Burmese army bombs Baptist seminary, students hit by shrapnel

Myanmar’s military junta bombed a Baptist seminary in Shan State, injuring at least four men in the dormitory.

The U.S.-based persecution watchdog International, known locally as the Tatmadaw, shelled the seminary in the Kutkai district of Shan State on Thursday Christian Care report.

Four men between the ages of 21 and 27 were hit with non-life threatening shrapnel in a school dormitory set up by the Kachin Baptist Church.

Formerly known as Burma, the Southeast Asian country is home to the world’s longest civil war that began in 1948.

After a military coup in February 2021, clashes between the Burmese army and ethnic militias, which have been supporting pro-democracy protesters, escalated. The conflict zone is on Myanmar’s borders with India, Thailand and China.

One video Photos posted on social media showed the damage caused by the shelling. Visible holes and dents can be seen in windows, walls and student clothes.other video An injured student is shown being escorted for treatment.

A local resident was quoted as saying that such attacks by the military threaten Christian Bible schools and the entire Kachin state.

Christians make up more than 7 percent of Buddhist-majority countries, but have a majority in Chin State, which borders India, and Kachin State, which borders China. Christians also make up a large portion of the population of Kayah state, which borders Thailand.

“The attack on this Kachin Bible school is certainly not accidental,” said Gina Goh, ICC’s regional manager for Southeast Asia. “Instead, the Tatmadaw deliberately targeted a Christian facility because they knew how important faith is to the Kachin people. The international community should no longer tolerate this vile junta regime and must be removed immediately.”

The Baptist seminary was reportedly shelled after another attack on October 23, when at least 80 people were killed in the military junta’s aerial bombardment of a concert in the town of Hpaknat in Kachin State, including major Kachin musicians. UCA News. The tragedy prompted many to “black out their Facebook profiles to express grief for the victims and solidarity with the Kachin people”.

The concert was in celebration of the 62nd anniversary of the Kachin Independence Organization, the political wing of the Kachin Independence Army, and was attended by hundreds, including KIA members.

The ICC noted that more than 2,400 people were killed and more than 16,000 were imprisoned and tortured by the Tatmadaw.

In June, multiple reports, including the United Nations, showed that Myanmar’s Buddhist-nationalist military junta disproportionately targeted religious minorities, including Christians, and brutally attacked and killed hundreds of children after a military coup.

Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, said in the report At the time, “the junta’s relentless attack on children highlighted the generals’ depravity and willingness to inflict great suffering on innocent victims in order to subjugate the Burmese people.”

Focusing on the killing of children, the UN rapporteur said in his fact-finding for the report, “I have received information about children being beaten, stabbed, burned with cigarettes and mock executions, as well as having their fingernails and teeth pulled. out during the interrogation.”

Military kills at least 142 children in Myanmar since coup, UN says Report Add to.

“More than 250,000 children have been displaced by military attacks and more than 1,400 children have been arbitrarily detained. At least 61 children have reportedly been taken hostage, including several under the age of three. Since the coup, the United Nations has documented The torture of 142 children.”

Myanmar ranks 12th in Open Doors USA’s 2022 ranking World Watch List One of the 50 countries where Christians face the worst persecution. Persecution in Myanmar is “very high” due to Buddhist nationalism. Myanmar has been designated by the U.S. State Department as a “country of special concern” for serious violations of religious freedom.

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