Myanmar hospital air strikes heighten election turmoil amid global inaction
The junta has been emboldened to strike as China, Russia and the US are looking the other way to serve their own interests, analysts say
The country’s junta said last Wednesday’s air strikes on a hospital in Mrauk-U in the western state of Rakhine were part of a counterterrorism operation targeting armed groups using the facility as a base for their operations.
More than 30 people – including patients, medical workers and children – were killed while about 80 were injured, according to a local rescuer cited by Associated Press.
In a statement published by the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper, the military said armed groups and the People’s Defence Force – pro-democracy militias formed after the army seized power in 2021 – were using the hospital as their base.
It added that the military carried out necessary security measures and launched a counterterrorism operation against the hospital buildings.