A historic Catholic village in Myanmar’s northwest Sagaing region has been raided for the third time since March.
Thousands of Catholics fled their homes within two days of Easter Sunday celebrations in Chaung Yoe village to escape artillery shelling and a raid early on 11 April, according to local sources.
“Some villagers have been injured due to the shelling,” said a local resident who wished to remain anonymous due to security concerns.
The source said the villagers couldn’t even gather their belongings and had taken temporary refuge in nearby villages.
“The pews in Mary Help of Christian Church and some stuff inside the priest’s center were destroyed, while some motorcycles were torched,” the source added.
Catholic villagers from Chaung Yoe were among the estimated 5,000 people who fled from their homes as a result of the 11 April military raid, according to media reports.
This is the third attack on the Catholic village in just over a year.
Two people were shot dead by soldiers and at least 10 homes and chicken farms were set ablaze on 12 March last year. This was followed by a military raid on May 20 in which at least 320 out of the estimated 350 households were burned down.
Locals said they were living in make-shift tents and at relatives’ places as most of their homes were burned down in May last year.
The military appears to be targeting three historic Catholic villages in the Sagaing region, the Bamar heartland, where resistance from the People’s Defense Forces is growing.
The junta has also been attacking civilian homes and churches in the predominantly Christian regions of Kayah, Chin, Karen and Kachin.