"1. The Ministry of Human Rights and the Ministry o f Women, Youths and Children Affairs o f the National Unity Government (NUG) express their outrage at the hostage-taking o f up to 80 children by military junta troops in Yinmabin Township o f Sagaing Region. 2. On the morning o f 26 February 2022, junta forces targeted Chin Pone and adjacent villages in Yinmabin Township with indiscriminate air strikes. Subsequent raids on the villages followed. 3. At the time o f the attacks, up to 80 children, all under 12 years o f age and many under five, were attending a kindergarten in Chin Pone village. Teachers evacuated the children to the basement o f a nearby monastery, where they were later located and have since been held hostage by junta troops. 4. Junta troops in Chin Pone village have reportedly broadcast threats over loudspeaker, claiming that they will bum the village down unless locals that fled the violence return. The children remain hostages in this threat. Given the junta’s escalating acts o f terror and atrocity crimes against civilians, the NUG holds well-founded fears that returning villagers would be killed, disappeared, tortured or arbitrarily detained. It also holds grave fears for safety of the captive ch ildren. 5. The NUG condemns in the strongest possible terms the junta's hostage-taking of the children as well as their teachers and parents. It calls on the international community to join its efforts to secure their immediate and unconditional release. 6. The NUG also restates Myanmar’s commitment to its international obligations, including under international humanitarian law and the Convention on the Rights o f the Ch ild and its optional protocols. Children have a primary claim to protection under international law, and their abduction and hostage-taking comprises a grave violation..."