The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) has ordered the only school in Pang Hsai Town (aka Kyu Koke) in Muse Township, Shan State, to be closed for two days due to the risk of potential airstrikes.

The MNDAA, which controls Pang Hsai Town, has ordered the only remaining school in the town, the Pang Hsai Basic Education High School (BEHS), to close on 9 and 10 September 2024 due to the potential threat of airstrikes by the junta, according to locals.

A Pang Hsai resident said to SHAN: “Kokang (MNDAA) troops came and instructed the school to close for two days. Due to security concerns. Shops in the town were closed on 9 September, but they have reopened today. The school has not confirmed whether it will resume classes after the two-day closure. Currently, BEHS is the only school operating in the town.”

After the MNDAA took control of Pang Hsai, the town’s Basic Education High School (BEHS) was re-opened in June 2024 and staffed by teachers involved in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). The school currently has over 800 students.

Pang Hsai Town and the nearby villages of Loin, Kyingyang, Manthkonlong, Manthkonkan, and Namhu previously had elementary schools, but none can currently reopen due to security concerns. As a result, children from Pang Hsai and these surrounding villages are now attending Pang Hsai BEHS.

A woman from Pang Hsai said: “We are very concerned that Pang Hsai might face a fate similar to Namhkam, which suffered a devastating airstrike. We have dug a bomb shelter in our yard and remain vigilant, ready to take cover at the sound of a plane. Locals who cannot afford to build their own shelters are planning communal spaces where people can gather and seek refuge if needed.”

On 3 September, the coup leader Min Aung Hlaing visited Taunggyi City in southern Shan State and declared that his regime would launch a counterattack to reclaim all the lost territories in the state.

Following his announcement, the junta significantly increased its airstrikes on civilian areas, including schools and markets in towns and villages captured by the Three Brotherhood Alliance during ‘Operation 1027’.

During the first week of September, junta airstrikes killed dozens of civilians in the Shan State towns of Mantong, Namhkam, Naungcho (a.k.a. Nawnghkio), Hsipaw (a.k.a. Thibaw), and Lashio.