LOIKAW (UCAN): A convent in the Diocese of Loikaw, in conflict-torn Kayah state was badly damaged following an airstrike by Myanmar’s military.
The roof, windows and ceiling of the Sisters of Reparation convent, a retirement home and hospital for elderly nuns in Doungankha village in Demoso township, were severely damaged, according to Church sources.
Local sources said two military aircraft bombed the township around 6.00am on March 10 and the convent was struck.
The convent is next to Our Lady, Queen of Peace Catholic Church, which was hit by military artillery fire on 6 June 2021 [Sunday Examiner, 13 June 2021].
Some 16 parishes in Kayah state have been totally abandoned with the escalation of the conflict between military and rebel forces. Parish priests, nuns and parishioners have fled to safe areas, according to Church officials who added that nearly two-thirds of the 90,000 Catholics in Kayah state have been forced to flee their homes.
More than 650 houses and other civilian properties, including churches, monasteries and schools, have been burned or destroyed in Kayah since May 2021, according to reports cited by the UN.
The green and mountainous eastern region bordering Thailand was relatively peaceful for decades but has seen intense fighting since May 2021.
The junta has unleashed airstrikes and artillery shelling, forcing thousands of people including women, children, the elderly and the infirm to flee their homes to seek refuge in nearby jungles or churches in neighboring villages and towns.
At least seven Catholic churches have been hit by shelling and airstrikes in Loikaw, with 16 out of 38 parishes severely affected by the intensifying fighting.
More than 650 houses and other civilian properties, including churches, monasteries and schools, have been burned or destroyed in Kayah since May 2021, according to reports cited by the UN.
Meanwhile, some parishes in the Diocese of Pekhon, covering Shan state and border areas of Kayah state, have also been affected by the conflict.
Churches, Marian shrines and convents were shelled by the military junta, said Church sources.
A handful of churches belonging to Catholic, Baptist and other Christian denominations in Chin state have also been bombed and destroyed in deliberate attacks by junta forces.
The Myanmese military has killed civilians, used people as human shields and committed other atrocities that may amount to war crimes, Fortify Rights said in a report last month.
At least 170,000 civilians in Kayah state, or more than half of its population of 300,000, have been forced to abandon their homes, according to the Karenni Civil Society Network.
On Christmas Eve, more than 35 civilians including two children in Mo So village, Hpruso township, were killed by troops and their bodies set on fire.
A handful of churches belonging to Catholic, Baptist and other Christian denominations in Chin state have also been bombed and destroyed in deliberate attacks by junta forces.
Four out of Myanmar’s 16 dioceses—Hakha, Kalay, Loikaw and Pekhon—have been badly hit since last February’s military coup [Sunday Examiner, 7 February 2021].
Meanwhile, reports came in on March 12 that two civilians were shot dead and at least 10 homes set ablaze by the military junta during a raid on a Catholic village in Chaung Yoe village in Sagaing, a predominantly Buddhist region of central Myanmar.
The attack came after the military suffered casualties in fighting with the People’s Defense Force [PDF] nearby.
Sources said the military presumed PDF members were in the village so they burned homes. Two villagers were shot dead while they were fleeing the village, according to media reports.
The conflict has seen in churches shelled and raided, while priests and Protestant pastors have been arrested and many unarmed civilians, have been killed.
More than 1,600 people have been killed, including at least 50 children, and over 12,000 arrested since the coup.
