Myanmar regime claims Arakan Army used hospital hit by airstrikes in Mrauk-U as a base

Myanmar’s military regime on Saturday acknowledged there was an airstrike on a hospital in Rakhine (Arakan) State, which a local rescuer and media reports said killed over 30 people, including patients, medical workers and children.

Regime media reported that the Arakan Army (AA) and the People’s Defense Force (PDF), a pro-democracy militia formed after the army takeover in 2021, used the hospital as their base.

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.

A senior official for rescue services in Rakhine told the Associated Press on Thursday that 34 people, including patients and medical staff, were killed and about 80 others injured, when an army jet fighter dropped two bombs on the general hospital in Mrauk-U Township, an area controlled by the AA.