AUSTRALIAN   PRAYER   NETWORK   NEWSLETTER

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 171 | Wed 08 Aug 2012

———————————————————
EGYPT: CHRISTIAN VULNERABILITY GROWS AS SECURITY DECLINES
———————————————————

by Elizabeth Kendal

The rigours of Ramadan observance ensure that as Ramadan progresses
frustration accumulates. This, merged with religious zeal, produces an
incendiary mix. On Wednesday 25 July a dispute erupted in the village of
Dahshur on the southern outskirts of Cairo, after a Coptic launderer
inadvertently singed the shirt of his Muslim client. The Muslim agreed to
return in the evening to settle the claim but returned in the afternoon
with a vengeful mob. With a large crowd of armed Muslims besieging his
home and laundrette, the Copt threw a Molotov cocktail from the roof. It
hit and severely burnt a Muslim youth passing by. When he died in hospital
on 1 August, Muslim Brotherhood clerics, instead of rising up as
peacemakers, incited Islamic hysteria and vowed collective punishment. The
ensuing Islamic pogrom left 16 Copts injured, numerous Coptic homes and
businesses torched and the only church in the village vandalised. This
violence included threats to shoot all Christians dead and convinced some
120 Christian families they had no choice but to flee. Only one elderly
Christian woman remained, receiving sanctuary in the home of a Muslim
neighbour.

Whilst a wide range of independent sources – local and international,
religious and secular – corroborate this version of events, the Muslim
Brotherhood (MB) press release presents a different picture. It denies the
pogrom was sectarian, claiming ‘the Christian [deliberately] poured acid
and gasoline over the Muslim’ to kill him and falsely boasts that the MB
immediately intervened to ‘contain people’s anger’. Egypt’s Grand Mufti
Ali Gomaa said the Copts’ exodus from Dahshur should not be considered a
‘displacement’ as the Copts left their homes willingly! The Shoura Chamber
(Parliamentary Advisory Council) is forming a committee to go to Dahshur
‘to reconcile the citizens’. But the senior vice president of the National
Council for Human Rights, Mohammed Fayek, notes: ‘One reason [for] the
sectarian tension in Egypt is impunity. The continuation of treating . . .
sectarian incidents . . . through what is known to the media as
“reconciliation sessions” enables criminals to get away with it and
[contributes to] the recurrence of such incidents.’ At this point, three
Copts and no Muslims have been arrested.

On Sunday evening 5 August some 35 Islamic jihadists raided an Egyptian
military base in north Sinai, killing 16 Egyptian soldiers and stealing
two armoured vehicles. One vehicle exploded as it crashed into the border
fence while the second vehicle, laden with suicide-vest-wearing jihadists,
penetrated into Israel. There it was eventually neutralised by an Israeli
Armed Forces air-strike close to the Kerem Shalom border crossing.
(Movements through the Rafa Crossing are monitored at Kerem Shalom which
is close to where the Gaza, Israel and Egypt borders meet.) President
Morsi, who has spent months building bridges with Hamas, had little choice
but to close the Rafa Crossing into Gaza. Ridiculously, Egypt’s Muslim
Brotherhood and Salafists have accused Israel of staging the attack to
force the closure. Anti-Semitism, on the rise in Egypt, goes into
overdrive on Egyptian TV during Ramadan. But as anti-Semitism grows
increasingly fashionable and is associated with Egyptian nationalism, it
will become increasingly difficult politically to counter terrorism.

President Morsi is appealing for tolerance, demanding justice and
promising to improve security.   He has labelled the jihadists ‘infidels’
and appealed to Copts to return to their homes. In a state of chronic
decline, Egypt is surviving on aid. It cannot afford to offend donors lest
it runs out of money, fuel and bread and erupts in massive internal
unrest. As it is, sectarian clashes are escalating, Christians are
emigrating, tourism is plummeting, violence (especially against women) is
pervasive and the Sinai is slipping out of control. The MB and Salafis
will react strongly against the closure of the Rafa Crossing and any
attempt to prosecute Muslims for ‘punishing’ Christians. As poverty and
insecurity escalate, the plight of Christians can only deteriorate.

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT –

* as escalating hardship leads to disillusionment and despair, Egyptians
will not turn to rioting and killing their neighbours, but to
reflection and a search for truth with open hearts and minds.

