by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - Since overthrowing Myanmar’s democratically elected government and launching a fresh civil war in February 2021, the Burmese Tatmadaw military junta has destroyed 74 churches and arrested 42 Christians, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
The latest data about the Tatmadaw attacks on churches and Christians comes from a new report by the Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN), ICC said.
The report was published in the context of a major offensive by pro-democracy and indigenous ethnic forces (loosely called the Brotherhood Alliance) right across Myanmar against the Tatmadaw military dictatorship, ICC said.
In a website statement about Myanmar Christians, the Open Doors international Christian advocacy organization notes: “The situation in Christian areas has taken a turn for the worse since the military took control in February 2021. Fighting has increased across the country, and the Christian minority is bearing the brunt of these attacks. More Christians than ever have become internally displaced people or refugees, and are living in camps or churches without adequate food and healthcare.
“Even in predominantly Christian states like Chin State and Kayah State, long-established churches have suffered attacks, and Christian aid workers and pastors have been killed,” Open Doors added. “Government forces attack Christian villages and churches, while Buddhist monasteries remain largely untouched.”
With no government other than the Buddhist extremist Tatmadaw, Myanmar ranks 14TH on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2023 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.