A mother was killed and five other villagers injured when unidentified men entered the predominantly Christian village of Maranatha in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia and began slashing the people with machetes. According to an eyewitness, Noci, a forty-year-old mother of two died while attempting to crawl toward her screaming baby after she suffered machete wounds to her head, neck and back. Four men on motorcycles raced through the town, slashing villagers. The five wounded victims were identified as Pianus, 18, Efrain, 30, Kanus, 30, Kalfin, 25, and Listin, 17
It is unknown if this attack is connected to an incident in January when another villager in Maranatha was killed and others wounded in sectarian violence in the area. Authorities are also looking into possible links to the sentencing of five Muslim militants on March 15. The five were members of the militant Islamic Jemaah Islamiyah (JI). JI has connections with al-Qaeda and has been linked to a nightclub bombing in Bali as well as several attacks on Christians in Central Sulawesi.
Pray that more violence will not erupt in this volatile area of Indonesia. Pray that Christians will respond with peace, demonstrating the attitude of Christ Jesus.
For more information on the problems facing Christians in Indonesia, click here.
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