* God will bless and multiply all Christian witness and ministry to Arabs
through radio, satellite, internet, literature and personal witness.

God has promised that Egypt will know the LORD. ‘Among those who know me
[Yahweh] I mention Rahab [Egypt] and Babylon . . .’ (Psalm 87:4a ESV).
Then the LORD will say, ‘Blessed be Egypt my people . . .’ (from Isaiah
19:25).

* God will draw Egypt’s vulnerable Christians close, hear and answer
their prayers, provide all their needs and perfect their faith; may the
Christians of Dahshur be able to return to their homes in security, and
may justice be served on those who incited and led this sectarian
pogrom. Pray Psalm 23 for Egypt’s Christians.

To see this RLPB with hyperlinks go to
http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com.au

~~~~

SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
———————————————————–

CHRISTIAN VULNERABILITY GROWS IN EGYPT AS SECURITY DECLINES

On 1 August a massive Islamic pogrom occurred on the outskirts of Cairo. A
Muslim took offence when a Coptic launderer accidentally singed his shirt.
Rejecting the Copt’s offer of compensation, the Muslim returned with a
large mob and attacked his business. The Copt threw a Molotov cocktail,
unintentionally hitting a young Muslim bystander. When the youth died a
few days later, Islamic clerics incited the pogrom as collective
punishment of the Copts. The violence and death threats forced virtually
the entire local Christian community of some 120 families to flee.
Elsewhere, on 5 August Islamic jihadists based in the Sinai killed 16
Egyptian soldiers and penetrated into Israel. Money, fuel, bread, tourism
and security are all in decline in Egypt. Tensions are high. Please pray
for Egypt’s vulnerable Christians.

——————

TWO URGENT UPDATES

IRAN: Imprisoned Protestant pastor Benham Irani (41) (see RLPB 169) has
developed a blood infection. His life hangs in the balance. Please pray.

NIGERIA: On Monday evening 6 August some 10 gunmen stormed a Bible study
in the Deeper Life Church in Okene, Kogi State, 250km south-west of Abuja,
cutting off the lights and opening fire with assault rifles. At least 19
believers including the pastor are dead with many more wounded.   Please
pray.

——————–

We suggest that churches and fellowships using the above Summary might
also provide a copy of the listed prayer points to be used in their
worship by people who are leading in prayer.

For more information, updates and helpful links see Elizabeth Kendal’s
blog ‘Religious Liberty Monitoring’ <http://elizabethkendal.blogspot.com>.

~~~

• THE WEST IS HEADING FOR DOGMATIC TYRANNY AND CULTURAL TOTALITARIANISM
• CHRISTIANS STILL UNDER ATTACK IN NIGERIA
• EGYPTIAN ARMY CHIEF RAISES STAKES WITH ISLAMISTS
• INDIAN CHRISTIANS FORCED INTO HINDU WORSHIP AND DRIVEN FROM HOMES
• SURVEY FINDS CHILDREN HATE DIVORCE – AND BEING FAT
• WHY EUROPE IS CRUMBLING BEFORE OUR EYES
• A MILLION PEOPLE MARCH FOR JESUS IN BRAZIL

The West today is hurtling down the road towards repressive authoritarianism. For, as Peter Hitchens observes in his fantastic book, The Rage Against God (Zondervan, 2010), “the new anti-theism that is taking hold in the West is emphatically not just an opinion seeking its place in a plural society. It is a dogmatic tyranny in the making.”
In September 2003, I wrote a Religious Liberty News & Analysis report for the World Evangelical Alliance on Belarus, entitled “Resuscitating the Soviet Machine”. The first part of the posting was devoted to a 27 March 2003 speech by Belarusian dictator Aleksandr Lukashenka, in which he declared: “Ideology for a state is what the immune system is for a living organism. If the immune system grows weaker, any infection, even the slightest one, turns deadly.” Lukashenka maintained that the inculcation of an official state-controlled ideology into the country’s citizens was essential in order to protect Belarus from “infection”.

To this end, Lukashenka recommended that an “official Belarusian ideology” be taught in schools, universities and workplaces, and promoted through the media and the Orthodox Church. Maintaining that dissidents could not be permitted to hold positions of authority or influence, he advised both state-run and private universities to get rid of professors and lecturers who oppose government policies or are “wavering” in their opinions regarding the government’s course.   “If you do not accept the ideas declared by the government and the president, do not apply to a state university for a job,” Lukashenka said. “The state of ideological work in colleges, both state and private, should be changed drastically, or else we are going to lose our youth.”

