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Junta bombs a school in central Myanmar, kills at least 20 students

May 13, 2025/in News

Two teachers also die in the airstrike in Sagaing and medical centers struggle to cope with the wounded. Junta forces bombed a school in central Myanmar on Monday, killing at least 20 students, local sources and the country’s exiled civilian administration told Radio Free Asia. A fighter jet fired at Sagaing region’s Oe Htein Kwin […]

UN Special Envoy Julie Bishop reported to UN Office of Internal Oversight Services over conflicts of interest

May 9, 2025/in Member statements

9 May 2025 On 4 May 2025, four Myanmar civil society organizations (CSOs)—Blood Money Campaign, Defend Myanmar Democracy, Karen Peace Support Network, and Progressive Voice—submitted a report of wrongdoing to the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) regarding the business activities of UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar Julie Bishop. This wrongdoing […]

Junta bombs a school in central Myanmar, kills at least 20 students

May 13, 2025/in News

UN Special Envoy Julie Bishop reported to UN Office of Internal Oversight Services over conflicts of interest

May 9, 2025/in Member statements

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Junta bombs a school in central Myanmar, kills at least 20 students

May 13, 2025/in News

Two teachers also die in the airstrike in Sagaing and medical centers struggle to cope with the wounded.

Junta forces bombed a school in central Myanmar on Monday, killing at least 20 students, local sources and the country’s exiled civilian administration told Radio Free Asia.

A fighter jet fired at Sagaing region’s Oe Htein Kwin village in Tabayin township, which is under rebel control.

The airstrike killed 20 students and two teachers, and more than 20 others were wounded, according to local sources who requested anonymity for safety reasons.

Earlier, Nay Bone Latt, a spokesperson for the prime minister’s office of the shadow National Unity Government said that 17 students had died but that the death toll could rise.

A school destroyed by a junta bombing at Oe Htein Kwin village in Tabayin township in Sagaing, May 12, 2025. (White Depeyin People Defence Force via AP)

It was one of the deadliest attacks on children by the military since it seized power in a coup against an elected government four years ago, triggering widespread civil conflict.

The airstrike came despite the junta declaring a ceasefire until May 31 after a March 28 earthquake that killed more than 3,800 people, mostly in Sagaing and Mandalay regions. Airstrikes and heavy artillery attacks have continued, killing more than 200 people.

Nay Bone Latt claimed that the children in school were intentionally targeted in the bombing. “The junta often uses propaganda to say after deliberately attacking areas with displaced people and children, that they were bombed because of revolutionary forces,” he told RFA.

Calls to junta spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun went unanswered. But state-run MRTV television denied the reports of the airstrike on Monday evening’s news broadcast, saying subversive media outlets were intentionally spreading fake news, Associated Press reported.

Bodies are buried after a school was destroyed by a junta bombing at Oe Htein Kwin village in Tabayin township in Sagaing, May 12, 2025. (AFP)

The fighter jet, likely flying from Mandalay region’s Meiktila Air Force Base, attacked the school in Oe Htein Kwin village around 9:30 a.m., during class time, according to residents.

Medical centers nearby are overwhelmed because many victims are severely injured, one of the residents said.

According to the nongovernment Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which records fatalities in addition to numbers incarcerated by the junta, more than 6,600 civilians have been killed by security forces since the February 2021 coup.

The worst recorded fatal event for children since the coup was an April 11, 2023, airstrike on Pazigyi village, Kantbalu Township, Sagaing region, which killed 128 people, including 40 children.

Translated by Kiana Duncan. Reporting by Kyaw Kyaw Aung. Edited by Taejun Kang and Mat Pennington.

RFA News

UN Special Envoy Julie Bishop reported to UN Office of Internal Oversight Services over conflicts of interest

May 9, 2025/in Member statements

9 May 2025

On 4 May 2025, four Myanmar civil society organizations (CSOs)—Blood Money Campaign, Defend Myanmar Democracy, Karen Peace Support Network, and Progressive Voice—submitted a report of wrongdoing to the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) regarding the business activities of UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar Julie Bishop.

This wrongdoing report to OIOS follows an open letter which 290 Myanmar, regional, and international civil society organizations sent to the UN Secretary-General and UN General Assembly (UNGA) on 17 March 2025, calling for an investigation into Julie Bishop’s business activities and the revocation of the Special Envoy’s mandate. OIOS is the UN’s internal oversight body, and it has operational independence under the authority of the Secretary-General.

In the 17 March letter and subsequent wrongdoing report, CSOs urged the Secretary-General to urgently investigate the Special Envoy’s business activities and connections to the mining industry and Chinese state-owned companies with reported commercial interests in Myanmar, including Shenghe Resources and China Communications Construction Company.

The UN has not responded to the civil society open letter, and the Secretary-General’s Office continues to defend Julie Bishop’s conduct, ignoring the serious concerns raised by civil society. Multiple international anti-corruption experts have stated that civil society concerns about Julie Bishop’s conflicts of interest are credible and warrant action by the UN.

