BANGKOK (AP) — On Saturday, Myanmar’s military confirmed that an airstrike targeted a hospital in the western state of Rakhine, resulting in the death of over 30 individuals, including patients, medical staff, and children. This incident has sparked outrage and concern from local rescuers and media reports alike.
The military’s information office, in a statement released by the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper, claimed that various armed groups, including the ethnic Arakan Army (AA) and the People’s Defense Force, had utilized the hospital as a base. The military asserted that it undertook necessary security measures and conducted a counter-terrorism operation aimed at the hospital buildings on Wednesday.
According to a senior official for rescue services in Rakhine, the airstrike occurred when an army jet fighter dropped two bombs on the general hospital in Mrauk-U township. This area is controlled by the Arakan Army, and the attack resulted in the death of 34 people and left around 80 others injured. The hospital building was reportedly destroyed in the assault on Wednesday night.
The United Nations issued a statement on Thursday condemning the attack, stating that it forms part of a broader pattern of airstrikes that inflict harm upon civilians and civilian infrastructure across Myanmar. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organisation, expressed his dismay via a statement on X, indicating that the attack on the hospital, which provided essential primary healthcare, would severely affect community access to health services.
Mrauk-U is located approximately 530 kilometers (326 miles) northwest of Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, and was captured by the Arakan Army in February 2024. The Arakan Army is known as the well-trained and well-armed military wing of the Rakhine ethnic minority movement, which seeks greater autonomy from Myanmar’s central government. The group began its offensive in Rakhine in November 2023 and has since taken control of a significant regional army headquarters and 14 of the state’s 17 townships.
In a statement released on Thursday, the Arakan Army vowed to pursue accountability in collaboration with international organizations to ensure justice and indicated they would take "strong and decisive action" against the military. Moreover, they reported that following the hospital attack, the army had conducted a series of nighttime airstrikes in five towns across Rakhine, leading to additional casualties, including at least eight civilian deaths and ten injuries.
Myanmar has been engulfed in turmoil since the military's coup in 2021, which ignited widespread public opposition. Many opponents of the military regime have taken up arms, resulting in extensive conflicts throughout large parts of the country.
