This is the heartbreaking moment terrified school pupils fled from their classroom as the military attacked an area near their village in Myanmar.

Footage shows the scared children crying in their seats as teachers asked them to run out of the building due to the sound of explosions in Kayah State on August 9.

The youngsters with their teachers then walked through tall grasses to hide under the thick foliage.

A teacher, who refused to be identified for security reasons, said they recognised the sounds as air strikes targeting the village.

He said: ‘We took the children to school because it was safe there but we heard the airstrike sounds nearby. We had no choice but to leave and hide somewhere else. I feel so sorry for them to grow up with this.

Myanmar has suffered ongoing unrest and spiralled towards civil war following the removal of well-liked leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a military coup last February.

Soldiers responded with barbaric force on civilians leading to widespread condemnation and financial sanctions. Rebel groups and civilian militias around the country have been locked in a series of ongoing clashes with the ruling military.