Over one hundred religious buildings destroyed by Burmese military
Since the February 2021 coup, which deposed Myanmar’s democratically elected government, the Burmese military has been on a rampage against its own civilians. The military junta that now controls the government continues to destroy religious buildings throughout the country.
Since last year, the military junta has conducted artillery attacks and airstrikes on civilian areas in Chin State, the Sagaing and Magwe regions, and Kayah state. Local people have been forming militias to resist these violent attacks, which have intentionally destroyed religious buildings often used as shelter by civilians during the fighting.
In the majority-Christian Chin State, the military junta destroyed over 35 churches and 15 other Christian-affiliated buildings between February 2021 and January 2022. In Kayah State, also majority-Christian, around 12 churches were destroyed in the same period.
In May of last year, the military forces’ continued shelling of the Sacred Heart Church in Loikaw, the capital of Kayah State, killed four people who were sheltering there and damaged the building extensively. Myanmar’s Cardinal Charles Maung Bo published a plea to the regime, urging them to stop targeting religious buildings.
Source: persecution.org
