General

Catholic priest killed, another injured in spate of attacks in CAR

September 8, 2017 Central African Republic Anti-balaka, Bangui, Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, Gambo, Seleka, UN, UPC, Zemio

The situation continues to deteriorate in the Central African Republic, with various incidents reported in September. According to local sources, a retired Catholic priest has been killed, another injured, and a Catholic Church compound hosting thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) looted, in separate incidents. On 3 September, Father Robert . . . Read More

Three Kenyan Christians ‘called out by name’, then beheaded by suspected Al-Shabaab

September 8, 2017 Kenya Al-Shabaab, Boni, Kenya, Lamu, Pandaguo, Somalia, Tana River

A group of around 30 heavily armed men in military gear, suspected to be Al-Shabaab militants, killed three men in Lamu West, near Hindi, at about 1.30am on Wednesday (6 September). In eastern coastal Kenya, along the Somali border, Lamu has been beset by Islamist attacks for years. This has . . . Read More

Church and indigenous Nasa people build Colombia’s future together

September 8, 2017 Colombia Baptists, Cauca, Colombia, Converts, ELN, FARC, Pope Francis, Trauma

Some of the women from displaced Christian Nasa families.

The six-day visit of Pope Francis to Colombia comes when the ink is barely dry on the peace deals between the government and armed rebel factions, the FARC-EP (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and ELN (National Liberation Army). The country is still divided over what should happen to those responsible . . . Read More

Nineveh Christians rebuild their homes, but threats remain in Iraq

September 7, 2017 Iraq Bashiqa, Dohuk, Iraq, Islamic State, Nineveh Plains, Qaraqosh

With towns and cities such as Qaraqosh and Bashiqa in Iraq’s Nineveh Plains now liberated from Islamic State (IS) forces and their original inhabitants beginning to return, there is confidence among some local Christian leaders that life is slowly beginning to get back to normal. “I am optimistic, yes, very . . . Read More

Central Asian mother beaten while pregnant, afraid to lose her child – for being a Christian

September 6, 2017 Central Asia, Divorce, Islamic extremism, Sharia, Women

The narrow room in the old hostel in this Central Asian city is too small for the four women who live there: 23-year-old Sameda*, her mother, sister, and little daughter. Although they are in the capital, their room has no access to water or gas, and the authorities refuse to . . . Read More

India: cautious response to appointment of first Christian to Modi’s cabinet

September 6, 2017 India Alphons Kannanthanam, Anti-conversion law, BJP, Catholics, India, Jharkhand, Kerala, Narendra Modi

Alphons Kannanthanam was sworn in on 3 September at the Presidential Palace in New Del

Church officials in India’s Christian heartland of Kerala are cautiously optimistic following the appointment of a first Christian MP to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet, amid heated political debate. Modi’s past three years at the head of a Hindu nationalist government (the BJP) have seen a rise in radical extremism . . . Read More

Kano, Nigeria: father and son killed, three women and a baby kidnapped

August 31, 2017 Nigeria Kano, Middle Belt, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria

A father and son were killed, and three women and a baby abducted, in an attack in Nigeria’s northern state of Kano, in the largely Muslim area of Tudun Wada. At around 8pm on 15 August, armed men, believed to be local Muslims, attacked the house of Baba Kale Dankali, . . . Read More

Family imprisoned, tortured for fleeing North Korea – and for their Christian faith

August 30, 2017 North Korea China, Kim Jong-Un, North Korea, South Korea

As North Korea’s missile testing focuses the world’s attention on Kim Jong-un’s regime, one woman’s story shows how harshly families are treated when they refuse to follow his authoritarian rules. Hannah Cho* was born just before the Korean War broke out in 1950. She remembered the air-raid sirens and holding . . . Read More

Sudan church leader re-arrested, with at least 6 more, over government pressure for property

August 30, 2017 Sudan Bahri, Khartoum, Kuwa Shamal, Omdurman, Sanctions, Sudan, Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church, Sudanese Church of Christ

Sudan's government continues with the gradual confiscation of properties belonging to, among others, the SCOC and SEPC in Bahri (Khartoum North) and Omdurman. In June, Sudanese church leaders risked going public with their concerns by sending an open letter to the government.

A Sudan church leader who already spent Christmas 2015 in prison on charges of “spying” – he was freed due to lack of evidence after 19 days – has been re-arrested for a day, along with five other fellow church leaders. Those arrested belong to the Sudan Church of Christ . . . Read More

Turkey charges US pastor as ‘spy’; conviction would mean life in prison

August 29, 2017 Turkey Andrew Brunson, Coup, Fethullah Gülen, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey

Andrew Brunson in a photo provided by his family.

Almost a year after arresting him, Turkey piled on new charges of “spying” and “insurgency” against American pastor Andrew Brunson on 24 August, demanding four consecutive life sentences in prison against the 23-year resident of Turkey. Jailed since his surprise detention without charges last October, Brunson was eventually accused of . . . Read More

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