Myanmar Witness Reports 85 Children Killed in Military Airstrikes Across 12 States

What happened

Independent investigative group Myanmar Witness released a report on September 15 detailing verified child casualties from military regime operations across 12 states and regions between September 28, 2025, and April 25, 2026. The group confirmed that 85 children were killed and 129 injured in 96 documented incidents, with airstrikes identified as the leading cause in 61 incidents, representing nearly two-thirds of the total.

Outside Brief is treating this as a source-led account. Any disputed responsibility, casualty figure, battlefield claim or single-source assertion should be treated as unconfirmed/hearsay unless confirmed by another reliable source or a named official. The report breaks down attack types causing child casualties: 61 airstrikes (63.5%), 12 heavy artillery shelling incidents (12.5%), eight drone strikes (8.3%), six landmine explosions (6.3%), and five paramotor or gyrocopter attacks (5.2%). Sagaing Region experienced the highest toll with 23 separate incidents reported.

Significantly, Myanmar Witness highlights that civilian children are frequently killed inside homes, schools, and places of worship, illustrating the widespread danger military operations pose to daily civilian life. These findings align with a United Nations Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar report released in August, which noted escalating aerial attacks on civilian areas ahead of the regime’s 2025 elections.

Known from the source

• Myanmar Witness is an independent investigative group that released a report on Sept 15, 2026.
• The report covers military operations from Sept 28, 2025, to April 25, 2026, across 12 states and regions.
• 85 children were killed and 129 injured in 96 incidents documented in the report.
• Airstrikes caused 61 of these incidents, accounting for 63.5% of child casualties.
• Other causes included heavy artillery shelling (12 incidents), drone strikes (8), landmines (6), and paramotor or gyrocopter attacks (5).

What remains unclear

In response, Myanmar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that airstrikes target only legitimate military objectives to counter resistance groups, a claim not independently verified in the report. Meanwhile, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners’ recent data notes over 1,100 children killed and more than 600 minors arrested by regime forces since the 2021 coup, providing broader context for the ongoing violence against children.

What remains unclear: Confirm whether the central claim is corroborated; until then treat it as unconfirmed/hearsay. Verification of casualty figures and the attribution of attacks to Myanmar military air operations as stated by Myanmar Witness. Independent confirmation of the Myanmar Ministry of Foreign Affairs claim that airstrikes target only legitimate military objectives. Cross-check on geographic distribution and incident details noted by Myanmar Witness report.

Evidence note

This story contains report-led claims. The article keeps those claims attributed and treats them as unconfirmed/hearsay unless independently corroborated.

Original source: DVB English. Open the source.