Myanmar military forces burned a Christian church near Bhamo on Monday evening as the regime continues its campaign to recapture the Kachin State town, according to Colonel Naw Bu, a spokesperson for the Kachin Independence Army (KIA).
“They [the regime] burned a Christian church in Three Mile Village on the way to Momauk,” Naw Bu told The Irrawaddy. “There have been periodic clashes in that area.”
He added that there has been frequent fighting between regime troops and KIA-led forces around Light Infantry Battalion 47 and near Bhamo University.
The KIA and its allies launched an attack on Bhamo in late 2024 and captured the majority of the town in 2025. This year, however, it has lost some ground there to the regime, which has been reinforcing its troops in preparation for a counteroffensive.
Naw Bu claimed resistance groups still control a large part of the town. The Irrawaddy could not independently verify the claim.
Citing residents, local media reported that the arson attack on the Kachin Baptist Convention-run church followed heavy regime casualties in the face of fierce resistance defense.
Human rights activists condemned the torching of the church.
“This is a violation of freedom of religion; we condemn it,” Jacob from Kachin Human Rights Watch told The Irrawaddy. “The regime does not respect international laws and continues to violate them.”
He said the regime and allied militias have used religious sites for military purposes, carried out drone attacks on churches, and detained religious leaders. “Religious rights in Kachin State are being increasingly violated,” he said.
Mervyn Thomas, founder president of Church World Service, an international Christian human rights group, said the attack was a “grave crime” and a “clear violation” of international laws and freedom of belief, while calling on the international community to cut off the regime’s access to aviation fuel and military equipment.
In September, the regime-allied Shanni Nationalities Army used the compounds of a Baptist church and a Catholic church in Indaw as a military training ground and an office, sparking criticism from ethnic Kachin residents.
The regime and its allies conducted a suicide drone attack on another church in Mohnyin Township in October.
The regime’s attacks on places of worship do not discriminate by faith, however. Myanmar Witness in April said it documented over 300 airstrikes on religious sites, including churches, monasteries and mosques, between January 2024 and December 2025. Nearly 90 percent of them were conducted by the regime’s air force, with Sagaing Region and Shan State the worst-affected areas.
In August, 14 civilians were killed in Sagaing Region’s Myaung Township when the regime launched an airstrike on a Buddhist temple that was hosting around 100 people for a meditation retreat.