A Myanmar military air strike on a hospital in Mrauk-U killed at least 31 people, with dozens wounded, as fighting intensifies ahead of junta elections
MRAUK U: A Myanmar military air strike has killed at least 31 people at a hospital in western Rakhine state.
An aid worker confirmed the death toll on Thursday after a jet bombed the Mrauk-U general hospital on Wednesday evening.
“The situation is very terrible,” said aid worker Wai Hun Aung, who arrived at the scene on Thursday morning.
He reported 68 people were wounded and warned the death toll could rise further.
A junta spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment.
At least 20 shrouded bodies were visible overnight outside the hospital, where a wing was gutted by the blast.
A large crater marred the soil outside as bodies were gathered for funerals.
Local carpenter Maung Bu Chay said the strike killed his wife, daughter-in-law and her father.
“I heard the explosion from my village,” said the 61-year-old.
“When someone informed me they were in the completely destroyed building, I realised they hadn’t survived.”
The Arakan Army’s health department stated 10 hospital patients were “killed on the spot” around 9:00 pm.
Rakhine state is almost entirely controlled by the Arakan Army, an ethnic minority separatist force.
The group has emerged as one of the most powerful opposition forces in Myanmar’s civil war.
The military has increased air strikes year-on-year since the civil war began after its 2021 coup.
It has set polls starting December 28, touting the vote as a path away from fighting.
Rebels have pledged to block the election in territory they control, which the junta is battling to reclaim.
The Arakan Army now controls all but three of Rakhine’s 17 townships, according to conflict monitors.
Meanwhile, a military blockade of Rakhine has contributed to a severe humanitarian crisis.
The World Food Programme warned in August of “a dramatic rise in hunger and malnutrition” in the state. – AFP
