By Luke Booker, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – The ongoing humanitarian crisis in Myanmar since a military coup overthrew the government was the focus of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) hearing held in late February, according to a leading Christian advocacy group.
Following the February 1, 2021 military coup, Myanmar’s Christian population has endured escalating persecution. Under the control of the State Administration Council (SAC), religious minorities—including Christians—have been targeted through arrests, killings, and the destruction of churches.
In his opening remarks at the hearing, USCIRF Vice Chair Meir Soloveichik noted, “over the past four years, Myanmar has sunk into a human rights and humanitarian abyss.”
Soloveichik highlighted, “on Jan. 7, 2024, the military launched airstrikes in the Sagaing region, killing 17 civilians, including nine children, at Saint Peter Baptist Church in Kanan village.” He noted that this is just one example of many reported incidents where Christians are being persecuted for their faith.
According to the USCIRF, Christian pastor Thian Lian Sang has been detained by authorities since his arrest in September 2021 due to his “leadership role” as a Baptist pastor. In December 2022, he was sentenced to 23 years in prison, the International Christian Concern reported.
At the hearing, Salai Za Uk Ling, executive director of the Chin Human Rights Association, testified about the severe conditions for Christians in the country.
“Since the military coup in Burma (Myanmar) four years ago, we have witnessed a systematic campaign of religious persecution, particularly targeting the Christian population in Chin State,” Ling told the commission.
“These actions include the destruction of churches, the unlawful killing and enforced disappearance of pastors, the arrest of religious leaders, and severe restrictions on free worship and assembly.”
Myanmar is ranked 13th on Open Doors’ World Watch List in 2025, which identifies the 50 countries where Christians face the most severe persecution.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Israel’s government unanimously declared Sunday that it would not recognize decisions made under a High Court of Justice ruling involving the country’s commercial broadcast regulator, an extraordinary step that opponents warned could push Israel into one of the gravest constitutional confrontations in its history.
Chinese underground church leader Ezra Jin Mingri has been released from prison in China and reunited with his family in the United States, less than two months after his incarceration was raised directly by U.S. President Donald J. Trump, Worthy News learned Sunday.
Christian advocates urged Pakistan’s government on Saturday to establish an independent commission to investigate what they describe as the “Blasphemy Business Group” following the death in custody of a Christian facing controversial blasphemy charges.
Conservative politician Keiko Fujimori was officially declared the winner of Peru’s presidential election Saturday, nearly a month after the June 7 runoff, ending weeks of uncertainty in the deeply polarized South American nation of about 34 million people.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump was to address a crowd on the National Mall, the tree-lined national park in downtown Washington seen as “America’s front yard,” to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday amid political controversy and a searing heat wave.
Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed Friday that Russian forces had completed the capture of Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region, marking what Moscow described as a major milestone in the war, although Ukraine had not confirmed the claim and independent verification was not immediately possible.
Government delegations from China, Russia, India, Pakistan and Iraq arrived in Tehran on Friday, where the body of Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei lay in state.