Today as Christian educators, health care professionals, service providers and carers are being expelled from their positions and dragged through the courts, in both the UK and USA, I can only think of Lukashenka. For these British and American Christians are not being dismissed, expelled, sued, fined, struck off and closed down because of anything they have done. Rather, it is because of what they could not do: that is they could not affirm that all cultures, beliefs or lifestyle choices are equally good. No Western state has yet, moved Belarusian style to formerly codify or implement an official state ideology. However, it is clear that forces with ideological agendas are aggressively yet subversively leading the West in that direction.

Their success can be attributed to skilful organisation and propaganda with savvy use of media; and most critically, their devious hijacking of human rights. Unless there is an awakening and returning, then the day will surely come when the Western world will follow the Belarusian/Soviet model, where no person may qualify for or gain employment as a teacher, professor, nurse, counsellor, doctor, service provider, administrator, supervisor, carer etc, unless they can affirm the official state ideology.   Individuals unable to do so will be deemed unsuitable for certain roles on the grounds that they do not comply with “minimum standards”.

Institutions that cannot sign up to the state ideology — something that will doubtless be determined through a registration process — will likewise be penalised. At the very least they will lose government funding. At worst, they will be deemed illegal and forced to close or move “underground”. To justify the repression, dissenters will be vilified: made the objects of mockery, slander, vitriol and outright disinformation. This in turn will trigger an escalation in crippling discrimination and increasingly violent persecution. And if protecting the human rights of those vilified as backward or hateful is ever deemed politically unviable, then impunity will become the order of the day.

Source: by Elizabeth Kendal, Religious Liberty Commission

~~

CHRISTIANS STILL UNDER ATTACK IN NIGERIA

Despite a State of Emergency being lifted in four states a wave of fear continues to follow Christians in Northern Nigeria. In early July, Christian residents of Jos were told that 100 suicide bombers had arrived in the city, fully armed and ready to mobilise when needed.   The news was part of an ongoing campaign by Boko Haram against Christian communities – systematic attacks on churches in several states on consecutive weekends have left hundreds dead and injured. The extremist group had released an email in June confirming their plans to target churches over the coming weeks.   In the capital Jos particularly, Boko Haram threatened to bomb places of worship, aiming to prevent services taking place.
Many believers no longer attend worship services following the announcement. Boko Haram has killed more than 600 people in Nigeria this year alone. The Islamist sect has targeted churches, state offices, law enforcement sites and some moderate mosques in its effort to destabilise the government and impose a strict version of Sharia law on all of Nigeria. Confusion also surrounds uprisings between ethnic Fulani, who are mainly Muslim, and ethnic Birom, mainly Christian, in the Plateau state of Central Nigeria. Recently around 50 members of the Church of Christ in Maseh, along with the Pastor’s wife and children, were killed, while a further 50 Christians were killed in attacks through almost a dozen villages. Fulani spokesmen denied involvement.

Following the attacks, Boko Haram claimed responsibility, insisting all Christians abandon Christ and accept Islam or they “would never know peace again.”     The Church of Christ in Nigeria, which claims 3.5 million members in Nigeria and beyond, has suffered before. Some 40 church pastors have been killed in the past 10 years, says Reverend Dachollom Datiri, Vice President of the Church in Nigeria. “It’s been a long-term thing planned by the Boko Haram. This is a jihadist movement with the agenda to Islamise the country. It is a jihad, a religious war against Christians for refusing to embrace Islam. They are using terrorism as a weapon. That is the reason you see that the target of their attacks are Christians and our churches.”
Please pray

*   For comfort for the bereaved and healing for the injured. Pray for guidance and protection for those working to support victims of attacks. Pray also for   Christians in the affected areas that they will have the grace to respond with forgiveness rather than retaliation.

*   For an end to the bloodshed. Ask God to stay the hand of Boko Haram and pray that the authorities would be able to bring the violence under control.

*   For Christian missionaries and workers in Nigeria that they will not grow weary in the midst of the ongoing violence they face. Pray for them to have the strength and resolve to continue to serve the Lord under very difficult and trying circumstances.

