Four people were wounded when Myanmar's military allegedly shelled a Bible school in conflict-torn Shan state where sporadic fighting has erupted between junta forces and various ethnic armed groups.
The Kachin Baptist-run Bible school in Kutkai town, northern Shan state, was shelled on Nov 3 and four men were wounded, according to a statement from the Kachin Baptist Church.
The condition of the four injured men remains unclear.
There was no fighting in the area when the attack happened and it appeared that junta troops were randomly firing from their base near Kutkai town, according to local sources.
It happened just four days after shelling partially destroyed a Baptist church and a hall in a village in Momauk township, Kachin state, on Oct. 30.
Dozens of churches, convents and clinics have been attacked and badly damaged by the junta since the military seized power on Feb. 1, 2021.
The junta has continued targeting churches and civilian properties in states like Kayah, which have sizable Christian populations, while also attacking historic Catholic villages in Bamar Buddhist-majority regions, killing innocent people and burning homes and livestock.
At least 92 religious or sacred sites across the country including the predominantly Christian regions of Kachin, Kayah and Chin states, were destroyed or damaged between February 2021 and May 2022. The sites comprised 55 Christian religious buildings, including a convent, five Islamic religious sites and 32 Buddhist religious buildings, according to the International Commission of Jurists report that cited news sources released on Oct 28.
Myanmar bishops have repeatedly appealed to parties in the conflicts to respect the sanctity of places of worship, hospitals and schools.
Ignoring appeals by religious leaders, Myanmar’s military has continued a reign of terror against civilians with air strikes, the use of heavy weaponry, burning villages, arbitrary arrests and killing innocent people.
At least 80 people were killed in Christian-majority Kachin state when three fighter jets bombed a music concert on Oct 23, sparking global condemnation.
On Nov 2, some 285 NGOs, humanitarian groups and Kachin, Karen, Chin and Rohingya diaspora communities around the world sent an open letter to the US Secretary of State urging a concrete policy response from the US and its allies as unfulfilled promises to the people of Myanmar have enabled the junta to operate with impunity.
The groups called for restricting the junta’s access to funding by imposing more sanctions, such as access to fuel and to arms and surveillance technology.
More than 2,400 people, including scores of children, have been killed and over 16,000 people have been detained by the junta since the coup in February last year.