Junta’s Airstrikes Hit School in Kawkareik’s Winka Village: Homes Damaged, One Injured

April 24, 2025

On the night of April 23, at around 8:00 PM, two junta fighter jets launched direct airstrikes on a school compound in Winka Village, Kyon Doe Town, Kawkareik Township, Karen State. According to local eyewitnesses, the school was deliberately targeted, and nearby homes were also damaged in the attack. One resident, a 35-year-old villager, was injured.

The bombs dropped were reportedly 500-pound munitions, known for their wide blast radius and destructive impact. Three homes near the school compound were confirmed destroyed.

Locals say the school had previously been used, up until the last two weeks, as a temporary shelter for CDM staff and internally displaced persons (IDPs). Though they had already been relocated before the attack, the strike reflects a troubling trend in which the junta appears to be deliberately targeting public spaces, including shelters used by displaced civilians.

“We’re lucky this time,” said one local resident. “The IDPs and CDM staff were moved from the school just before Thingyan. But as we feared, the junta later bombed it anyway. Both jets flew in and aimed directly at the school compound. Thankfully, no one was inside at the time—but they clearly intended to hit it.”

The surrounding community is still reeling. Reports confirm that residents are afraid to live near schools, hospitals, monasteries, and religious buildings, which have become frequent targets in recent junta airstrikes. Many families in Winka village and nearby villages have been forced to relocate yet again, fearing further attacks.

In addition to the airstrikes, junta artillery units based in Kawkareik Town were reported to have fired 120 mm heavy weapons late into the night of April 23, further escalating tensions in the region.

The situation between Kawkareik and Kyon Doe remains volatile, as clashes continue between junta forces and local joint resistance groups. Since April 15, sustained airstrikes and artillery shelling across Kawkareik Township have killed more than 20 civilians and injured at least 40 others, according to HURFOM reports. Many of the attacks have specifically hit religious institutions, schools, and civilian homes—a pattern that has triggered alarm from rights monitors and humanitarian responders.

As attacks on civilian infrastructure increase, displaced families have little choice but to flee repeatedly, often with nowhere safe to go. The targeting of schools and shelters also violates international humanitarian law, which explicitly prohibits attacks on educational and religious institutions. These bombings continue to worsen the humanitarian crisis in southeastern Burma, pushing already vulnerable communities further into hardship.
Photo credit: SBK

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News