Dozens killed in Myanmar junta airstrike on hospital in Rakhine State

More than 30 people, including women and children, were killed and more than 70 injured on Wednesday evening when junta warplanes dropped two bombs on a healthcare facility in Mrauk-U, a town controlled by the Arakan Army (AA) in Rakhine State. At least 16 men and 17 women have been confirmed dead after the junta airstrike hit the major hospital, which serves civilians on the northern outskirts of Mrauk-U, at 9:13pm on Wednesday, according to local sources. The attack occurred on International Human Rights Day. “We have not yet been able to identify the victims, as many people were fleeing in a panic amid the chaos. We saw the body of a child around three years old, as well as Muslim and Rohingya people,” said a resident of the Arakan Army-controlled area. Bodies of civilians, including infants and young children, killed in the airstrike on Mrauk-U. Local rescue teams recovered the victims after the bombing and laid them out for identification. (Photo supplied) “It’s a major healthcare centre for people across Rakhine. Many people from Pauktaw, Ramree, Taungup and other areas come here for treatment,” the resident added. The Mrauk-U hospital is the principal healthcare facility for civilians in the parts of Rakhine State controlled by the AA, an anti-junta ethnic armed group, and is operated by its health department. According to casualty lists compiled by Thursday morning, 27 of the 76 people injured in the attack are now in critical condition, and there are fears that the death toll will rise further, locals said. The AA has denounced the strike as a war crime that targeted civilians instead of armed fighters and has vowed to retaliate. “The two jet fighters attacked the main hospital in Mrauk-U deliberately,” said AA spokesperson Khine Thukha, speaking to Myanmar Now on Thursday morning. Video footage and photos posted on social media showed the hospital engulfed in flames, with several bodies covered by blankets lying nearby. “Bombs exploded twice but we only knew what had happened when we saw the smoke,” a woman from Mrauk-U said, adding that a panic immediately swept through the town. “We were so terrified. We hid inside a bomb shelter, fearing another strike.” Of Rakhine State’s 17 townships, Mrauk-U is one of 14 under the control of the AA, which captured the township from junta forces in February 2024. The township suffered the highest number of casualties among all areas hit by junta airstrikes in the country on Wednesday.A previous junta aerial assault struck Mrauk-U’s urban wards on August 25 of this year, killing at least 12 people and injuring 21. “We don’t even have time to escape when fighter jets come and drop bombs. We only know what’s happened after the airstrike has been carried out... it’s incredibly quick,” a man from an AA-controlled area said.

Dozens killed in Myanmar junta airstrike on hospital in Rakhine State

The hospital hit by the bombing, which occurred on International Human Rights Day, was a major facility serving civilians from multiple townships held by the Arakan Army (AA), the ethnic armed group that controls most of Rakhine State’s territory

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