Some of the Bible students forcibly recruited by the United Wa State Army (UWSA) in Myanmar’s northern Shan State have managed to escape, UCAnews has reported.

The students' ordeal began in mid-September when they were forcibly recruited as part of a UWSA clampdown on Christianity.

The students were taken from Mong Pawk township where 52 churches have been shut down and three have destroyed, said the Lahu Baptist Convention. The students' Bible school was also closed.

In groups of two or three, a total of 17 male students fled from a UWSA) base situated in the Wa hills near Myanmar's border with China.

According to the UCA report, Rev. Lazarus, general secretary of the Lahu Baptist Convention in Kyaing Tong, said that the students, aged in their late teens, have arrived over the past two weeks at the Lahu Baptist Church in Kyaing Tong town. The last group of two arrived on Nov. 12.