At least 18 people, mostly teenagers, were killed when Myanmar’s military bombed two private schools in Kyauktaw township of Rakhine state, western Myanmar, according to local media and the Arakan Army (AA).

The AA said a fighter jet dropped two bombs on the schools while students were inside. More than 20 others were injured, several critically, and nearby homes were also damaged, Al Jazeera reported.

UNICEF condemned the “brutal attack”, warning of rising violence against children and families in Rakhine.

Myanmar has been in conflict since the 2021 military coup, with air strikes intensifying as resistance groups, including the AA, gain ground. Rakhine, bordering Bangladesh along the Bay of Bengal, was also the scene of the 2017 military crackdown that forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee, according to Al Jazeera.