Source: Intercessors Network

~~

EGYPTIAN ARMY CHIEF RAISES STAKES WITH ISLAMISTS

Egypt’s top general has raised the stakes in the standoff with the Muslim Brotherhood, saying the Army will not allow a “certain group” to dominate the country. Field Marshal Tantawi’s comments came after he met with U.S.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who urged him to work with the Brotherhood, on a full transition to civilian rule. The military and the Brotherhood, the country’s strongest political force, are in an intensifying competition for power after Morsi’s winning of the presidency. Days before Morsi was sworn in, the Brotherhood-led parliament was dissolved with generals giving themselves legislative and budgetary authority and control over the process of drafting a new constitution, and   severely limiting the president’s authority.

In his comments Tantawi said “Egypt belongs to all Egyptians and not to a certain group. The armed forces will not allow anyone, especially those pushed from outside, to distract it from its role as the protector of Egypt,” he said. “The army will never commit treason and will continue to perform its duties until Egypt reaches the shores of safety.” Tantawi has made similar comments at least once in the past, but it was the first time he made the statement since Morsi’s inauguration. It was an authoritative signal that the military has no intention of giving the Brotherhood a free rein. Tantawi, Mubarak’s defence minister for 20 years, is the most senior of the generals who took power after Mubarak’s ousting 17 months ago.

The military and the Brotherhood have bad blood since the 1950s, when then-president Gamal Abdel-Nasser jailed the group’s leaders and hundreds of its members. He ordered another crackdown in the early 1960s, jailing some again and executing a few. Mubarak spent most of his 29 years in office chasing after the Brotherhood, jailing thousands. In meetings with Morsi and with Tantawi, Clinton said the U.S. wanted the two sides to work together to bring about full democratic rule. Without taking a position in disputes over parliament or how to draft a new constitution, Clinton urged the military chief to return the armed forces to a “purely security role.” Clinton said resolving the impasse “would require dialogue and compromise.”

Source: Associated Press

~~

INDIAN CHRISTIANS FORCED INTO HINDU WORSHIP AND DRIVEN FROM HOMES

Hindu extremists forced 15 Christians to participate in Hindu worship rituals, then beat them up and ousted them from their village, according to the Evangelical Fellowship of India. Some 150 Hindus recently rounded up 12 Christians in Jawanga, a village in Chhattisgarh state, eastern India. The Christians were taken to the Hindu Temple, where they were forced to worship Hindu deities, and to participate in Hindu rituals, Akhilesh Edgar of the Evangelical Fellowship of India said the abductors then assaulted the Christians, but rather than let the Christians return home, the Hindus chased them out of the village. The Christians sought the help of John Nag, a pastor known locally as an advocate for Christians.
Nag approached the elected head of the village, who refused to permit the Christians’ return. The uprooted Jawanga villagers are now staying with other Christians in nearby Geelam. They have not filed a complaint with the police, for fear of stirring religious tensions. This episode is only the most recent example of harassment of Christians in India. In April,   300 residents of Belgal village disrupted the attempted burial of a man who had converted to Christianity. Ten people were injured, and the burial was completed after district authorities intervened. At the national level, India is religiously pluralistic, encompassing the world’s third-largest Muslim population and about 25 million Christians, which represents 2% of the country.

Persecution of Christians generally intensifies at the regional and local levels. Chhattisgarh is one of five Indian states that has adopted a Freedom of Religion Act, which unfortunately usually has the opposite effect. While intended to reduce forced conversions and decrease communal violence, states with these laws have higher incidents of intimidation, harassment, and violence against religious minorities, particularly Christians. Persecutionis largely due to the amazing growth of Christianity among the lower castes and Dalits, which threatens Hindu leaders. Violence against pastors and church gatherings continues on a monthly basis, usually in rural areas.

Source: Open Doors

~~

SURVEY FINDS CHILDREN HATE DIVORCE – AND BEING FAT

Abandoning divorce is what most children would introduce if they ruled the world, according to a poll in the UK. Marital splits were also named the second-worst thing in the world in the survey of under-10s, behind being fat. The annual survey of 1,600 youngsters found X Factor Judge Simon Cowell was more famous than God or the Queen and that the very best things in the world are ‘good looks’. Asked what rules they would make if they ruled the world, most children replied they would ban divorce – the first time it has come at the top of the list. Bullying would also be banned and has risen to the number two slot from number three last year and number five the year before.

