Myanmar Military Admits Airstrike That Leveled Rakhine Hospital

Overview

• State media carried a military statement acknowledging a Dec. 10–11 strike on Mrauk‑U General Hospital, alleging armed groups used the site and asserting those killed were combatants or supporters.
• Local rescue officials and independent reports say 31–34 people, including patients and medical staff, were killed and roughly 68–80 were injured when two bombs hit around 9:13 p.m.
• The 300‑bed facility, located in Arakan Army–controlled Mrauk‑U, had recently reopened as one of the few functioning hospitals in Rakhine and was reported to be overwhelmed with patients.
• UN human rights chief Volker Türk condemned the attack as potentially a war crime, WHO’s director‑general said he was appalled, and MSF called it one of the deadliest strikes on a hospital since the 2021 coup.
• Conflict monitors report 2,165 junta airstrikes from January to late November, as the military presses offensives ahead of elections set to start on December 28 that opposition groups vow to block in areas they control.