Songpi/Lamzang: The Myanmar military has shot and killed another Christian pastor in Chin State, marking the third such killing of Christian leaders in the country in just over three months and intensifying concerns over targeted persecution of the predominantly Christian Chin community. Rev. Dal Thawn Tuang, assistant pastor of Lamzang Baptist Church in Lamzang Village, was gunned down near Kapte bridge on September 14, 2026 at around 4 pm, according to confirmation by the Burma Research Institute (BRI) and International Christian Concern (ICC).
Pastor Tuang, who had faithfully served Lamzang Baptist Church for 22 years, was returning to his village after conducting religious activities in a nearby village when soldiers opened fire on him. The military reportedly shot him three times, with bullets striking his chest, abdomen, and thigh, killing him on the spot. He is survived by his wife and two children. His funeral was held on September 16 in Lamzang village amid grief and fear among local Christians. ICC President Shawn Wright said, “Our staff is praying for Pastor Tuang’s family and his church. Following the recent murder of Pastor William and our brother Nam Ceu, this is certainly a concerning trend in Myanmar. We ask Christians in the West to lift up these grieving families in prayer and pray for the Burmese Church to be united and encouraged during the ongoing violence.”
The killing of Rev. Tuang is not an isolated incident but part of a disturbing pattern of systematic violence against Chin Christian leaders since the military junta seized power in a coup in February 2021. Just three months earlier, on June 4, 2026, the military killed Rev. William, pastor of Chungcung Baptist Church in Chin State for more than 25 years, along with another Chin Christian, Nam Ceu. Both men were arrested in May and had remained in military detention until their execution. Sources told BRI that Rev. William and Ceu were killed on suspicion of supporting the Hakha Chinland Defense Force (CDF), the local resistance force fighting against the Burmese military dictatorship. Rev. William left behind a wife and five children.
The Chungcung village itself has been a repeated target of the junta. According to BRI, the village has been regularly and brutally attacked since 2021, and the Chungcung Baptist Church was destroyed and looted in October 2021. The destruction of churches has become a hallmark of the junta’s campaign in Chin State, the only Christian-majority state in Buddhist-majority Myanmar. Since the 2021 coup, more than 340 churches and Christian-owned buildings have been damaged or destroyed by military forces, according to data compiled by religious freedom monitors. From 2022 to 2025 alone, at least 149 Christians were killed and 218 imprisoned for their faith and perceived opposition to the regime, figures cited in a recent report by Open Doors.
Christian leaders and human rights groups say the Chin people, who are overwhelmingly Baptist, have faced double persecution, both for their ethnicity and their religion. The junta has long viewed Chin Christians with suspicion, accusing churches of supporting the pro-democracy resistance movement and the Chin Defense Forces. Pastors, who hold significant moral authority in Chin society, have become particular targets. Many have been arrested, tortured, or forced to flee to India, especially to neighboring Mizoram, where thousands of Chin refugees have taken shelter. Lamzang village, where Rev. Tuang served, is located in a remote and heavily militarized zone where military checkpoints and patrols are common, making pastoral ministry extremely dangerous.
The international response to the deteriorating religious freedom situation in Myanmar has been muted. ICC, which monitors persecution globally, has called for immediate prayer and advocacy for the families of the slain pastors and for the unity of the Burmese Church. The organization noted that the pattern of killing pastors returning from ministry, detaining them without trial, and destroying church property indicates a deliberate strategy to demoralize the Christian community and cut off spiritual support for displaced civilians. Human rights observers have urged the United Nations and ASEAN to include religious persecution as a central component of their engagement with the Myanmar junta, rather than treating it solely as a political conflict.
For the family of Rev. Dal Thawn Tuang, the loss is immeasurable. For 22 years, he was a pillar of Lamzang Baptist Church, known for his quiet service, conducting baptisms, funerals, and Sunday services despite the risks of traveling between villages. Local sources said he was unarmed and wearing civilian clothes when he was shot near Kapte bridge, a key transit point between villages. His body was recovered by villagers and taken to Lamzang for burial. The killing has sent shockwaves through the Chin Baptist community in Myanmar and in the diaspora, including in Delhi, Mizoram, and the United States, where many Chin churches held special prayer services on September 17.
The latest killing comes at a time when violence in Myanmar has escalated nationwide, with the junta intensifying airstrikes and ground operations against resistance strongholds in Chin, Kachin, and Sagaing regions. Church groups have appealed to the global Christian community to not forget Myanmar, as media attention shifts elsewhere. They are calling for humanitarian aid for internally displaced persons, legal documentation of war crimes against Christians, and sustained prayer for families like that of Rev. Tuang, Rev. William, and Nam Ceu, whose sacrifices highlight the high cost of faith under military dictatorship. ICC has opened its Where Most Needed Fund to support persecuted Christians in Myanmar and has asked supporters to sign petitions and write to prisoners of conscience.
