Military sets fire to cathedral amid increasing attacks on Christians in Myanmar
Soldiers from Myanmar's Buddhist nationalist military junta reportedly set fire to St. Patrick's Cathedral in the majority-Christian Kachin state, reducing the historic church to ashes amid escalating attacks targeting Christian communities and religious sites.
The cathedral, a significant spiritual and cultural landmark for Christians in Kachin, was burned during ongoing military operations in the area just before the church's annual celebration of Saint Patrick's Day last Sunday, reports the United Kingdom-based watchdog Christian Solidarity Worldwide.
The fire in the Banmaw area broke out around 4 p.m. last Sunday, according to the Vatican news agency Fides. The blaze follows earlier incidents of destruction on the church grounds, including the demolition of the priest's residence, diocesan offices and a high school on Feb. 26.
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The junta, officially known as the State Administration Council, has intensified its offensives in regions with large Christian populations.
In recent months, several other churches and religious sites have fallen victim to the junta's military operations. On Feb. 6, Sacred Heart Church in Mindat, Chin State, another Christian-majority region, was destroyed by airstrikes.
On March 3, an airstrike leveled the pastoral center of St. Michael's Catholic Church in the Banmaw Diocese in Kachin.
The Banmaw Diocese, established in 2006 and led by Bishop Raymond Sumlut Gam, is situated in a mountainous region with a diverse population of over 407,000 people, including more than 27,000 baptized Catholics.
The area has faced increasing instability since the military coup in February 2021, which has plunged the country, officially recognized as Myanmar but also known as Burma, into civil conflict.
The junta has intensified airstrikes on civilian areas and camps for internally displaced persons, also in states such as Karen and Karenni, which are home to many Christian communities.
Attacks on churches, even Buddhist monasteries and other places of worship, are part of a larger pattern of retaliation against communities accused of supporting ethnic resistance movements.
The surge in violence coincides with the launch of Operation 1027 by ethnic resistance groups aimed at countering the military's control.
Ethnic armed groups, as part of the operation, have overrun hundreds of the junta's military bases, indicating a significant loss of control and morale. Within its ranks, the junta is experiencing defections and surrenders.
"Operation 1027 represented a glimmer of hope to the wider pro-democracy movement," said an earlier report by the group Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust. "However, it provoked a brutal response from local military commanders, who doubled down on their efforts to suppress the opposition. The escalation of conflict in Shan state represents the heaviest clashes in Burma since the military coup in 2021."
Although a majority of Burma's population is ethnic Burman and Buddhist, the country is home to several ethnic and religious communities.
About 20%-30% of the ethnic Karen are Christian, and in Chin and Kachin States, where the majority of the population is Christian, the military finds a target-rich environment for its operations.
The long-standing persecution has led many to flee Myanmar, seeking refuge in neighboring countries like India and Thailand. Some have even resettled as far away as the United States and Australia. However, many remain in refugee camps close to the Myanmar border, facing decades of uncertainty.
