Tags

Attack

  • Christian Woman Severely Beaten
    Green fields with hills in the background.
    A rural area in Hidalgo, Mexico.
    Photo: Flickr / David Cabrera (cc

    Since 2015, members of the Great Commission Baptist Church in the community of Rancho Nuevo, Hidalgo State, have been prohibited from accessing their land to cultivate crops. On December 21st, Maria Concepcion Hernández-Hernández was physically assaulted for merely viewing her plot of land after being asked by a neighbour to remove two trees from the property. When local leaders were informed that the Christian woman had gone to her land, she was ambushed and brutally beaten.

  • Fatalities During the Christmas Season
    Coffins lined up with mourners gathered behind.
    Coffins of slain Christians in Mallagum.
    Photo: Morning Star News

    As a local church was about to begin their service on Christmas Day in Angwan Aku, Kaduna, Fulani militants entered the village on motorcycles. Shooting sporadically, one Christian was killed. Before leaving, the attackers also kidnapped 53 other villagers.

  • Christians Expelled from Tribal Village
    A group of Christians.
    Some of the expelled believers.
    Photo: Chhattisgarh Progressive Christian Alliance

    On December 4th, a group consisting of 13 Christian families were expelled from their home village in rural Chhattisgarh because they refused to deny their faith. The families, comprising a total of 66 individuals, were summoned to a village council meeting in the town of Mungwal. The villagers opposing these families tried to pressure them to deny their faith in Jesus Christ, mandating that they return to their former tribal religion.

  • Christians Dealing with Aftermath of Mob Attack
    A man reading a Bible.

    A small gathering of Christians suffered severe beatings during an attack on November 13th in which a mob, accompanied by a village leader, interrupted their Sunday worship service. The mob burst into the home where the believers had gathered and forcibly removed two families from the residence before brutally beating them. Since coming to faith in Christ four months prior to this attack, these families received harassment from other villagers. They have been accused of converting to a foreign religion and luring innocent tribal people to Christianity.

  • Theological College Shelled by Military
    Panoramic view of Kutkai.
    Kutkai township, Shan State.
    Photo: Wikipedia / Saisanmyint (cc)

    Four young men were wounded when Myanmar's military shelled the Kachin Theological Seminary on November 3rd. The attack happened in Kutkai, Shan State – a state where there has been recurring fighting between the military and various ethnic rebel groups. However, there were no ongoing conflicts reported taking place in or near the town of Kutkai, leading many to believe that the attack against the school was intentional.

  • Church Building Seized and Damaged
    The interior of a partially damaged church.
    Destruction of the church in Mobye.
    Photo: UCA News

    As fighting between resistance forces and government soldiers in Myanmar intensifies, churches are frequently being targeted by the country's ruling military junta. In mid-September, the Mother of God Catholic Church in Mobye, Shan State, was seized by troops. For several days, the military used the building as a kitchen for its soldiers, resulting in damages to the building. As part of the offensive, the community was hit by air strikes and heavy weapons, resulting in the destruction of more than 100 homes and the displacement of more than 5,000 people.

  • Dozens Kidnapped from Two Church Services
    A church service in Nigeria
    A Nigerian church service.
    Photo: Flickr / SIM USA (cc)

    Suspected Fulani herdsmen stormed a church in Suleja, Niger State, in the early morning of September 17th. Several of the church members who had gathered for an all-night prayer vigil were kidnapped, along with the pastor.

  • Attacks Resulting in Fatalities and Kidnappings
    Nun, facing away, walking accross a porch

    More than 20 Christians lost their lives in attacks that took place recently in Nigeria's Taraba State during the first half of August. In one such incident, the St. Agnes Catholic Church in the village of Dinya was raided on August 14th. At the time of the attack, a spiritual teacher working for the church was kidnapped by the perpetrators. According to the parish priest, Rev. Lawrence Awua, the assailants entered the building at around 10 p.m. and began shooting sporadically. The church's teacher, Gidion Tsehemba, heard the noise and came to investigate, which led to his abduction.

  • Police Intervene in Mob Attack
    Church gates
    Photo: CLAAS

    On Sunday, August 7th, hundreds of Christian families in Lahore fled their homes when they saw a large mob marching towards their church building. It was only through the intervention of police that the building was preserved and an attack on the Christians' homes had been averted.

  • Mob Violence Erupts After Official Approval of Church
    St. George's Church in Cairo
    The Coptic church traces its presence in Egypt back to the first century.
    Photo: Flickr / Edgardo W. Olivera (cc)

    In 2016, a government committee was established in Egypt to work through more than 3,700 applications for the legalization of previously unlicenced church buildings. While the process has been slow, since that time almost 2,000 church buildings have been legally approved. (For more details, see this previously posted report.)