23 April 2026 By Hsu Yee
WETLET, Myanmar — At least 11 people, including a teacher and several children, have been injured after the Myanmar military launched a “kamikaze” drone attack on a school in the central Sagaing Region.
The attack occurred shortly after 11:00 AM on Thursday in Mu Soe Chon village, Wetlet Township. Local sources confirmed that the explosives-laden drone struck the school building while classes were in session, wounding one female teacher, seven female students, and three male students.
According to the latest reports from the ground, three of the victims have sustained critical injuries and are currently undergoing emergency medical treatment,” a local military source told MPA. “The military knew exactly that lessons were being conducted at the school. This was a deliberate attempt to terrorise civilians.”
The use of suicide or “kamikaze” drones has become an increasingly common tactic for the military junta as it struggles to maintain territorial control in the face of widespread resistance. While the resistance forces originally popularised the use of modified commercial drones, the military has now integrated advanced drone technology into its frontline operations.
Research by the Nyan Lin Thit Research Group, which monitors military violence in Myanmar, indicates that aerial and long-range attacks remain the primary cause of civilian casualties across the country. The targeting of educational and healthcare facilities is seen by observers as part of a “scorched earth” strategy to demoralise communities that support the pro-democracy movement.
In Sagaing Region, a stronghold of the resistance, schools have frequently become targets. Many students have been forced to study in makeshift forest classrooms or underground bunkers to avoid detection from the air.
Human rights organisations have repeatedly called for international action to block the military’s access to aviation fuel and drone technology. However, for the students of Mu Soe Chon village, the reality of the war has already shattered the sanctuary of their classroom.
As of Thursday afternoon, the military junta has not commented on the strike. For the injured students and their families, the attack is yet another grim reminder that in Myanmar’s widening conflict, even schools offer no protection from the reach of the regime’s growing drone fleet.
