Myanmar Junta Burns Kachin Baptist Church in Bhamo
The Oct. 12 blaze came after heavy KIA losses; Christian Solidarity Worldwide called it a "grave crime" and urged limits on aviation fuel and arms.
Myanmar military troops from Light Infantry Divisions 33 and 88 deliberately set fire to a Kachin Baptist church and nearby homes in Bhamo Township around 3:30 p.m. on October 12. Local sources and the Kachin Independence Army said soldiers ignited the Htingnan church, also known as the Shwe Pyi Thar Kachin Baptist Convention church, after the regime suffered heavy casualties in clashes with KIA-led forces.
The destruction of the sanctuary and surrounding dwellings came as fighting intensified in Kachin State. The region’s population is predominantly Christian and has faced repeated targeting of places of worship throughout the ongoing civil war. The Kachin Independence Army said the arson was deliberate.
Christian Groups Condemn a Grave Crime
Human rights activists and Christian organizations condemned the burning as a violation of freedom of religion and of international humanitarian law. Mervyn Thomas of Christian Solidarity Worldwide called the act a "grave crime" and urged restrictions on the junta’s access to aviation fuel and military equipment.
The Bhamo fire is part of a wider pattern. In Chin State, an airstrike struck a Presbyterian church compound on October 9. Across ethnic minority areas, regime forces and their allies have occupied or desecrated Christian sites as the conflict has continued.
Churches Targeted in Kachin and Chin States
Kachin Baptists and other Christian communities have watched churches become casualties of the struggle between military authorities and ethnic armed organizations. The Htingnan church now joins other sanctuaries damaged or destroyed in recent days.
International humanitarian law grants special protection to religious buildings in wartime because of their sacred character and their service to civilian populations. Christian advocates say the successive attacks in Kachin and Chin states show how that protection is failing on the ground.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s appeal for limits on aviation fuel and arms aims to reduce the junta’s capacity for assaults on civilian and religious sites. For the faithful in Bhamo, the loss of the Htingnan church is both a material and a spiritual blow amid a war that has already taken homes and security from Christian families in Kachin State.