Displaying items by tag: Africa

According to an ongoing headcount, 100 of the school girls abducted by militants from their boarding school in Dapchi on 19 February were ‘dropped off’ at about 7:30 am on 21 March. Their release was unconditional. ‘Dapchi is full of joy,’ said Mohammed Mdada. He said the militants apologised to some of the girls’ parents in their language, Kanuri, and shook their hands before driving off. They said that if they had known the girls were Muslim they wouldn’t have abducted them. Some reports say that Christian girls had not been released. Amnesty International said four girls are still missing. The terrorists warned the girls to stay away from school, adding that if they returned and found any girls in school they’d abduct them again and never give them back. Although parents are rejoicing, it can be seen that the girls have suffered and are in a poor state.

Gabriel Ole, an elder in Bangui Baptist church, worked for UNICEF. He was killed in a violent ambush in the Central African Republic (CAR), along with two officials from the ministry of education and three UNICEF workers travelling to Markounda near the north-western border with Chad. Some of the victims were shot dead, others had their throats slit. Their car was torched. CAR’s prime minister, Simplice Matthieu Sarandji, honoured the victims during his visit on 6 March when he said, ‘School is the key to developing a country. Any attack against teachers is a crime against the education of our children’. Pray for an end to senseless acts against aid workers who are only there to improve the lives of vulnerable people. Pray for those mourning the loss of loved ones.

Arriving in pickup trucks and shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’, suspected Islamist terrorists in coordinated attacks struck both the French embassy and the army headquarters in Burkina Faso's capital on 2 March. There was great confusion, especially near the embassy, and gunfire continued until midday. At least 90 were wounded in the attacks. Five of the extremists were killed near the embassy, and three others near the army headquarters. Landlocked Burkina Faso, one of the poorest countries in Africa, shares a border with Mali where Islamic terrorism has been an ongoing threat. President Macron of France visited the country three months ago: it is a former French colony, and has not experienced the same level of violence as some of its neighbours. So far no group has claimed responsibility; it could be an organised group or local insurgents. Please pray for all the wounded to experience complete healing physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

700 churches in Rwanda have been closed in a mass government clampdown. The board which monitors public and private organisations said, 'Some churches conduct worship services in shoddy, unclean structures, to the detriment of health and safety. Noise pollution has been reported, and some operate without the required operation permits.’ Pentecostal churches run by charismatic preachers claiming to hear directly from God or saying they can perform miracles have spread rapidly, and many operate out of tiny structures without planning permission. In order to start a church in Rwanda a pastor needs a government certificate that expires after one year. A new law will make it more difficult for a person to call themselves a preacher and start a new church without any theological training. Some preachers 'deceive their congregation with misleading sermons'. However the authorities are accused of trying to control preachers’ messages, in a country often accused of stifling free speech.

On 25 February, Nigeria's information minister had a meeting with the family members of 110 girls who were abducted a week earlier. The frustrated families had criticised the government for taking so long to acknowledge the abduction. They presented the minister with a list of names of the missing girls, and complained that officials were being slow to respond. The girls’ fate is not known, but witnesses said the Islamic extremists specifically asked where the girls’ school was located. Some eyewitnesses reported seeing young women taken away at gunpoint. Air Force spokesman Olatokunbo Adesanya said that efforts to locate the girls are being conducted in close liaison with other security forces. It is feared the girls will become brides for Boko Haram extremists. Nigeria's president said no effort will be spared to locate them.

60.5% of South Sudan’s population is Christian, with over 60 different major ethnic groups. South Sudan split from the predominantly Islamic north in 2011 and was expected to prosper as the split meant it inherited most of Sudan's oil wealth. But civil war has robbed the nation, killed thousands, and left tens of thousands in need of humanitarian aid. Now a report by UN human rights investigators says that over 40 South Sudanese officials, including military generals and state governors, may be guilty of crimes against humanity, (rape, murder of civilians, and conscripting child soldiers). The report says, ‘Children have been recruited and forced to kill civilians. In many cases they have watched loved ones raped or killed. The scale of the hunger and destruction inflicted on the country by its political and military leaders defies description.’

Recently the Egyptian army and police launched a comprehensive anti-terrorism operation in the Sinai peninsula ahead of the 26-28 March elections in which President al-Sisi will be running for a second term. A spokesman said intelligence information revealed that extremist groups were planning to carry out terrorist attacks across Egypt during the election, to erode citizens’ trust in the state’s ability to secure the country and to prevent them from casting their votes. Armed groups are concentrated in three cities, Rafah, Sheikh Zuweid and el-Arish, deep in the desert. Classes have been indefinitely suspended in all schools in the area. The roads linking north Sinai to the other governorates and the governorate cities to each other were closed, forcing residents to stay at home and making it difficult for university students to travel.

At least 13 people were killed on 26 February in clashes between Christians and Muslims in Kasuwan Magani community in Kaduna state, central Nigeria. Many houses and shops were burnt down. Twenty suspects have been arrested and extra police have been put on the streets to try to quell the violence. ‘The place is currently calm. I was in the village yesterday to implore the community and traditional leaders to direct the warring youths to sheath their swords,’ said the state police commissioner. ‘We don't want to jump to conclusions as to what led to the mayhem. Speculation was that some Christian boys were unhappy that their girls are befriending Muslim boys.’ Local reports indicate the death toll is higher than the police have reported.

In January, the voices of a praying and fasting network of Christians across the country stirred God’s heart to reveal some of His plans for the country at the start of the year. One of God’s revelations during this strategic prayer time was that He would accelerate the process of change within the country. On 14 February, President Jacob Zuma resigned, ending weeks of speculation. Cyril Ramaphosa is now the fifth President of democratic South Africa. Pray for the beginning of an honourable era in South African national politics under God’s leadership through Ramaphosa. Pray for the ANC as they face deep structural challenges. Pray also for Mr Zuma’s future to be in God’s hands, whether it is quiet retirement or court appearances. See

‘They threatened to kill me.’ ‘They’ are not jihadist groups, they are A’s family. When A committed his life to Christ in 2000, his Muslim family from the ethnic Kotoko people acted as if he had pointed a challenging dagger at them. The Kotoko take pride in the fact that they are one of the few tribes in their region with no known Christians. A said, ‘When all their spells and curses with the help of the local medicine man failed, they tried to kill me themselves.’ More than once, his family tried to poison his food. One night, strangers kidnapped him and took him to an unknown destination. ‘On the way there, I prayed for God to confuse them so that they could release me. And He did! They just let me go without saying anything.’ A and others face constant insults, exclusion and danger from their families when they become Christians.