NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar — A 5-year-old girl was killed and a 10-month-old injured Nov. 15 when Myanmar’s military shelled a kindergarten where displaced people were sheltering.
The 5-year-old and her family had sought refuge in the building in Demoso township in a predominantly Christian area of Kayah state after fleeing shelling in their village of Kone Thar, relief group Barnabas Fund reported.
When the Tatmadaw (Myanmar’s military) shelled the kindergarten, the girl suffered a thigh injury and bled to death before she could receive treatment. The 10-month-old boy was in critical condition from his injury. Other family members also were wounded.
A source claimed the Tatmadaw purposely shelled the kindergarten, knowing people had taken refuge there.
On July 31 a father and 13-year-old daughter were killed when the Tatmadaw shelled a camp for displaced people, Barnabas Fund reported.
The group gained power in the mostly Buddhist Myanmar in a February 2021 coup. For years the Tatmadaw has persecuted the mainly Christian Chin, Kachin and Karen ethnic groups and Christian communities in Kayah and Shan states.
Myanmar (also called Burma) is No. 12 on Open Doors’ 2022 World Watch List of places most difficult to be a Christian.
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