Myanmar’s military gov’t denies deadly air attack on school

Myanmar’s military-ruled government on Tuesday denied reports it carried out an air attack on a school in the country’s turbulent north-central region that killed at least seven children, accusing the media of distorting the truth.
Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, spokesperson for the ruling military council, acknowledged at a news conference in the capital, Naypyitaw, that there had been fighting last Friday in Tabayin township in Sagaing region. However, he blamed the government’s armed opponents for the casualties, which in addition to children sheltering at the school included six adult villagers.
Witnesses told the media that two helicopters fired machine guns and heavier weapons at a school in a Buddhist monastery in the village of Let Yet Kone attended by 240 students from kindergarten to Grade 8 taught by about 20 volunteer teachers.
A school administrator said that after about an hour of continuous shooting, about 80 soldiers charged into the monastery grounds, firing their weapons. The administrator, who used the pseudonym Mar Mar so she would not be identified by the authorities, said about 30 children were wounded, and 20 were taken away by soldiers along with three teachers.
The number of children killed in the air strike appeared to be the highest in a single day since the army seized power in a coup in February last year, ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
The army’s takeover triggered mass nonviolent protests nationwide, but when the military and police responded with deadly force, armed resistance arose in the cities and the countryside.