YANGON: In a heinous attack on the school in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, at least 19 children were wounded when a primary school was hit by shelling on Thursday.

Clashes between government troops and ethnic insurgents have intensified in Rakhine, from where tens of thousands of people have been displaced since clashes began in December 2018, bringing new chaos to the region from which more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims fled a military crackdown in 2017.

The Arakan Army, which recruits from the mostly Buddhist majority, has been fighting for greater autonomy for the western region from the central government.

“According to the health department, 19 students are injured and one is seriously injured,” the lawmaker said.

A military spokesman put the number of wounded at 20, and blamed the insurgents for the attack.

Both the Tatmadaw (military) and Arakan Army (AA) have denied responsibility for the explosion.

(With inputs from Agencies)