army has warned that it will respond effectively to all those involved, including the perpetrators and those who ordered them to commit the crimes, to avenge the victims, their families and the Arakanese people.