At Least 29 Displaced Christians Killed in Airstrike
At least 29 people were killed during an air strike on a refugee camp in majority-Christian Kachin state, northern Myanmar, earlier this week.
“We found 29 dead bodies including children and older people… 56 people were wounded,” Colonel Naw Bu of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) told press agency AFP, accusing the military of the bombing. An Open Doors partner confirmed the attack on the camp for internally displaced people near the town of Laiza, close to the Chinese border, and said that all victims were Christians.
Since the 2021 military coup that plunged Myanmar into a civil war, thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes, sometimes more than once. One third of the population is now in need of humanitarian aid, with two million people internally displaced.
One Christian young man from eastern Kayah state, whose name is withheld for security reasons, told Open Doors’ partners how one day the fighting was so severe, they had to flee: “We had to run for our lives into the jungle and hide so we would not be hit by the shelling. We stayed there for some time but then tried to go back to the village to retrieve some of our utensils, clothes, and blanket but it was dangerous. We realised we could not stay in our village anymore and we moved around searching for safe place to stay”.
“Though we are Christians, it is hard to pray during the difficult times,” he said. “We think of our survival, and sometimes I think if our prayers really worked… I want to challenge other Christians. If we call ourselves brothers and sisters in Christ, pray for us, but also help us. We need food and medicine. Turn your prayers into action.”
If we call ourselves brothers and sisters in Christ, pray for us, but also help us. We need food and medicine. Turn your prayers into action.”
Christians in Myanmar are often caught in the crosshairs of fighting between the Myanmar’s army and multiple resistance groups. They are also at risk of being targeted by the military when suspected of supporting the opposition.
In July the army kidnapped three deacons and a pastor from a Presbyterian Church in western Chin state, accusing the church of supporting one of the armed groups. The church leaders were tortured and while the deacons are believed to have died, the pastor managed to escape. Since the coup the military killed at least 7 Chin pastors and destroyed more than 70 religious buildings in the state, including churches, according to Radio Free Asia, referencing the Chin Human Rights Organisation
Since the coup more than 4100 people have been killed in the fighting and just over 25,000 arrested, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma).
Earlier this year, in breach of the Constitution, the military extended martial law for the third time in majority-Christian Kachin, Kayah and Chin states and other regions.
‘Insufficient attention’
After more than two years Myanmar’s civil war is ongoing and intensifying the humanitarian crisis. During that time Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, filed eight reports and updates on the situation in the country. But, he had to conclude, with little effect: “People in Myanmar have long suffered with insufficient attention being paid by the international community to their plight. That must change,” he told the UN Human Rights Council in September.
Türk said that the human rights situation in Myanmar had further deteriorated in recent months with mass killings, airstrikes and burning of villages by the military but also some rebel groups.
“New thinking on Myanmar is needed – urgently – to bring this unspeakable tragedy to an end,” said Türk.
Open Doors is helping displaced Christians around Myanmar through local partners and volunteers who distribute relief aid and help them to build shelters.
Pray
Please pray for Christians in Kachin who fled the attacks and are now stranded in the forests as the shelling continues.
- Please pray specifically for pastor Lin (not his real name) and three children who are stranded in the forest – pray for their safety and that they will be able to reunite with their families safe and sound.
