RLPB 698. Sudan: Hell in Khartoum, Genocide in Darfur, El Obeid Besieged, Nuba Mts Bombed.

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 698 | Wed 21 June 2023
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SUDAN: HELL IN KHARTOUM, GENOCIDE IN DARFUR, EL OBEID BESIEGED, NUBA MTS BOMBED.
By Elizabeth Kendal

Excellent short backgrounder:
Sudan and its Endgames,
MEMRI, 24 April 2023

On 15 April 2023 conflict erupted in Khartoum between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF, led by General Abdul Fattah al-Burhan) and its former partner, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (‘Hemedti’). The SAF represents the Arab-Islamist Muslim Brotherhood-led Deep State of former president Omar al-Bashir. Meanwhile, the RSF’s interests lie primarily in preserving its own power as an independent paramilitary, along with the wealth it garners through its control of Darfur’s gold mines. Comprised mostly of Darfurian Arabs, the RSF was established in 2013 and is used as a regime proxy by the Arab supremacists in Khartoum to wage genocide against Darfur’s predominantly Muslim, long-marginalised, rebellious black African tribes. It was the insistence that the RSF be integrated into the SAF – something rejected by the RSF, as well as many of the SAF’s professional soldiers who despise the RSF as little more than gangsters – that ultimately triggered the current conflict.

Today, Darfur’s black African tribes are once again facing genocide at the hands of Arab janjaweed militias backed by Hemedti’s RSF which is determined to eliminate all opposition. In North Kordofan, the capital, El Obeid, is now completely besieged by the RSF. In South Kordofan, on 12 June, bombs fell on the predominantly Christian Nuba Mountains for the first time since 2016. The US-based charity Persecution Project reports that on ‘Monday [12 June], only moments after a Persecution Project emergency relief and shelter outreach was completed, two Sudanese fighter jets flew over our distribution centre, terrifying the residents and dropping two bombs in the vicinity'. Hundreds of thousands of war-weary Christians in the jihad-ravaged Nuba Mountains – many of them genocide survivors – are again facing the spectre of war and famine.

Map of South Kordofan
showing (from north to south)
El Obeid, Debibad, Delling, Kadugli.
MAP source

Since 15 April, the fighting in Khartoum has driven thousands of South Sudanese and Nuba Christians to flee south. Most of those headed for South Kordofan or South Sudan will travel through North Kordofan and its capital El Obeid/Al-Ubayyid. As with Darfur, fighting erupted in El Obeid in April. On 27 April, during a violent clash between RSF and SAF forces, two rockets struck El Obeid’s Catholic Cathedral. One rocket hit the priest’s residence, and the other blasted into the Cathedral’s front gate, blowing out the Cathedral’s windows. Priests, who were praying inside the church at the time, thanked God that no-one was injured; they are determined to remain in the city for the people. Radio Dabanga reports (13 June): ‘El Obeid is now besieged from all sides by the RSF.’ While water and electricity have been restored, the situation is catastrophic, especially for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) transiting south. On 14 June the SAF carried out ‘air strikes for the first time in El Obeid’.

NUBA MOUNTAINS: Radio Dabanga reports (14 June) that between 2 May and 5 June, 179,333 IDPs arrived in ‘Dalami, Heiban, Tubou (sic) [could this be Talodi/Talawdi?] and the eastern parts of the Nuba Mountains’. This influx of traumatised and wounded, mostly women and children – into a region long marginalised, dependant on humanitarian aid, and with only one medical clinic – is exacerbating an already catastrophic humanitarian situation.

Abdel Aziz al-Hilu (image: Nuba Reports)
[see RLPB 567 (16 Sept 2020)]

According to Reuters (8 June), skirmishes between the RSF and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-North (Hilu faction; which represents the interests of the predominantly Christian Nuba tribes) ‘have been on-going for months’. On Thursday 8 June Abdel Aziz al-Hilu mobilised his forces [SPLM/A-North (Hilu faction)] in South Kordofan. On 9 June Hilu’s forces managed to take over several SAF compounds around South Kordofan’s capital, Kadugli, after SAF troops were redeployed away from there to fight the RSF in El Obeid. The SAF has responded by reinforcing its positions throughout South Kordofan. On Saturday 10 June Military Intelligence officers in Delling/Dilling – a key city in South Kordofan’s north-west, 133 km due north of Kadugli – stopped buses carrying IDPs to Kadugli, claiming insecurity. On 12 June the SAF launched its first airstrikes on the Nuba Mountains since 2016. On 20 June Radio Dabanga reported that the RSF had ‘raided’ and ‘plundered’ Debibad, a town in South Kordofan north of Delling, while fighting between the SAF and the SPLM-N (Hilu faction) south of Kadugli ‘continued over the weekend’.

PLEASE PRAY THAT OUR MERCIFUL GOD WILL:

* intervene in Sudan to end the fighting. A negotiated settlement seems unlikely as the parties are simply too far apart. However: ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible’ (Matthew 19:26) and God’s ways and thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). Lord have mercy!

