Myanmar military claims armed opposition groups used hospital hit by airstrike as base

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military on Saturday acknowledged there was an airstrike on a hospital in the western state of Rakhine, which a local rescuer and media reports said killed more than 30 people, including patients, medical workers and children.

In a statement published by the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper, the military’s information office said armed groups used the hospital as their base. The groups included the ethnic Arakan Army, as well as the People’s Defense Force and Bamar People’s Liberation Army or BPLA, pro-democracy militias formed after the army takeover in 2021, the statement said.

It said the military carried out necessary security measures and launched a counter-terrorism operation against the hospital buildings on Wednesday. It added that those killed or injured were armed members of opposition groups and their supporters but not civilians.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army took power in 2021, triggering widespread popular opposition. Many opponents of military rule have since taken up arms, and large parts of the country are now embroiled in conflict.