31 Killed in Military Air Strike on Hospital in Myanmar: Escalating Violence Ahead of Controversial Elections

A military aircraft conducted a bombing attack on a general hospital in western Myanmar's Rakhine state.

Myanmar's military executed an air strike that claimed over 30 lives at a hospital, according to aid workers who reported the incident on Thursday. This attack is part of an intensifying military campaign occurring ahead of scheduled elections this month.

Since the beginning of Myanmar's civil conflict, the junta has escalated its air strike operations year after year, as reported by conflict monitoring organizations. This follows their seizure of power in a 2021 coup that terminated a decade of democratic progress.

The military regime has scheduled elections to begin December 28, promoting this vote as a potential resolution to the ongoing fighting. However, rebel forces have committed to preventing these polls in territories under their control, areas which the junta is actively attempting to recapture.

On Wednesday evening, a military aircraft bombed Mrauk-U's general hospital in western Rakhine state near the Bangladesh border, according to two humanitarian workers.

Attempts to reach a junta spokesperson for comment were unsuccessful.

At least 20 bodies were visible outside the hospital during the night. By morning, debris covered hospital beds, shrapnel had penetrated masonry walls, and craters marked the surrounding ground.

"This represents an inhumane act. It is despicable and brutal," stated aid worker Wai Hun Aung, who arrived at the location Thursday morning.

He reported that 31 individuals were killed and 68 suffered injuries.

"They claim they will conduct elections on December 28," he added. "Yet even during this period, they are mercilessly killing civilians."

Carpenter Maung Bu Chay revealed that the strike took the lives of three family members - his wife, daughter-in-law, and her father.

"When someone informed me they were in the completely demolished structure, I realized they couldn't have survived," said the 61-year-old.

"I feel bitter about their actions. I experience intense anger and defiance in my heart."

Local residents constructed plywood coffins outside a funeral facility where bodies were laid inside, while mourners knelt weeping in overwhelming grief.

Hla Maung Oo, who chairs a local committee organizing free funeral services, confirmed that the death toll of 31 included an infant just months old.

"We want to prevent this from happening again," he stated. "Such incidents should never occur."

The Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic minority separatist force that predates the military coup that overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government, controls almost all of Rakhine state.

A statement issued by the AA's health department reported that 10 hospital patients were "killed immediately" during Wednesday night's air strike.

The AA has developed into one of the most formidable opposition groups in Myanmar's civil war, alongside other ethnic minority fighters and pro-democracy militants who armed themselves following the coup.

Initially dispersed rebels struggled to advance until three groups launched a coordinated offensive in 2023, putting the military on the defensive and compelling it to bolster its forces with conscripted personnel.

The AA played a key role in the "Three Brotherhood Alliance," but its two partner factions agreed to Chinese-mediated ceasefires this year, leaving it as the sole remaining active group.

While international monitors including the United Nations have widely criticized the military-administered election, Beijing has emerged as a significant supporter, suggesting it could "restore social stability" to its neighboring country.

The AA has proven to be a powerful adversary for the junta and now maintains control over all but three of Rakhine's 17 townships, according to conflict monitoring organizations.

However, the group's aspirations are primarily focused on their Rakhine homeland, bordered by the Bay of Bengal coastline and mountainous jungle terrain to the north.

The group has also faced accusations of atrocities, including actions against the predominantly Muslim Rohingya ethnic minority from the region.

Meanwhile, the military has imposed a blockade on Rakhine, contributing to a humanitarian crisis characterized by "a dramatic rise in hunger and malnutrition," as reported by the World Food Programme in August.