A bishop in Myanmar’s Rakhine state says civilians are suffering as the country’s civil war continues. Source: Vatican News.
According to the Pontifical news agency, Fides, Bishop Peter Tin Wai – whose diocese covers nearly the entire territory of the state in western Myanmar – drew attention to the ongoing struggles as the civil war wreaks havoc and claims lives.
This includes the recent airstrike carried out by the Burmese army on September 12, which targeted two private schools in the town of Kyauktaw, killing 20 young people between the ages of 15 and 21.
Intense fighting also continues along the eastern border of Rakhine State.
In most of the state, Bishop Tin Wai told Fides, power is in the hands of the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic armed group that has taken control of most of Rakhine and is fighting against the Burmese regular army. The AA now holds 14 of 17 municipalities.
Having lost ground, the Burmese army is resorting to aerial bombings that also hit civilian homes and buildings.
In many areas, Bishop Tin Wai said, “communication is cut off, the education system is in crisis, and people are just trying to survive.”
He said his diocese, with some 30,000 faithful, has 12 parishes in that territory that are continuing their mission.
“The priests stay close to the people, they are struggling, trying to get by with daily life and sustain themselves materially; they also strive to celebrate the sacraments and keep the churches open amid the suffering,” Bishop Tin Wai said.
He noted that about half of his diocesan faithful live in areas controlled by the AA, whereas the other half are “in the three municipalities still under army control”.
“The situation on the ground continues to cause displacement,” he said.
“There is a shortage of rice in Rakhine, and many lack education and health care.”
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Myanmar Bishop: ‘Civilians are suffering, just trying to survive’ (By Deborah Castellano Lubov, Vatican News)
