Bangkok: Government helicopters attacked a school and a village in Myanmar. Thirteen people were killed, including seven children, a school administrator and an aid worker.

Military government attacks against pro-democracy rebels and their allies often kill civilians.

However, this is the first time that so many children have died since the military seized power in February last year, ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

The airstrike took place last Friday in Thabain Township in the Sagaing region of north-central Myanmar.

The military takeover led to nationwide non-violent protests. The army and police responded with lethal force, resulting in widespread armed resistance in urban and rural areas. According to a report released by UNICEF this month, the fighting has been particularly severe in Sagaing, where the military has launched several attacks, in some cases burning villages, and displacing more than half a million people.

Friday's attack took place in Let Yet Kon village in Tabain, also known as Despain, about 110 kilometres (70 miles) northwest of Mandalay, the country's second-largest city.

Two aircraft fired at the school run in the compound of the Buddhist monastery in the village. Hearing the gunshots, I tried to move the children to the safe rooms on the ground floor. School administrator Mar Mar said the plane had previously flown over the village without incident and did not expect any trouble.

Mar Mar School is staffed by 20 volunteers who teach 240 students from Kindergarten to 8th grade. She had been hiding in the village with her three children after fleeing for safety to escape a government crackdown after taking part in the civil disobedience movement against the army takeover last year. She uses the pseudonym Mar Mar to protect herself and her relatives from the army.

By the time Mar Mar, students and other teachers reached the safe rooms, a teacher and a 7-year-old student had been shot in the neck and head.
"They fired into the compound from the air for an hour," Mar Mar said. "They did not stop for a minute. All we could do at that time was pray.
When the airstrikes stopped, about 80 soldiers entered the monastery compound and opened fire on the buildings.

At least six students were killed at the school, she said, and a 13-year-old working in a fishing village in a nearby village was also shot. Airstrikes in other parts of the village also killed at least six adults, she said. The bodies of the dead children were taken away by the soldiers.

More than 20 people, including nine injured children and three teachers, were taken away by soldiers, she said. Two of those captured are said to be members of the anti-government People's Defense Force, an armed wing of resistance against the military.

A day after the attack, the state-run Myanma Aalin newspaper reported that security forces went to inspect the village after receiving information that members of the People's Defense Force were hiding in the village.

According to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which monitors human rights in Myanmar, at least 2,298 civilians have been killed by the security forces since the army seized power last year.

The U.N. has documented 260 attacks on schools and education personnel since the coup, the U.N. Child Rights Committee said in June.