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Wai Hun Aung described the scene as “very terrible”, confirming at least 31 fatalities and 68 wounded, with figures expected to rise. Images from the site showed more than 20 shrouded bodies laid out outside the hospital overnight. The junta has not yet issued a comment on the attack.
The attack happened weeks before the military-led elections, which are scheduled to start on 28 December, and the junta claims it will help end the conflict. Rebel groups, however, have sworn to block the polls in areas under their control. The military has considerably increased air strikes since the 2021 coup, as it fights to recover territory lost to armed opposition groups.
Rakhine State is now nearly entirely under the control of the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic minority force and one of the most influential groups opposing the junta. The AA operates alongside other ethnic factions and pro-democracy groups that took up arms following the coup. Although two members of the “Three Brotherhood Alliance” have agreed to Chinese-brokered truces, the AA continues its advance and now administers 14 of Rakhine’s 17 townships.
Despite gains by AA, the group has faced accusations of abuses, including against the Rohingya minority. Meanwhile, a military blockade has worsened shortages of food and aid in Rakhine. The World Food Programme warned in August of a “dramatic rise in hunger and malnutrition” due to restricted access and ongoing violence.
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