Around two thirds of the children who took part said they were happy, but 27% were not and a further seven percent were unsure. Over 80% of the children questioned thought they would probably marry when they grow up although 17% gave a definite “no” on the subject. Sixty six percent wanted to have children, with most of them stopping at one or two. Nearly one third were unsure about becoming parents. Saturday remains the best day of the week for most, because there is no school and they can stay up late to watch television. Nearly all of those surveyed had a best friend who was kind, but many said they were in love – the number two reason for having a best friend this year, rising from number five last year and seven the year before.

Being fat topped the list of worst things in the world, rising from number three last year. It was number nine in 2006, but was not featured in polls prior to that. The research coordinators said: “It seems clear that many pre-teens are more concerned than ever with their looks and weight -possibly reflecting media images of glamour, and new educational initiatives in nutrition and healthy eating. This particular age group has some very clear ideas on how the world could be changed for the better, but are very rarely given the opportunity to express them.”

Source: Intercessors Network

~~

WHY EUROPE IS CRUMBLING BEFORE OUR EYES

The financial crisis in Europe is rocking the rest of the world. So far, European leaders haven’t been able to come up with an answer to turn things around. In Athens, Greece, a homeless shelter is now caring for people who used to belong to the middle class. In Terrassa, Spain, desperate homeowners facing foreclosure are banding together in hopes of somehow not joining the homeless. You can see the fear on their faces. It is the same story all across the troubled economies in the eurozone. While European Union leaders keep announcing their next great solution to the eurozone debt crisis, nothing has worked and there appears to be no solution on the horizon.

Meanwhile, the economies continue to crumble. If it were just Spain that needed a bailout, there might be some hope. But it has already been Greece and it may also be Italy and perhaps even France. “The euro as it is now may not survive,” German economist Philipp Bagus, author of The Tragedy of the Euro, is quoted as saying.   “The problem is too high debt, too high deficits. The states are just too big,” he explained. “This self-destructive mechanism could have been prevented.” But Europe remains addicted to the problem: a flawed currency, enormous welfare states, and deficit spending and E.U. leaders still seem unwilling or unable to do what it takes to stop a crisis that is slowly but inevitably spinning out of control.

In Athens, economist Elena Paranitis said Greece’s real problem is not a fiscal crisis but a productivity crisis because of heavy government regulations and the welfare state. “It’s impossible to do business and be a good entrepreneur in Greece,” she said. Support for radical parties is growing in Greece. Paranitis said if going back to the old Greek currency, the drachma, is the solution, the medicine could kill the patient. “You wil lhave a natural shock of inflation that will create a higher level of stress than this country can take,” she predicted.   Investors have once again pushed Spain’s borrowing costs through the roof. Respected economist Nouriel Roubini said in three to six months, Italy and Spain may not be able to borrow money at all.

Source: CBNnews.com

~~

A MILLION PEOPLE MARCH FOR JESUS IN BRAZIL

More than a million Christians united in Brazil recently in an annual march for Jesus in the streets of Sao Paulo. Hundreds of Protestant churches take part in the event organized by the Reborn in Christ Church. Brazil’s evangelical population is exploding, jumping from 16 million people (6.6% of the population) to 42.3 million (22.2%) over the past decade. The Pew Forumon Religion & Public Life now lists Brazil as the world’s second most Christian-populated country in the world, according to the 2010 Census. Meanwhile, the Catholic population – which is by far still the most populous in Brazil – has decreased over the same decade. In 2000, the Catholic population was 73.6% of Brazil’s population, but in 2010, it had dropped to 64.6%.

Source: Christian Post

~~

Have you visited our Web site?  Australian Prayer Network

~~

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 172 | Wed 15 Aug 2012

————————————————–
IVORY COAST: THOUSANDS DISPLACED IN RENEWED TERROR
————————————————–

by Elizabeth Kendal

In early December 2010, disputed elections left Ivory Coast with two Prime
Ministers. After Alassane Ouattara declared himself the winner, the
Constitutional Council declared Laurent Gbagbo the winner. Alassane
Ouattara’s rebel forces then moved (with French backing) to take power by
force. In March 2011, at the height of the crisis, pro-Ouattara Muslim
rebels, whose tribal origins lie in the north, rampaged through western
Ivory Coast. They massacred hundreds and displaced tens of thousands of
mostly ethnic Guere, the traditional landowners who are predominantly
Christian and supporters of Laurent Gbagbo. By early April 2011, the
Catholic mission in Duekoue was hosting more than 27,000 severely
traumatised, mostly Christian and ethnic Guere refugees.

