At least 31 people lost their lives and many others were wounded in Myanmar after a military airstrike hit a major hospital in Rakhine State, according to witnesses, aid workers, and the Arakan Army rebel group.
The hospital was struck late Wednesday, December 10, when bombs were dropped from a military aircraft, an Arakan Army spokesperson said on Thursday. The rebel group controls much of the state, which borders Bangladesh, though clashes with the junta continue in some areas.
“The Mrauk U General Hospital has been completely destroyed,” said Khine Thu Kha of the Arakan Army in a statement to Reuters. “The high casualty figure is because the hospital suffered a direct hit.”
Several patients were among the dead, and about 70 people were reported injured, according to the ethnic minority group.
The group also claimed on Telegram that the “military council’s air force dropped two bombs using a jet fighter.”
Aid worker Wai Hun Aung said the hospital was reduced to rubble and shared unverified images with Reuters, adding that the remaining patients had been relocated to safer grounds.
The attack comes just weeks before the junta’s scheduled election date of December 28. The military is attempting to regain areas taken by resistance forces, while rebel groups have vowed to prevent elections from taking place in territories under their control.
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