Unknown Assailants Shoot Pastor Dead in Laos

Pastor Thongkham Philavanh is survived by his wife and two children. (Facebook)

Posted at Morning Star News:

Published July 28, 2024

Despite a national law guaranteeing freedom of religion, persecution in Laos has been steadily increasing in the country. Christians continue to be imprisoned in Laos, most of them held for a short period and then released.
HONG KONG (Morning Star News) – Pastor Thongkham Philavanh was feeding his chickens and ducks behind his house in Vanghay village, northwestern Laos, on Monday (July 22) when two men on motorcycles, faces covered, arrived.

After a brief exchange, one of the gunmen fired seven shots into his head and body.

The assailant’s gun was fitted with a silencer. They escaped as Pastor Thongkham was rushed to a provincial hospital, where he died on arrival, leaving behind a wife and two teenagers. Pastor Thongkham was 40.

Police are investigating the killing in Xai District, Oudomxay Province, which comes on the heels of the torture and killing of Pastor Seetoud of Don Keo village in central Laos’ Khammouane Province in October 2022. Village officials had warned him to stop all Christian gatherings and activities. The case is still unresolved, and the killers are still at large.

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