By Anugrah Kumar, Christian Post.
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.
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.