The Burmese military attacked a Kachin Baptist seminary in northern Myanmar on Nov. 3, injuring four young men in a dormitory, International Christian Concern reported.
The military—known as the Tatmadaw—reportedly launched three attacks on the seminary in Kutkai, Shan State, founded by the Kachin Baptist Convention. At the time, no active fighting between junta forces and armed local ethnic group was occurring, ICC stated.
The four individuals who were hit by shrapnel, sustaining non-life-threatening injuries, were identified as Myitung Doi La, 24; Ndau Awng San, 27; Nhkum Sut Ring Awng, 21; and Sumlut Brang San, 22.
Marip La Hkwang, a Kachin Christian, posted a Facebook video showing damage caused by the shelling, and another video showed an injured student being helped out of the dormitory to receive medical attention.
‘Deliberately targeted a Christian facility’
“The attack against this Kachin Bible school was certainly not an accident,” said Gina Goh, International Christian Concern’s regional manager for Southeast Asia.
“Instead, the Tatmadaw deliberately targeted a Christian facility, knowing how important the faith is to Kachin people. This despicable junta regime should not be tolerated any further by the international community and needs to be removed at once.”
The attack on the school occurred four days after shelling partially destroyed a Baptist church and hall in Momauk township, Kachin State.
Since the Tatmadaw staged a coup in February 2021, more than 2,400 people in Myanmar have been killed and at least 16,000 have been jailed by the junta, including many who have been tortured.
BWA condemns ‘campaign of terror and violence’
At its annual gathering in Birmingham, Ala., the Baptist World Alliance general council adopted a resolution condemning the military coup that led to “a campaign of terror and violence” in Myanmar. The resolution called for “the establishment of a true democracy that respects the rights of religious and ethnic minorities in Myanmar.
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“Since the coup, the military has terrorized communities in Kachin, Karen, Kayah State, Chin State and Sagaing Region by burning villages, destroying churches, and detaining pastors and religious leaders,” the resolution stated.
More than a year ago, the Tatmadaw shot and killed Cung Biak Hum, a Baptist minister in Thantlang who was helping a member of his church extinguish a fire after the man’s home was set ablaze during military attacks.
Last December, Salai Ngwe Kyar, a pastor in the village of Thet Kei Taung and a student at the Asho Chin Baptist Seminary in Pyay Township, died from injuries sustained during a military interrogation in Magway Region.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Nov. 6 is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.
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