NN ONLINE:
A Myanmar military air strike on a hospital in western Rakhine state killed at least 31 people, an on-site aid worker said Thursday, as the junta intensifies its offensive ahead of elections scheduled for this month.
The military has escalated air strikes since seizing power in a 2021 coup that ended a decade of democratic governance, conflict monitors report. Polls are set to begin on December 28, which the junta presents as a path to peace, but rebel groups have vowed to prevent voting in areas under their control.
Wai Hun Aung, an aid worker at Mrauk-U General Hospital near the Bangladesh border, said the situation was “terrible,” with 31 confirmed dead and 68 injured, and casualties likely to rise. At least 20 shrouded bodies were seen outside the hospital overnight. A junta spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.
