In a stark escalation of Myanmar’s protracted civil war, at least 31 people were killed and 68 others wounded after a military airstrike hit a hospital in Rakhine State on Wednesday evening, according to aid workers and witnesses at the scene.
Rescue teams continued operations into Thursday, with health workers warning that casualty figures may rise as the full scale of the destruction becomes clear. The attack targeted a medical facility in the historic town of Mrauk-U, close to the Bangladesh border and long a focal point of conflict between state forces and ethnic armed groups.
Wai Htun Aung, who works at the hospital, described the aftermath as “extremely devastating,” noting that the facility was overflowing with patients when it was struck. “So far, we have recovered 31 bodies and evacuated 68 injured patients,” he told journalists, emphasizing that ongoing chaos in the area could push casualties higher. Efforts to secure comment from junta spokespeople were unsuccessful.
The Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic armed group that has gained significant territory in Rakhine, confirmed the airstrike in a statement Wednesday night. The AA has wrested control of much of the state from Myanmar’s ruling military in recent months, dealing repeated setbacks to the junta’s efforts to suppress resistance forces.
Rakhine has been a blistering front in Myanmar’s wider civil conflict, which intensified following the military coup in February 2021 that ousted the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. The coup plunged the country into war as pro-democracy forces, ethnic armed organizations, and grassroots militias took up arms against the junta.
The Arakan Army, originally formed to advocate for greater autonomy for the Rakhine people, has become one of the most potent challengers to military rule, capturing vast swaths of territory along the western coast.
The Mrauk-U hospital attack comes just weeks before the junta’s planned national elections on December 28 — a vote already widely criticized by opposition groups and international observers as lacking legitimacy.
The Arakan Army and other anti-junta factions have pledged to boycott the polls, dismissing them as an attempt by the military to consolidate power.
Humanitarian organizations have repeatedly warned that civilians are paying a disproportionate price in Myanmar’s conflict, with airstrikes and ground offensives hitting schools, clinics, and villages across contested regions.
This latest attack adds to a grim pattern of violence in Rakhine State that has driven waves of displacement and suffering, particularly among communities with limited access to basic services and safe shelter.
The hospital’s destruction underscores the perilous conditions faced by noncombatants in a war that has fragmented Myanmar’s social fabric.
Even as resistance forces make gains, the junta has leaned heavily on air power to try to regain the initiative, often with devastating consequences for civilians.
With the election looming and conflict showing no signs of abating, observers fear that the humanitarian toll will continue to climb in the weeks ahead.
