A newly designated Catholic cathedral has been bombed by the ruling military regime in Myanmar.

According to International Christian Concern (ICC), The Sacred Heart of Jesus Church was bombed on 6 February, just two weeks after being designated a cathedral by Pope Francis.

No-one is believed to have been killed in the incident as the area was evacuated in anticipation of a possible attack. However, the cathedral is now reportedly unusable as the roof has been blown off and the windows shattered. One of the local priests said that the cathedral will be restored.

The cathedral is located in Chin state, which, with 85 per cent of its population following Christianity, is the only Christian-majority state in Myanmar. Overall the country is around 90 per cent Buddhist.

Since early 2021, when the current military government took power, conflict has been ongoing in Myanmar. Thousands of civilians have been killed and an estimated 2.3 million have been displaced.

In May last year the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk described the Myanmar government as an "illegitimate military regime" and accused it of carrying out beheadings, midnight bombings of homes and other atrocities.

He said, "The disintegration of human rights continues at breakneck speed".

Although the current conflict dates back only four years, ethnic and religious violence has long been a scourge in Burma.

Aung San Suu Kyi, whose government was ousted in 2021, was for many years a political prisoner of a previous military government and lauded as an advocate for peace and democracy.

In government however she was criticised for her apparent inaction at an alleged genocide by the Myanmar military against the minority Rohingya Muslim community.

Prior to her government, the military was known for carrying out atrocities on ethnic minority groups, such as the Karen. The plight of the Karen even inspired the 2008 film, Rambo 4.