A Myanmar military air strike ripped through a crowded hospital in western Rakhine state, killing at least 31 people and maiming dozens more, in one of the most shocking attacks of the junta’s escalating war.

Aid workers arriving at the shattered Mrauk-U General Hospital at daybreak on Thursday described a scene of chaos and horror — a hospital wing gutted, beds buried under rubble, and shrouded bodies lined in rows outside through the night.

“The situation is very terrible… we think there will be more deaths,” said aid worker Wai Hun Aung, who confirmed 68 people were wounded, many critically. Rescuers continued to dig through debris as families wept beside hastily arranged funeral pyres.

The strike came just weeks before junta-run elections scheduled for December 28 — polls the military claims will help restore order, but which rebel groups have vowed to block. Conflict monitors say air attacks have surged every year since the 2021 coup, turning civilian zones into battlefields. 

For local carpenter Maung Bu Chay, the raid destroyed more than a building — it obliterated his family. His wife, daughter-in-law, and her father were all inside the hospital when the bomb hit.

“I heard the explosion from my village,” the 61-year-old said, his voice breaking. “When I found them in the destroyed building… I realised they hadn’t survived. I feel only anger and defiance in my heart.”

Photos from the scene showed a massive crater tearing open the hospital grounds, a tree ripped nearly in half, and medical wards smashed beyond recognition. The Arakan Army (AA), which controls nearly all of Rakhine and has been battling the junta for years, said ten patients were killed instantly when the blast struck around 9 pm.

The AA, once part of the powerful “Three Brotherhood Alliance,” now stands as the last major rebel faction still fighting nationwide after others entered China-brokered ceasefires. Its forces have seized control of 14 of Rakhine’s 17 townships, tightening pressure on the military even as the region sinks deeper into a humanitarian crisis. A junta blockade has already driven a sharp rise in hunger and malnutrition, according to the World Food Programme.

As rescuers continue pulling survivors from the rubble, the junta has offered no statement on why a functioning civilian hospital became a target. For families preparing funerals amid smoking debris, the silence feels as devastating as the strike itself.