Three female students have been killed and six others injured in an attack by the military on a Christian Bible college in Myanmar.
Regime forces dropped ten bombs from fighter jets over Hpapun (Mutraw) District, Karen State, on 3 November, despite no active combat taking place in the area. It was followed by an hour-long air bombardment, in which an armoured drone detonated over the school in Pkay Bu Village Tract.
Two of the students were killed instantly. A further two critically-injured students were transported across the Salween River to Thailand: one died en route, with the other continuing to receive emergency care.
The assault “reflects a calculated and systematic pattern of military aggression in Karen State and across ethnic minority regions”, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW).
Attacks by junta forces in Christian villages in Karen have seen places of worship, faith schools and civilian infrastructure targeted; this has led to fear among the population and mass displacement. Villages in Hpapun District were shelled in May 2026; a child was killed in bombings in October.
Scot Bower, chief executive officer at the watchdog, said: “CSW is outraged and appalled by the junta’s deliberate attack on a Christian Bible school in Hpapun District, which claimed the lives of three young women and injured six others. The systematic targeting of religious institutions and civilian youth in predominantly Christian ethnic areas is a severe violation of international humanitarian law.
“The Myanmar military continues to act with complete impunity, weaponising air power against religious communities. We urge the international community to take swift, coordinated action to enforce an aviation fuel embargo and hold the regime to account.”
In March, a leading Christian politician and humanitarian from the region told Premier Christian News that believers were facing worsening “systematic persecution” under Myanmar’s military regime. As a new leader was sworn in a month later, a Christian activist called for prayer and international support for the country.