* protect and provide for Sudan’s long-persecuted Christians. We pray especially for the predominantly Christian, war-ravaged Nuba Mountains – may the Lord rise up and fight for his people against all those who would do them harm.

‘Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me! … Let them be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them away! Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them!' (Psalm 35:1a, 5-6 ESV)

* deploy his angelic forces to protect and defend all those delivering humanitarian aid to those whose lives depend on it. May Sudan’s Christians – especially those who are displaced or trapped in conflict zones – seek the Lord for everything they need; may they experience his provision and deliverance. Lord have mercy!

'May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! May he send you help from the sanctuary … May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.' (From Psalm 20)


SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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SUDAN: NUBA MOUNTAINS BOMBED

On 15 April conflict erupted in Khartoum between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and its former partner, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Fighting quickly spread to Darfur, where genocide is currently underway (with Arab militias killing black Africans), and North Kordofan, where the capital, El Obeid is now besieged – its Cathedral hit by rockets. In recent weeks the conflict also spread to South Kordofan, where the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-North (Hilu faction: which represents the interests of the predominantly Christian Nuba tribes) is fighting both RSF and SAF forces. On 12 June bombs fell on the Nuba Mountains for the first time since 2016. Hundreds of thousands of war-weary Christians in the jihad-ravaged Nuba Mountains – many of them genocide survivors – are again facing the spectre of war, famine and death. Please pray.

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate for the persecuted Church. The Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) is a donor funded ministry. To support this ministry visit www.ElizabethKendal.com

Elizabeth has authored two books: Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today (Deror Books, Melbourne, Australia, Dec 2012) which offers a Biblical response to persecution and existential threat; and After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East (Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, USA, June 2016). She is also an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

For more information see www.ElizabethKendal.com

RLPB 567. Sudan: Peace and Liberty; Hope and Resistance

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 567 | Wed 16 Sep 2020
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

Please forward this prayer bulletin widely and encourage others to sign up to “Follow by email” on the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) blog. ‘The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective’ (James 5:16 NIV).

SUDAN: PEACE AND LIBERTY, HOPE AND RESISTANCE.
By Elizabeth Kendal

click on map to enlarge

BACKGROUND
Expansive Sudan is home to numerous ethnic groups and religious traditions. For decades, the central government's racist Arab supremacy (resulting in the marginalisation and persecution of non-Arabs) and totalitarian Islamic supremacy (resulting in Islamic jihad against those who resist the imposition of Islamic Sharia Law) caused nothing but suffering and war; it also led to the break-up of the state. The cost (in life and wealth) was enormous! However, it was a cost not paid by the regime in Khartoum, but rather by the Sudanese people, and especially by the non-Arabs and non-Muslims of the periphery.

Between December 2018 and April 2019 - in what must go down in history as one of the greatest people-movements of the early 21st Century - multitudes of Sudanese rose up declaring, 'Enough!'. Even after the military toppled the regime, the protesters bravely stood their ground declaring, 'No! Still not enough!' and demanded civilian rule. The protesters' insistence that Sudan be recognised as multi-racial and multi-religious, as well as free and democratic was beyond inspirational! [See RLPB 502 (15 May 2019)].

Ultimately, to move forward without bloodshed, a compromise had to be reached. The Sovereignty Council was established as a transitional administration comprising both civilians and military. After nearly 40 years of Islamist-military rule, the difficulty of freeing Sudan from the grip of an Islamist Deep State cannot be overstated! [See RLPB 516 (21 Aug 2019)]

Despite protests and a failed assassination attempt [RLPB 540 (11 Mar 2020)], Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok is making every effort to bring about the changes so many Sudanese are demanding, including their demand for peace. He deserves all the support he can get.

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SUDAN: PEACE AND LIBERTY, HOPE AND RESISTANCE.

In South Sudan's capital, Juba, on Monday 31 August, after nearly a full year of talks, representatives from Sudan's Sovereignty Council initialled a peace agreement with representatives from the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF), a coalition of rebel groups that have been fighting Khartoum's Arab-Islamist regime for years. The deal gives the rebels positions in the transitional government and extends greater autonomy to territories under their control. The voluntary return of millions of displaced and exiled Sudanese will be encouraged and assisted, and humanitarian aid groups - long-banned from rebel-held regions - will be invited to return. Rebel fighters will be required to lay down their arms or join the ranks of the as-yet unreformed Sudan Armed Forces (their long-time enemy); a provision many suspect will prove unworkable at this time. A final agreement will be signed in Juba on Saturday 3 October.

Abdel Aziz al-Hilu 

However, two groups under the SRF umbrella refused to sign. Abdel Wahid al-Nour, who leads a faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army in Darfur, is holding out for a better deal. And while the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army-North (Agar-Arman faction) did sign, the main faction led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu - which is based in the Nuba Mountains and represents the interests of the Nuba peoples - refused on the grounds that the agreement does not address the 'root causes' of the conflict: Islam and centralisation. As long-time Sudan expert Eric Reeves explains, Abdel Aziz al-Hilu (whom Reeves describes as a man of 'extraordinary integrity, tremendous courage, and the clearest intelligence') is not prepared to see his people, the Nuba, betrayed yet again. For the mostly Christian Nuba, al-Hilu demands that Sudan be secular (the demand that led to the SPLM/A-N split), for the people must have religious freedom.

