At least 30 killed in Myanmar after junta airstrike hits hospital

At least 30 people were killed, including patients, after an airstrike by the country's ruling junta hit a major hospital in Myanmar's western Rakhine state, according to a rebel group, an aid worker and a witness said on Thursday.



More than 70 people were injured, they said.



The hospital in Rakhine's Mrauk U township was struck late on Wednesday by bombs dropped by a military aircraft, said Khine Thu Kha, a spokesman for the Arakan Army, which is battling the ruling junta along parts of the coastal state.



"The Mrauk U General Hospital was completely destroyed," Khine Thu Kha told Reuters. "The high number of casualties occurred because the hospital took a direct hit."



A junta spokesman did not respond to calls for comment.



Myanmar has been gripped by conflict since the military suppressed protests against a 2021 coup that unseated the elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.



The 300-bed hospital was overflowing with patients at the time of the strike, said aid worker Wai Hun Aung, as most healthcare services across swathes of Rakhine state have been suspended amid the ongoing fighting .