The UN’s failure to respond to civil society’s concerns is all the more egregious given the UN Special Envoy on Myanmar’s mandate to engage “with all relevant stakeholders, including civil society, and affected populations.” Yet, the Secretary-General and the Special Envoy herself continue to ignore the Myanmar people.

With no meaningful response from the UN, Julie Bishop’s business activities related to China continue to endanger the human rights of the Myanmar people, as China remains a top source of military support and false legitimacy for the illegal Myanmar military junta, aiding and abetting the junta’s ongoing crimes against humanity and war crimes against the Myanmar people. These concerns have only deepened following the 28 March earthquake that devastated central Myanmar: Following the earthquake, China has provided substantial support to the military junta, under the guise of humanitarian aid, despite the junta’s continued weaponization of such quake-related aid for its own material and political gain.

Blood Money Campaign, Defend Myanmar Democracy, Karen Peace Support Network, and Progressive Voice urge OIOS to conduct a prompt, thorough, and transparent investigation into Julie Bishop’s business activities and publish the findings.

Khin Ohmar of Progressive Voice said, “If the UN’s desire to ‘end the hostilities’ and support the Myanmar people is genuine, it would immediately investigate Julie Bishop’s conflicts of interest, remove her from the position, and abolish the Special Envoy on Myanmar mandate. Julie Bishop further taints the UN’s reputation in Myanmar and beyond. It’s time for the UN to respect its own rules and regulations. OIOS must initiate a thorough and transparent investigation into Julie Bishop’s business activities without further delay and share those findings publicly.”

Naw Aung of Defend Myanmar Democracy said, “Julie Bishop’s connections to the mining industry and Chinese state-owned companies show a complete lack of integrity and are wholly untenable for a UN Special Envoy. The UNGA must seize this moment to revoke the mandate, and revamp the UN’s address of Myanmar’s crisis to be based on human rights rather than political lobbying.”

Mulan of Blood Money Campaign said, “China is a major arms supplier of the military junta, providing the fighter jets and drones used to murder civilians across Myanmar even after the earthquake on 28 March. Julie Bishop’s commercial interests with this complicit actor in the junta’s crimes must be immediately investigated by the UN. It must also finally end the mandate of the Special Envoy on Myanmar, which has been a total failure in producing meaningful change for the people. The Secretary-General himself must take the lead to end the military junta’s international crimes. Refusing to do so will only embolden the junta to continue its terror campaign against the people and thus further damage the little credibility the UN has left.”

Cherry of Karen Peace Support Network said, “The UN must respect our voices as civil society and stop doing harm in Myanmar. For more than four years, the UN has failed to take meaningful action to stop the junta’s war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. The UN and the international community must stand with the Myanmar people and robustly support our revolution to build sustainable peace and an inclusive federal democracy. This support must start with opening an investigation regarding Julie Bishop’s conflicts of interest and publishing the findings.”

For more information, please contact:

Mulan, Blood Money Campaign; bloodmoneycampaign21@protonmail.com
Naw Aung, Defend Myanmar Democracy; communication@defendmyanmardemocracy.org
Naw Cherry, Karen Peace Support Network; kpsn14@gmail.com
Khin Ohmar, Progressive Voice; info@progressive-voice.org

Spring Revolution

Civil Society Position Paper on ASEAN’s Goal of a Myanmar-Owned and -Led SolutionDecember 18, 2024 - 12:11 pm
Recommendations to ASEAN and Its Member States (1) Move beyond the 5PC to achieve a Myanmar people-led and people-centered solution to the crisis in Myanmar. ASEAN’s “Myanmar-owned and -led” approach must be backed by genuine political will that aligns with and supports the collective aspirations of the people of Myanmar. (2) Cease all pressure on […]
The Airstrikes after the journey to the China of the Junta Military LeaderDecember 10, 2024 - 1:28 pm
Operation 1027 was a coordinated military attack against the junta on October 27th, 2023. It was carried out by the Northern Brotherhood, which includes the Arakan Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army. Several months later, the Three Brotherhood Alliance held three meetings to negotiate with China on January 11 […]
Human Rights Situation weekly update (September 15 to 21, 2024)September 27, 2024 - 8:26 am
Human Rights Violations took place in States and Regions from Sep 15 to 21, 2024 Military Junta Troop launched airstrikes and dropped bombs in Sagaing Region, Mandalay Region, Shan State, Chin State, Rakhine State, and Kachin State from September 15th to 21st. The Military Junta committed arresting, occupying the properties, threatening by using power, and […]

Multimedia

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ND Burma

ND-Burma formed in 2004 in order to provide a way for Burma human rights organizations to collaborate on the human rights documentation process. The 13 ND-Burma member organizations seek to collectively use the truth of what communities in Burma have endured to advocate for justice for victims. ND-Burma trains local organizations in human rights documentation; coordinates members’ input into a common database using Martus, a secure open-source software; and engages in joint-advocacy campaigns.

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