Myanmar junta bombing of Chin State church prompts call to mark church attacks as war crimes

Mizzima

At approximately 2:30 p.m. local time on October 9, 2026, a Burmese military fighter jet bombed the Presbyterian Church in Mindat town, Chin State. The church belongs to the Victoria Synod of the Presbyterian Church of Myanmar, which is a partner of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the World Communion of Reformed Churches.

On the evening of October 10, Myanmar time, the day after the attack, two sources in Chin State confirmed the aerial bombing to the Burma Research Institute (BRI). A 500-pound bomb destroyed the church building, the pastor’s residence, and the church’s Victoria private high school, the sources added. The congregation built the church, completing it in February 2018. No injuries have been reported.

“We pray for Mindat and urge the Trump Administration to determine without further delay that the deliberate, ongoing, and systematic attacks on churches and church-related buildings constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes, as we have long been calling for,” said Zo Tum Hmung, President and CEO of BRI.

This is not the first time the military has targeted this church. In August 2023, BRI, then known as the Chin Association of Maryland, reported that the military had detained the church’s pastor, Htang Kay On, along with three elders, Chai Kay, Hon Chway, and Hon Kay. Two of the elders were later killed. The pastor and the third elder were released.

The military has targeted churches in Mindat since the early months of the coup. In its October 2021 report, After the Military Coup in Myanmar/Burma: Challenges for Internally Displaced Persons and Refugees, BRI documented that “the Burmese military occupied the Grace Baptist Church in Mindat township for approximately 5- months, from May to September 2021.” On April 13, 2026, a military airstrike destroyed the Myoma Baptist Church in Mindat.

“The White House should publicly condemn these continuing attacks on Christians in Burma,” said Rev. Dr. Van Bawi Kam, pastor of Emmanuel Farm Chin Baptist Church in Little Rock, Arkansas. Dr. Van Bawi Kam formerly pastored the Presbyterian Church in Tlanglo village, Chin State, which the Burmese military also destroyed. “My heart is with the members in Mindat,” he added.

Mindat has been a stronghold of resistance since Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the military’s commander-in-chief, seized power in the February 2021 coup. Its residents formed one of the country’s first armed resistance groups, at first fighting with tumee, the single-shot hunting guns traditionally made by local craftsmen. Acting President Duwa Lashi La of the National Unity Government has applauded their courage on previous occasions and reaffirmed it to BRI.

The Chinland Defense Force–Mindat (CDF-Mindat) controls the town. Its commander-in-chief, Salai Than Chun Pe (also spelled Than Chawn Pay), also chairs the resistance forces’ political body, the Interim Chin National Consultative Council (ICNCC), established in April 2021. The Chin resistance forces hold Mindat, Kanpetlet, and Matupi townships in southern Chin State, while their ally, the United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA), controls neighboring Paletwa township, also in Chin State. These southern townships are strategically important, as they border Arakan State and Magway region, which is adjacent to Naypyitaw, the capital and seat of self-appointed President Min Aung Hlaing.

The military has intensified airstrikes on southern Chin State to retake the areas and weaken the resistance’s alliance with the Arakan Army, displacing most residents. In neighboring Arakan (Rakhine) State, a September 28 airstrike on a busy market in Kyauktaw Township killed at least 50 civilians, including women and children. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said the attack raises serious concerns about respect for international humanitarian law.

The bombing in Mindat is part of a wider pattern of attacks on places of worship in Burma. According to BRI (October 5, 2026) and Christian Solidarity Worldwide (October 8, 2026), on September 23, a militia allied with the Burmese military held a graduation ceremony inside the sanctuary of Nant Mun Baptist Church in Mohnyin Township, Kachin State, during which militia members drank alcohol and danced. The church is a member of the Kachin Baptist Convention, which is headquartered in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State.