The military junta of Myanmar carried out a drone attack in Mon Hla village, in the central Sagaing region of Myanmar, heavily damaging its church. The village is home to Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, Myanmar’s Roman Catholic leader. The right side of St. Michael’s Church was destroyed and its nave and bell tower were damaged as well.

The locals are left wondering why the attack was carried out since there were no fights between junta forces and rebels in the village at the time of the drone bombing. There are no reported casualties of the attack. A local villager said that:

“We had to flee yesterday. Then today, the drones retreated so we could return. Now, we’ve fled again.”

Since the conflict broke out, when the military seized power in 2021 by overthrowing the elected government, there have been many claims that the military deliberately targets Christian and Muslim religious buildings, even though they have no strategic value. Cardinal Bo himself called out the junta for its destruction of places of worship and called for dialogue between the junta and the anti-junta forces.

Source: RFA