SW News: In the latest attack on churches by the Myanmar military, a Catholic deacon and a Baptist pastor were killed. The duo succumbed to injuries sustained in the attack on the village of Lay Wah in Mutraw district of Karen state on January 12.
The Myanmar military targeted the area as it is under the control of the Karen National Union’s armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army, which is engaged in a conflict with government troops in a bid to liberate their region from the Burmese hold.

During the air raid, a child and a woman also lost their lives apart from the deacon and the pastor. Hundreds of people were forced to flee from their homes in the air raid. There are reports that two churches and a school among other buildings were hit in the attack by fighter jets. Two women who were injured are convalescing in a hospital.

It was Deacon Naw La Kler Paw who was killed in the attack while the pastor who lost his life was Saw Cha Aye. The little girl who lost her life was Naw Marina, who was supposed to turn three within a month. More casualties were averted as classes were suspended in the school and lessons were given in a secret location in the woods. Reports say that four gargantuan craters were formed in the village as a result of the bombing.

In a press release, the spokesman for KNU Padoh Saw Taw Nee implored the international community to take effective action against the junta. He also said they were targeting fuel supplies for military jets to slow down the attacks on their villages.

A similar statement was also issued by the shadow government of the national unity of Myanmar in exile. It is comprised of deputies of the National League of Democracy belonging to the detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi. In the statement, they said, "We send our condolences to all those who lost their lives [...] and we promise that we will do our best to do justice to all those lives lost, both nationally and internationally".

The military is engaged in a conflict in Christian-majority states where the ethnic groups do not wish to remain within Myanmar.