Despite mounting evidence and eyewitness accounts, Myanmar’s military junta has denied responsibility for an airstrike that killed 22 people including 20 children at a school in Ohtein Dwin (North) village, Depayin Township, Sagaing Region.
The attack occurred at 9:40 am on 12 May, but the junta dismissed reports of the tragedy as “fabricated” during a national propaganda broadcast aired at 8 pm the same day.
“It has been learned that anti-state media falsely reported and spread news that the Myanmar military carried out a bombing attack on a school in Depayin. According to a local security official, the news is not true,” the junta claimed. They added that the military does not target civilian sites and insisted the government is committed to “enhancing the education of future generations.”
However, documentation and images shared by locals with Mizzima present a far different reality.
Photographs show a severely damaged school building with its roof blown apart, and the bodies of at least ten children in school uniforms lying in pools of blood. Severed limbs, mangled schoolbags, and broken wooden beams were also visible.
The airstrike killed 20 students ranging in age from 8 to 17 and two female teachers. The victims included 15 girls and five boys, and approximately 50 others were injured, with many transported to hospitals in neighbouring Budalin Township.
Locals estimated that a 300-pound bomb was used in the attack based on the remnants found at the scene, while a report by BBC Burmese suggested the munition could have been a 500-pound bomb.
The school, which had a main building and several extended classrooms totalling 12 structures in all, served as an interim educational institution under the National Unity Government (NUG) and had 289 students enrolled, according to the Depayin People’s Administration Team.
A local education official stated that the academic schedule in Depayin is irregular and heavily dependent on military operations. “It’s not like a normal school year,” they said, highlighting the ongoing instability in the region.
Crucially, there were no ground clashes or resistance activity in the area at the time of the bombing, according to local reports and sources cited by Myanmar Now.
A video report by The Irrawaddy captured the aftermath: bloodstains on floors, empty schoolbags, and white-and-green-painted classroom walls pockmarked with shrapnel damage. Torn zinc roofing sheets and collapsed beams littered the compound.
This marks the second deadliest airstrike on a school in Depayin Township in recent years. On 16 September 2022, a junta air raid on Letyetkone village killed 13 civilians, including 11 children.
As of now, the junta has offered no further evidence to support its denial. The National Unity Government (NUG) and other resistance groups have not publicly responded to the junta’s latest claim at the time of writing.
