Violence in predominantly Christian Plateau State in Nigeria has continued unabated since the first major outbreak in Jos, in 2001 when over 2,000 people are thought to have died in orchestrated inter religious violence.
THE PALESTINIANS:
“Whether consciously or unconsciously, the Americans are paving a long, broad path for the death of tens of thousands, maybe even more, of their people. The American madness will bring nothing but counter-madness. They [Americans] have begun an era of destructive and lethal war for human beings in order to feed their aggressive military economic machine, and they will bear the responsibility for it.” Al-Ayyam (PA), April 10, 2003.
Refugees returning to Burundi still face murder, rape and destruction at the hands of rebels and even of the police, according to reports received by Christian Aid.
Lao Christians are paying dearly for their faith as authorities continue to crack down on the Christian movement. Lao authorities closed four churches recently and arrested several of their leaders.
Philippine missionaries are requesting prayer in the light of recent bombings.
A total of 170 Protestant Christians have been jailed, beaten and threatened with death by Eritrean security forces in a harsh crackdown during February and March.
Jerusalem, Israel (Bridges for Peace) — Here in Israel, we have watched the interplay on the Iraq Crisis play out for months. On several occasions, it seemed that the war would start within days, and then a diplomatic detour put it off. Yet, all along, it was apparent that the battle would ultimately be fought if Saddam and his sons did not stand down and come clean on the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) in Iraq. It was like a game of “hide and go seek” to watch UN Weapons Inspectors travel here and there, sometimes arriving just as trucks were leaving sites. More important than what was found during their inspections, is what was not found. The western nations that sold Hussein the raw materials or processing equipment to make his WMD know more than the public or the media what is there and what is missing and unreported.
As reported in the March 12 issue of Missions Insider three Christian workers were arrested in western Nepal in late February on suspicion of engaging in illegal religious activity simply because Bibles and Christian literature were found in their bags. Now Christian Aid has learned that five more Christians who went to visit the jailed brothers were similarly arrested.
Christian bus-passengers were singled out and killed by Islamic rebels in the southern Philippines, near Cotabato city, on Tuesday 18th March. Muslim rebels also planted a bomb near a cathedral in the city.
A Pakistani appeals court confirmed today the acquittal of two Christian brothers jailed nearly four years ago on charges of blasphemy. The two men had both been sentenced to 35 years in prison by a lower sessions court in May 2000.
A gospel worker and two local believers were arrested and jailed on proselytism charges in western Nepal last month. Details of the arrest were made known to Christian Aid just this week.
More than 100 persons died when a Muslim mob attacked a Christian community in western Nigeria’s Adamawa state apparently in retaliation for the deaths of 16 Muslims three months ago.
Kurdish Christian Ziwar Mohammed Ismaeel was shot dead in front of his taxi stand last month in Zakho, the northern-most city in the Kurdish safe-haven of Northern Iraq.
Presbyterian Christians are forced to meet secretly in the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan as the authorities are increasing pressure on non Muslim groups, ASSIST News Service monitored Thursday March 13.
ISTANBUL, January 30 (Compass) — A Sudanese convert to Christianity was refused permission to board a flight to Uganda this morning at the Khartoum airport, where state security police said their computers identified him as a criminal.
Terrorists apparently have stepped up their attacks on Mindanao Island in southern Philippines.
Fourteen Christians, including three children, have been brutally killed in an attack on a Christian village in the southern Philippines by Islamic separatists.
WACO, Texas (Compass) — Imprisoned Christian aid workers Heather Mercer and Dayna Curry were freed from Afghanistan’s Taliban as the country fell, city by city, to opposition forces. But a homecoming worship service showed they haven’t forgotten believers still in captivity.
NEW DELHI, October 26 (Compass) — Christian leaders planning to attend a large anti-caste system “conversion” rally in New Delhi on November 4 are bracing for a Hindu extremist backlash.
Turkmenistan’s most prominent religious prisoner, the Baptist Shageldy Atakov, has been freed before the end of his four-year sentence, Keston News Service has learnt. The US-based Russian Evangelistic Ministries and the German-based Friedensstimme Mission, which maintain close ties with Baptists in the former Soviet republics, have both confirmed that Atakov was released from prison in the Caspian port city of Turkmenbashi (formerly Krasnovodsk) early on 8 January and has now been reunited with his wife Artygul and five children in the town of Kaakhka close to Turkmenistan’s southern border with Iran. “Jesus has given me a Christmas gift,” Atakov was quoted as saying (many Christians in the region celebrate Christmas on 7 January).