ASIA/MYANAMAR - Temples, churches, schools, monasteries destroyed: the wounds of war on communities of believers

Yangon (Agenzia Fides) – More than 200 institutions, temples, and religious sites, including Buddhist monasteries, mosques, and Christian churches, were damaged, destroyed, or looted during the civil war in Myanmar between 2021 and 2025. The data, published by civil society organizations based or with staff in Myanmar, such as the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, the Centre for Information Resilience, and Myanmar Witness, coincides with that of priests, missionaries, and Catholic laypeople who are currently compiling a census to document the war damage suffered by religious communities in Myanmar.
“The main perpetrators of the destruction,” a local source told Fides, “are the forces of the military junta, who have inflicted significant damage in the Sagaing and Magwe regions, as well as in Chin and Kayah states, through indiscriminate airstrikes, artillery, and drone attacks.”
The damage affecting religious communities also impacts over 400 health facilities (hospitals, clinics, medical centers, dispensaries) where the injured or sick often received free medical care. Schools have also been hit: over 240 educational institutions were destroyed by airstrikes, while many others were occupied and converted into military bases or army headquarters.
In the areas where the fighting is most intense, Christian communities in states with strong resistance movements, such as Chin, Kayah, and Kachin, are suffering the most from the war.
Among the most important Catholic churches that have been hit or damaged and are now closed to worship, are: Christ the King Church in Falam, Chin State, which was destroyed by an airstrike in April 2025; and the Sacred Heart Church in Mindat, which was intended to be the cathedral for the new Diocese of Mindat and was bombed in February 2025. St. Patrick's Cathedral in Banmaw, Kachin State, which burned down in March 2025 along with the diocesan buildings, bishop's residence, and offices; St. Michael's Pastoral Centre in Nanhlaing, Banmaw Diocese; the Church of the Queen of Peace in Kayah State, damaged by bombing in June 2021; the Sacred Heart Church in Loikaw, destroyed by bombing in May 2021, which killed four people who had sought refuge there; the Church of Mary Mother of Mercy in Kayah State, damaged by a military airstrike in August 2023; Christ the King Cathedral and Pastoral Centre in Loikaw, Kayah State, which were subjected to military bombing, desecration, and occupation of the cathedral in November 2023; The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in the Sagaing region, along with an ancient church and a convent, were set on fire and destroyed.
Bishops and lay members of the Catholic Church in Myanmar have reiterated that, according to international humanitarian law, places of worship are protected as civilian property, as stipulated in documents such as the Geneva Convention (1949) and the Rome Statute (1998) which established the International Criminal Court. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 11/11/2025)

Share:

armed conflicts

---

---

civil war

---

---

wars

---

---