The Military Council troops burned down the buildings of a high school as well as more than 20 houses in A Lel Kyun village, Ngar Te Gye village tract in Katha Township of Sagaing Division.

An official of Katha District No. 3 Battalion of People's Defense Forces (PDF) of the National Unity Government (NUG) said that the Military Council burned the classrooms intended for children who are facing difficulties to continue their education.

“They burned the buildings and the staff dormitories so that the entire high school was left as a charred ruin. We have to question whether children's education has become a crime in their eyes, and whether schools have become military targets in their point of view”, he said.

He went on to say that it is totally unacceptable to burn the homes of the local people and the schools where the children are studying, just because they can't win on the battlefield.

The Military Council's action of burning down schools and residential homes just because they can't win on the battlefield is unacceptable, he added.

The Military Council set ablaze more than 20 houses in A Lel Kyun village, as well as the high school on January 19th.

The 602nd Infantry Division from Shwegu and the 121st Infantry Division based in Ngar Oah village in Mabein Township, northern Shan State joined forces to invade A Lel Kyun village last week.

That Military Council troops suffered dearly during an attack launched by the Katha District No. 3 PDF Battalion.

“The intense fighting continued as they tried to march from the battlefield towards the village. When they realized that there was no way for them to win, they started burning the village”, the PDF official explained.

More than 5000 families living in villages along the route the Military Council troops marched, such as A Lel Kyun, Pyin Htaung Lay, Pyin Htaung Gyi, Doe Pin, Nyaung Pin, Sate Mu, Tan Taung, and Thet Ke Kyin, have fled.