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Myanmar Christians Mourn Pastor Reportedly Killed By Military
Confirmed
Reverend William, senior pastor of Chungcung Baptist Church in Chungcung, a village in western Myanmar’s Chin State, and Nam Ceu were detained by troops on May 16 before being killed in early June, said advocacy group Burma Research Institute (BRI), citing church officials and other sources.
William and Ceu were killed for allegedly supporting the Hakha Chinland Defense Force (CDF), which is fighting against the Burmese military dictatorship. BRI said William was accused of supporting the Hakha Chinland Defense Force (CDF), one of several armed groups resisting Myanmar’s military rulers.
Chungcung Baptist Church itself was occupied by military forces in October 2021, when troops allegedly looted and damaged church property, according to Christians familiar with the situation. Trump’s administration to increase pressure on Myanmar’s military rulers following William’s reported killing.
The BRI also reports that Chungcung village has been regularly and brutally attacked since the military junta took power in 2021, and the Chungcung Baptist Church itself had been destroyed and looted in October 2021. BRI said William and Nam Ceu were detained by Myanmar’s 77th Light Infantry Division at a farm shelter about one mile (1.6 kilometers) from Chungcung.
It is affiliated with ISIS and operates primarily in Nigeria and the surrounding region, targeting both civilians and military forces. William and another Chin Christian, Nam Ceu, were extrajudicially murdered on June 4 by the Burmese military dictatorship.
BRI said troops have burned or destroyed 118 houses there, killed 16 civilians and wounded five others. “We call on the Trump administration to protect the persecuted Christians in Burma,” Hmung said.
He was arrested with Ceu in May and had been detained by the military since then. ISWAP has been responsible for numerous attacks, including assaults on Christian communities, kidnappings, and executions, as part of its broader jihadist agenda.
The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) is a terrorist organization that emerged in 2016 after splitting from Boko Haram. To support ICC’s work around the world, please give to our Where Most Needed Fund.
What's confirmed
- Reverend William, senior pastor of Chungcung Baptist Church in Chungcung, a village in western Myanmar’s Chin State, and Nam Ceu were detained by troops on May 16 before being killed in early June, said advocacy…
- BRI said William was accused of supporting the Hakha Chinland Defense Force (CDF), one of several armed groups resisting Myanmar’s military rulers.
- William and Ceu were killed for allegedly supporting the Hakha Chinland Defense Force (CDF), which is fighting against the Burmese military dictatorship.
What's still developing
- BRI said William and Nam Ceu were detained by Myanmar’s 77th Light Infantry Division at a farm shelter about one mile (1.6 kilometers) from Chungcung.
- BRI said troops have burned or destroyed 118 houses there, killed 16 civilians and wounded five others.
- Chungcung Baptist Church itself was occupied by military forces in October 2021, when troops allegedly looted and damaged church property, according to Christians familiar with the situation.
- Trump’s administration to increase pressure on Myanmar’s military rulers following William’s reported killing.
- “We call on the Trump administration to protect the persecuted Christians in Burma,” Hmung said.
- William and another Chin Christian, Nam Ceu, were extrajudicially murdered on June 4 by the Burmese military dictatorship.
- He was arrested with Ceu in May and had been detained by the military since then.
- The BRI also reports that Chungcung village has been regularly and brutally attacked since the military junta took power in 2021, and the Chungcung Baptist Church itself had been destroyed and looted in October 2021.