The displaced Guere have been unable to return home because their homes
have been occupied by ‘rebels’ – i.e. by pro-Ouattara militiamen who have
since been taken into the new Ivorian Army, the FRCI (Forces Republicaines
de la Cote d’Ivoire). Furthermore, the west remains incredibly dangerous,
over-run by armed criminals and undisciplined ‘soldiers’, as well as with
‘dozos’ – traditional hunters who work as mercenary enforcers for the
FRCI. While many displaced Guere have been able to find refuge with
friends and family elsewhere, over 5000 have been settled in the nearby
Nahibly camp guarded by UN peacekeepers.

On the night of 19 July 2012 four ethnic Malinke (Muslims) were killed
during an armed robbery in Duekoue’s Kokoma neighbourhood. The next day, a
massive crowd of ‘dozos’ and ethnic Malinke, along with other Muslim
tribes, descended on the nearby Nahibly camp supposedly to enact
‘revenge’. (Numbers vary widely, but according to Ann Encontre, head of
the UN refugee arm UNHCR in Ivory Coast, the attackers numbered around
3000.) At least eleven Guere refugees were killed and more than 60 wounded
as the invaders, armed with machetes, clubs and rifles, attacked the
inhabitants, doused the camp in petrol and burnt it to the ground. The UN
‘peacekeepers’ have explained that they did not fire on the invaders
because they wanted to avoid ‘a massacre’. Terrified refugees, who fled to
‘peacekeepers’ for assistance, report being chased away or pushed into the
arms of their attackers who then beat them mercilessly in front of the
‘peacekeepers’. According to the UN, Ivorian security forces are supposed
to be responsible for security at the camp but none were present. The
attack forced some 5000 predominantly Christian ethnic Guere refugees to
flee into the ungoverned, inhospitable bush.

Bah Leontine, who managed to escape with her family, says the attackers
screamed: ‘No Guere moves! No Guere moves! If you move we will kill you.’
She said, ‘The war is over, why are you still pursuing us?’ They replied,
‘We don’t want to see Guere in Duekoue.’ Bah managed to get her family
safely into the bush, where they hid for three days before finding refuge
in the town hall in Duekoue. ‘It’s God who saved us,’ she says. Other
survivors fled back to the Catholic mission in Duekoue. However, the
priest has reported that the mission has also been threatened by ‘crowds
of angry youths’. The UN human rights agency has condemned the Nahibly
attack which it says was ‘clearly ethnically motivated’.

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT THE LORD WILL –

* draw his people close to him, comfort them and increase their faith,
answering their prayers and supplying their every need for food,
shelter, medical aid, security, wisdom and spiritual guidance.

* revive his Church so that Ivorian Christians will not lose hope but
will rediscover the power and grace of God – the very same God who
totally transformed their nation 100 years ago.

In 1913-14, when Ivory Coast’s population was estimated at less than one
million, the Liberian evangelist William Wade Harris baptised over 100,000
converts over 18 months. The population of Ivory Coast today is some 20
million. Pray for revival and that God will send out workers into his
harvest field (Matthew 9:38). Please pray for two million converts during
2013-14.

~~~~

SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
———————————————————–

THOUSANDS DISPLACED IN RENEWED TERROR IN IVORY COAST

In March 2011 tens of thousands of predominantly Christian Guere were
ethnically cleansed from their lands in western Ivory Coast by Muslim
rebels loyal to presidential aspirant Alassane Ouattara. The Guere have
never been able to return because their homes have been occupied by
Muslims. Some 5000 Guere who remain displaced have been living in the
Nahibly camp in Duekoue, which is protected by UN peacekeepers. A massive
Muslim mob stormed the camp on 19 July 2012. Armed with clubs, machetes
and rifles, they killed at least eleven refugees, wounded 60 and burnt the
camp to the ground, leaving the 5000 mostly Christian ethnic Guere
displaced yet again. The UN has condemned the attack that it says was
‘clearly ethnically motivated’. Please pray for Christians in Ivory Coast.

——————–

To view this RLPB with hyperlinks, visit the Religious Liberty Prayer
Bulletin blog at  http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com