A strip of land along Gaza’s southern border with Egypt, called the Rafah buffer, is five km long and its demolition is one of several measures undertaken by the Egyptian government to counter insurgency in North Sinai and destroy all the underground smuggling tunnels from Egypt to Gaza. Egyptian armed forces discovered and blew up a 1,200-metre long tunnel containing weapons and explosives in January. Last year Egyptian military operations destroyed 1,500 smuggling tunnels, however recent satellite photos revealed hundreds more tunnels inside mosques in Rafa, inside bedrooms and inside stores. Consequently Egypt has decided to destroy the city of Rafah and build a new ‘Rafah city’.  Hundreds of family homes have been demolished and 1,220 houses are marked for demolition in the area

After Jordanian pilot, Muath al-Kasasbeh, was captured by IS and then burned to death in a cage, Jordan pledged to go after Islamic State until the terror group is ‘eliminated and completely wiped out.’ The United Arab Emirates (UAE) which reportedly stopped its participating in US led air-strikes after the Jordanian pilots capture has now resumed its participation and is reported to have said, ‘The UAE holds a ‘deep belief in the need for Arab collective cooperation to eliminate terrorism, through actions and words, and bolster the security, stability and moderation of the nation through the collective encountering of these terrorist gangs and their misleading ideology and brutal practices’. On Tuesday Jordan deployed ‘thousands’ of troops at its border with Iraq to prevent the infiltration of ISIS fighters into Jordan and as a show of force, according to the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. See also 

Archbishop Bashar Warda travelled to London this week to address a Westminster gathering on Iraq's declining Christian population and requesting further action by UK’s government. ‘Christians in Iraq do not have much time left without direct military action on the ground', the Archbishop of Irbil told UK peers and MPs. Iraq's Christian communities have declined dramatically since Saddam Hussein and he said air strikes were ‘not enough’ to defeat Islamic State militants. He ‘begged’ for Western troops to be deployed on the ground. The archbishop said, ‘As a Catholic I find it hard to say, but I want military action. There is no other way now'. He also addressed the Church of England's ruling General Synod. ‘What we are seeing is worse for the world than what happened in Afghanistan'. Former Cabinet minister John Gummer, now Lord Deben, said the archbishop's speech was an example of the ‘desperate dilemma the Christian community of Iraq is now in’

People have ventured into the interior of CAR for pre-national dialogue discussions and returned with chilling eyewitness accounts. Whole villages lie wasted by fire or abandoned with inhabitants living in the bush. Many families continue to suffer terribly. Churches are not being spared. Those in Markounda commune and the surrounding area in the north have been the most affected. Persons committing crimes continue to claim their right to return to power. Kouango commune and the areas as far as the village of Ngakobo are deserted. Fulani Seleka carry out a reign of terror; you can travel 200 km without meeting a single individual. People are forced to cross the river south into the Democratic Republic of Congo, but there are manhunts and If the Congolese military don't like the look of you, you are accused of something and executed. Some escaped by canoe to Bangui, bringing eyewitness accounts they need you ongoing support in prayer. To read a Guardian article on CAR click 'More' link