Myanmar’s military carried out an airstrike on a hospital in the country’s west on Wednesday night, killing at least 34 people and injuring dozens more, according to sources on the ground.

The hospital is located in Mrauk U town in Rakhine state, an area controlled by the Arakan Army, one of the most powerful ethnic armies fighting the country’s military regime.

Thousands of people have died and millions have been displaced since the military seized power in a coup in 2021, sparking a civil war.

In recent months, the military Intensify air strikes Reclaim territory from ethnic armies. it also has Deploy a paraglider to drop a bomb on its enemies.

Myanmar’s military has not yet commented on the attack, which comes as the country prepares for its first electoral vote since the coup later this month.

However, pro-military accounts on Telegram claimed that this week’s attacks did not target civilians.

Arakan Army spokesman Khaing Thukha told the BBC that most of the casualties were hospital patients.

“This is the latest malicious attack by terrorist forces targeting civilian sites,” he said, adding that the military “must be held responsible for bombing civilians.”

The Arakan Army health department said the attack occurred around 21:00 (14:30 GMT), killing 10 patients on the spot and injuring many others.

Photos believed to be from the scene circulated on social media, showing parts of the complex’s roof missing, hospital beds broken and debris scattered on the ground.

The military government was locked in a bloody conflict that lasted for several years and ethnic minority militias, and at one point lost control of more than half the country.

But a recent influx of technology and equipment from China and Russia appears to have helped it turn things around. The junta made significant gains through airstrikes and heavy bombing.

Earlier this year, a military motorized paraglider dropped two bombs on religious holiday protesters, killing more than 20 people.

Civil liberties also shrank dramatically under the military regime. Rights groups estimate tens of thousands of political dissidents have been arrested.

Myanmar’s military junta has called for a general election on December 28, claiming it is the path to political stability.

But critics say the election would be neither free nor fair and would provide the junta with a veneer of legitimacy. Tom Andrews, the United Nations human rights expert on Myanmar, called this a “sham election.”

In recent weeks, the junta has arrested civilians accused of disrupting voting, including a man who authorities said had sent anti-election messages on Facebook.

The junta also said on Monday it was looking for 10 activists involved in anti-election protests.

Ethnic armies and other opposition groups have pledged to boycott the vote.

At least one election candidate in central Myanmar’s Magway region has been detained by anti-junta groups, the Associated Press reported.