Five die in Myanmar military attack on village churches

Catechist, Baptist pastor and child among those killed in airstrike in Karen state

Five people, including a Catholic catechist and a Baptist pastor, were killed in an airstrike by Myanmar’s military junta that also destroyed two churches in southeastern Karen state, according to Church sources and relief groups.

A mother and her two-year-old daughter were among those killed when fighter jets fired on Lay Wah village, in Hpapun township of Karen state on Jan.12.

Saw Re Di, the 45-year-old catechist was killed and his wife was injured while a Baptist pastor — later identified as Saw Cha Aye —  also died when their respective churches were hit and destroyed, according to a Church official, who did not wish to be identified.

He said the catechist’s house was next to the church which was destroyed in the bombing.

There were at least 40 households in Lay Wah village where Catholics, Baptists and Buddhists live side by side, the official added.

The village is part of Hpa-an diocese that covers Karen and parts of Mon state.

“We are mourning with the remaining family members of the dead catechist who sacrificed his life for the Church which is thankful for his dedication and sacrifice,” the diocese said in Jan. 14 statement.

The Free Burma Rangers, a Christian multi-ethnic humanitarian aid service covering the region, said their volunteers witnessed the bombing of Lay Wah from a distance.

The volunteers later entered the village after dark.

“The first thing we saw at the end of the village was a buffalo with half a front leg torn off stumbling around in agony and we saw shrapnel-damaged homes and roofs blown off, ” the group said in a statement.

The two churches had been destroyed and a number of villagers were injured. The bombing prompted many people from nearby villages flee to safe areas, the group said.

The attack was the latest in a series targeting churches, convents, institutions, and clinics in predominantly Christian regions of Kachin, Kayah, Karen, and Chin states.

On Nov. 9 last year, a church and a school in a village in Karen state were also destroyed in air strikes by the military regime, the Karen National Union reported.

There were no civilian casualties during that attack.

Meanwhile, army arson attacks go on unabated in villages including historic Catholic ones in the embattled Sagaing region.

More than 100 religious or sacred sites across the country have been destroyed or damaged since the Feb 2021 coup, rights groups reported.

Pope Francis and Myanmar’s bishops have repeatedly called for human life and dignity to be respected and demanded an end to attacks on places of worship, schools, and hospitals.

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