The attacks are said to have occurred just after midnight, local time, on Friday and were directed at two private schools. 19 students aged 15-21 were killed, and a further 22 were injured, writes the armed group Arakan Army (AA) in a statement.
According to local media, a fighter plane dropped two bombs on the school buildings where the students were sleeping. Unicef describes the bombing as part of a devastating pattern of violence in Rakhine.
”Children are losing their lives in spaces intended to protect them – their homes, schools and residential areas”, writes the UN body.
AA blames the attack on the ruling junta, which has not commented on the incident so far.
The civil wars in Myanmar, with several fronts, have been continuously escalating since a military junta seized power in a coup in 2021.
