A Roman Catholic priest was killed inside a church in conflict-torn Myanmar by about a dozen anti-junta rebels.
Reverend Donald Martin Ye Naing Win, 44, was attacked on 14 February with a knife by 10 members of the rebel group People's Defence Force (PDF) in Sagaing region’s Shwebo township, which is under the control of armed rebels.
The priest from Mandalay Archdiocese was killed while serving in his assigned parish in Kangyitaw Village, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Myanmar said in a statement.
The killing comes just days before the nation marks the fourth anniversary of the coup when General Min Aung Hlaing toppled the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, plunging the nation into a civil war.
“We received the news that Father Donald Martin Ye Naing Win, a priest of the Catholic archdiocese of Mandalay, was brutally murdered by a group of armed men,” Cardinal Charles Bo, head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Myanmar, said in a statement.
“We are deeply shocked and saddened by the news. We urge those responsible to take appropriate action and ensure justice is served, so that such incidents do not occur again in the future,” he said.
An unnamed PDF official told news agency AFP that the members of the group entered the church around 9pm and forced the priest to kneel, before killing him with a knife. The armed men were arrested shortly after the incident, according to reports. The motive for the killing was not immediately clear.
The priest was laid to rest on Sunday in Pyin Oo Lwin town.
The Kangyitaw village is on the border of Shwebo and Wetlet townships with a moderate Christian presence. The village suffered junta arson attacks in 2023, according to The Irrawaddy.
The conflict between the junta and the armed rebels has left more than 6,000 civilians dead, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group.
