The Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) severely damaged a church in a bombing raid on the home village of Charles Maung Bo, a senior church leader, on 30 October.
No casualties were reported in the attack in Mon Hla village, in the central Sagaing Region, and Bo himself, who lives in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, was not present at the time.
“They’ve destroyed an entire side of the church, the whole right side,” said one resident. She added that both the church’s bell tower and nave also sustained damage.
The church in Mon Hla village was damaged by Tatmadaw bombing on 30 October [Image credit: Radio Free Asia]
Bo has previously spoken out against attacks on churches in the past. In November 2022 he appealed to the Tatmadaw for dialogue after an earlier land and air attack on Mon Hla village in which three civilians were killed.
Mon Hla is home to 3,000 residents, most of whom are Christians. It is one the region’s historic Bayingyi villages where inhabitants are descended from Christians who settled in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Residents asserted that there was no fighting taking place in the area that would explain the attack on the village. Many villagers were forced to flee from their homes a second time when drones reappeared on the day following the bombing.
The Sagaing Region has been particularly affected by violence since the Tatmadaw seized power in the military coup of February 2021.
Give thanks that there were no casualties in this attack. Pray that Christians in Mon Hla will know the Lord’s protection in the days ahead and that attacks on such communities will cease. Pray that their trust in the Lord will overcome fear.
