Dozens killed as Myanmar military gov’t launches air strike on hospital

The onslaught targets a 300-bed infirmary successful occidental Rakhine authorities arsenic the authorities intensifies its violative there.

At slightest 30 people, including patients, person been killed, and astir 70 wounded aft an aerial onslaught by the country’s subject authorities deed a large infirmary successful occidental Myanmar, according to a rebel group, assistance workers and a witness.

Myanmar has been gripped by attritional warring successful a raging civilian war.

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The infirmary successful occidental Rakhine state’s Mrauk U township was struck precocious connected Wednesday by bombs dropped by a subject aircraft, said Khine Thu Kha, a spokesperson for the Arakan Army, which is battling the ruling authorities on parts of the coastal state.

“The Mrauk U General Hospital was wholly destroyed,” Khine Thu Kha told the Reuters quality agency.

“The precocious fig of casualties occurred due to the fact that the infirmary took a nonstop hit.”

Myanmar has been gripped by struggle since the subject suppressed protests against a 2021 coup that unseated the elected authorities led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

The 300-bed infirmary was overflowing with patients astatine the clip of the strike, said assistance idiosyncratic Wai Hun Aung, arsenic astir healthcare services crossed swaths of Rakhine authorities person been suspended amid the ongoing fighting.

‘The concern is precise terrible’

On Thursday morning, the installation laic successful implicit ruins, with a collapsed roof, shattered columns and beams, and the bodies of victims laid retired connected the ground, according to images shared by Wai Hun Aung that helium besides posted connected societal media – which could not beryllium independently verified.

“The concern is precise terrible,” helium told the AFP quality agency. “As for now, we tin corroborate determination are 31 deaths and we deliberation determination volition beryllium much deaths. Also, determination are 68 wounded and volition beryllium much and more.”

Soon aft helium heard the dependable of explosions connected Wednesday night, a 23-year-old nonmigratory of Mrauk U said helium rushed to the site.

“When I arrived, the infirmary was connected fire,” helium said, asking not to beryllium named due to the fact that of information concerns. “I saw galore bodies lying astir and galore injured people.”

Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng, reporting from cardinal Myanmar, said that specified attacks are astir regular occurrences successful Myanmar.

“We heard overnight a large detonation a mates of villages over. What we recognize is that a subject pitchy dropped a 1,000-pound bomb,” helium said, referring to the country helium is successful in cardinal Myanmar.

“That onslaught led to 1 fatality and respective injuries,” helium said.

Cheng added that astir each household has a weaponry structure these days – utilized by radical arsenic soon arsenic they spot craft oregon perceive them.

Government ramps up aerial attacks

The subject government, which has the lone aerial unit successful Myanmar, has been progressively utilizing aerial attacks to deed targets wrong rebel-held areas.

From January to precocious November this year, the authorities conducted 2,165 aerial strikes, compared with 1,716 specified incidents during the full of 2024, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.

Resistance groups formed successful the aftermath of the coup person combined with large taste armies similar the Arakan Army to instrumentality connected the military, which is warring the rebellion connected aggregate beforehand lines.

Since the breakdown of a ceasefire successful 2023, the Arakan Army has pushed the subject retired of 14 of Rakhine’s 17 townships, gaining power of an country larger than Belgium, according to an investigation published by the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute successful Singapore.

Mrauk U township, located successful the northbound of Rakhine state, has been nether the power of the Arakan Army since past twelvemonth and determination has been nary caller warring successful the area, Khine Thu Kha said.