At least 34 people were killed and dozens more injured after Myanmar’s military launched airstrikes on a hospital in Mrauk-U, a historic town in western Rakhine state, late Wednesday night, according to local ground sources.

The targeted facility lies in territory controlled by the Arakan Army (AA), one of the country’s strongest ethnic armed groups fighting the junta. The attack is one of the deadliest on a civilian medical center since Myanmar’s military seized power in February 2021, triggering a nationwide civil war.

Local medics and rescue volunteers reported that the airstrikes struck multiple sections of the hospital, causing mass casualties among patients, medical staff, and civilians who had sought refuge inside amid ongoing clashes. Images shared by local networks showed collapsed buildings and residents digging through rubble for survivors.

Since late 2023, the junta has increasingly relied on air power to reclaim territory lost to ethnic armies and anti-coup forces. The military has also begun deploying paragliders to drop improvised bombs on resistance strongholds, a tactic that has drawn widespread condemnation.

Thousands have been killed and millions displaced since the coup, with the conflict expanding across nearly every region of the country. Rakhine state has seen some of the fiercest battles as the Arakan Army rapidly gains control of towns and military outposts.

The Myanmar military has not issued any statement regarding the latest attack. The airstrikes come just weeks before the junta is set to hold a national vote — its first election since the coup, widely criticized as neither free nor credible.

However, pro-military Telegram channels claimed that this week’s strikes were aimed at “Arakan Army positions” and not civilians, a narrative strongly rejected by residents who insist the hospital had no armed presence.

Humanitarian organizations have repeatedly warned that Myanmar’s military continues to target medical facilities, schools, and refugee camps in violation of international law. Wednesday night’s attack is expected to further escalate tensions in the already volatile Rakhine region. (ILKHA)