Christians mourn Myanmar air strike victims

Hundreds of Christians attended a mass funeral program to pay their last respects to 17 ethnic Chin villagers killed in a military air strike in Sagaing region of northwestern Myanmar bordering India.

The deceased Christians were buried at a cemetery in Kanan village following the funeral service led by a local Baptist pastor on Jan. 7, local sources confirmed.

Videos posted on social media showed relatives crying as the wooden coffins were lowered to the graves while the pastor and Christians offered prayers and sang mournful hymns.

Seventeen villagers including six children were killed and at least 30 wounded in the deadly bombings that targeted churches and a community school in the embattled region, local media reported.

The attack came as many people joined liturgy on the first Sunday of the year, local sources said.

“It’s very sorrowful for the victims as the deadly attack occurred on Sunday and the dead were civilians including children who must not be targeted,” a church source told UCA News on condition of anonymity.

“Regrettably, this adds to the staggering toll of atrocities committed by the genocidal military junta, amounting to at least 170 massacres in the last 36 months,” Dr. Sasa, an ethnic Chin Christian and union minister of International Cooperation of Myanmar’s exiled National Unity Government (NUG) wrote on social media site X, formerly Twitter.

“The international community must not turn a blind eye to these horrific crimes against humanity. Together, we must bring the perpetrators to justice,” Sasa, who goes by one name, wrote on Jan. 7.

Kanan village lies on the highway between Kalay and Tamu, bordering India. The village is home to about 2,000 mostly Christian people.

The village is located near Kampat town which became a battleground for the military junta and resistance forces after the rebels seized the town on Nov. 7 last year.

The military junta denied responsibility and dismissed the reported air strike as “fake news.” The military claimed no army aircraft was flying in the region at that time.

Sagaing region and Chin state have been at the forefront of resistance to military rule and have witnessed fierce attacks including airstrikes and heavy artillery firing on rebel forces and civilians in recent months.

At least 29 people including 13 children were killed and 56 others were wounded in a military strike in Mung Lai Hkyet camp near Laiza town, bordering China, on Oct. 9 last year.

The military intensified attacks on rebel forces in Christian majority areas of Kayah, Chin, Kachin and Karen states, while its troops also burned several villages in the Bamar-heartland of Sagaing and Magwe regions where the army faces stiff resistance from rebel groups.

Christian villages, churches, and church-run institutes including schools, convents and clinics in Christian-majority areas have been targeted with airstrikes and artillery shelling since the February 2021 military coup.

Pope Francis has called for restraint and peace in Myanmar on several occasions.

“I would also call the attention of the international community to Myanmar and plead that every effort be made to offer hope to that land and a dignified future to its young,” Francis told the diplomats in the Vatican on Jan. 8.

The US State Department has designated Myanmar along with China, Pakistan, Iran, Russia and Tajikistan as ‘Countries of Particular Concern (CPC)’ for severe violations of religious freedom.

Source: https://www.ucanews.com/news