Military air strike kills 30, injures 70 in Myanmar
At least 30 people, including patients, were killed after the country’s ruling junta launched an airstrike on a hospital in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state, according to a rebel group, an aid worker and an eyewitness.
It was stated that more than 70 people were injured.
Arakan Army spokesman Khine Thu Kha said that the hospital in Rakhine’s Mrauk U district was hit by bombs dropped from a military plane late on Wednesday.
“Mrauk U General Hospital was completely destroyed,” Khine Thu Kha told Reuters. “The large number of casualties occurred because the hospital was directly hit.”
A junta spokesman did not respond to calls for comment.
Myanmar has been gripped by conflict since the military suppressed protests against the 2021 coup that deposed the elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Aid worker Wai Hun Aung said the 300-bed hospital was overwhelmed with patients during the strike because most health services in Rakhine state were suspended due to ongoing fighting.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk called for an investigation, saying such attacks could amount to war crimes.
“I am appalled and condemn the attacks on the Rakhine hospital in the strongest possible terms,” he said in a post on X, adding that he was concerned about new waves of acute violence and fear in Myanmar.
According to images shared by Wai Hun Aung on social media, by Thursday morning the facility was in complete ruin, with its roof collapsed, columns and beams shattered, and the bodies of the victims strewn on the ground.
Reuters could not immediately verify the footage.
“The remaining patients were moved to a safe location,” he told Reuters.
A 23-year-old Mrauk U resident said he rushed to the scene shortly after hearing the explosion.
“When I arrived, the hospital was on fire,” he said, asking not to be named because of security concerns. “I saw a lot of dead bodies lying around and a lot of injured people.”
The junta, which has the only air power in Myanmar, has increasingly used airstrikes to hit targets in rebel-held areas.
According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, from January to the end of November this year, the junta carried out 2,165 airstrikes; These attacks corresponded to 1,716 incidents throughout 2024.
Khine Thu Kha said that Mrauk U district, located in the north of Rakhine state, has been under the control of the Arakan Army since last year and that there have been no recent conflicts in the region.
