A pastor was among 13 people killed in attacks by the Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) on villages in Christian-majority Chin State on consecutive nights.
Despite the ceasefire declared by the military government on 2 April following the earthquake that struck the country on 28 March, the Tatmadaw carried out bombardment of the villages on 9 and 10 April.
At 9 pm on 9 April a jet from the airbase in the capital Naypyitaw, some 250 miles away, dropped two 500lb bombs on Pwi village on Mindat Township, southern Chin State.
Houses damaged by a Tatmadaw airstrike on Saizang village, Tedim Township in Chin State, on 10 April [Image credit: Chin Revolution News]
The airstrike killed seven residents, including a 36-year-old pastor and an eight-month-old boy. A church was among ten buildings destroyed in the attack.
“Just one plane came shooting twice and then dropped two 500-pound bombs. Among those killed are a Christian pastor, children and the elderly,” said a Mindat resident. “Of the nine people injured, three are critical.”
The other five people killed were identified as a 68-year-old man, a 72-year-old woman, a 38-year-old disabled man and two seven-year-old children.
On the evening of 10 April, a family of six were killed in another Tatmadaw airstrike on Saizang village in Tedim Township, northern Chin State.
“They bombed houses in Saizang village with a 500-pound bomb,” said a Tedim resident, asserting that there was no fighting taking place in the area. “The house it hit belonged to a family of six, who died when the house collapsed.”
The victims were a husband (43) and wife (40), their sons aged 17, 14 and 5, and their 10-year-old daughter. Another son, aged 10, was hospitalised with serious injuries.
Pray for the families of those bereaved in these horrific attacks to know the Lord’s comfort and receive practical aid. Ask for His sustaining power for residents of Pwi and Saizang villages as they seek to rebuild and recover from the shock. Pray for God’s protection over His people in Chin State and that the military will relent from such unjustified strikes.