PM Hamdok meets al-Hilu in Kauda, Nuba Mountains,
South Kordfan, January 2020.
Banner reads: 'Yes to a secular state' (AP).
(click on image to enlarge)

Over 2 to 4 September, PM Hamdok and al-Hilu met in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. On the evening of Thursday 3 September, it was announced that the parties had agreed on the necessity of a full political settlement which addresses the root causes of conflict (Islam and centralisation). The government has agreed 'in principle' to officially separate religion from the state, ending nearly 40 years of Islamic rule in Sudan. The document initialled by the two parties states: 'For Sudan to become a democratic country where the rights of all citizens are enshrined, the constitution should be based on the principle of "separation of religion and state", in the absence of which the right to self-determination must be respected'. Furthermore, the SPLA-N (al-Hilu faction) will be permitted to keep its weapons until 'security arrangements are finalised and religion and state are separated'.

However, as PM Hamdok explains, this 'preliminary agreement' will not be effective until it is approved by 'the relevant institutions'. Unsurprisingly, the proposal to establish Sudan constitutionally as a secular state is hugely controversial. On Friday 4 September, as Nuba in Khartoum exuberantly voiced support for the agreement, Islamists emerged from their mosques to protest against it. It was the eighth consecutive week of Islamic protest against the government's legal reforms [see RLPB 559 (22 July)]. The protesters chanted Islamic slogans, including: 'There is no God but Allah', 'We will not replace the law of God', 'Secularism will not rule us', 'The Qur'an is the constitution'. Islamic protests are expected to escalate against the law reforms and the 'secularism deal'. The stakes could not be higher!

PLEASE PRAY THAT OUR ALMIGHTY GOD WILL

* guide and protect Sudan's PM Abdulla Hamdok, Nuba leader Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, along with all those who are working so bravely and defiantly for political, legal and religious reform in Sudan; may they have all the international recognition and support they deserve; may the LORD be pleased to use them to bring peace and liberty to Sudan.

* break Islam's power over Sudan. The Lord of hosts has sworn: 'As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand ...' (from Isaiah 14:24-27 ESV)

* guide and protect those who lead his people, including pastors, teachers and political figures; may the LORD grant them wisdom, discernment, clarity and courage as they seek to lead the Lord's people though delicate, complex and transformative times.

* draw his people into prayer for peace and liberty in Sudan - things long hoped for, now in view, but not yet realised; may the Sudanese Church grow in faith and number as she puts her trust in the LORD (as distinct from 'man' or politics); and may the global Body of Christ stand with her in this pivotal hour.

Praise God for the amazing advances being made in Sudan. May the LORD be praised and glorified! May every evil plot be thwarted, and all resistance stilled. May the LORD have mercy!

SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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PEACE AND LIBERTY, HOPE AND RESISTANCE IN SUDAN

Sudan's Prime Minister, Abdallah Hamdok, is pursuing peace with the state's long-marginalised, long-persecuted non-Arab and non-Muslim peoples. Though a peace deal was signed on 31 August, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army-North (al-Hilu faction) - which is based in the Nuba Mountains and represents the mostly Christian Nuba peoples - opted out as the deal did not address the 'root causes' of conflict: Islam and centralisation. On 3 September PM Hamdok and al-Hilu signed an agreement which states: 'For Sudan to become a democratic country where the rights of all citizens are enshrined, the constitution should be based on the principle of "separation of religion and state", in the absence of which the right to self-determination must be respected'. Peace and liberty are in sight! Hope is soaring! But Islamic resistance is mounting. Please pray.

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. She serves as Director of Advocacy at Canberra-based Christian Faith and Freedom (CFF) and is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

She has authored two books: Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today (Deror Books, Melbourne, Australia, Dec 2012) which offers a Biblical response to persecution and existential threat; and After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East (Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, USA, June 2016).

See www.ElizabethKendal.com 

RLPB 384. Sudan: Khartoum's jihad to eliminate opposition

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 384 | Wed 16 Nov 2016

Please forward this prayer bulletin widely, and encourage others to sign up to the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog. "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." (James 5:16 NIV)


SUDAN: KHARTOUM'S JIHAD TO ELIMINATE OPPOSITION 
by Elizabeth Kendal

The Islamist and Arabist Government of Sudan (GoS) is waging a jihad to eliminate opposition to its Islamist and Arabist policies. The GoS's policy of racial and religious genocide is rooted in an April 1993 fatwa which labelled the marginalised non-Arab Muslims rebelling against the state as 'apostates'. Describing the long-persecuted non-Muslims (mostly Christians) as 'kaffirs (infidels) standing in the way of Islam', it decreed that 'Islam has justified the fighting and the killing of both,' (citing Qur’an, Sura 5:54). Because the US is hungry for Sudanese intelligence on Islamic militant organisations and the EU is desperate for Sudanese co-operation to stem the flow of migrants, the GoS can commit its crimes against humanity with almost total impunity.

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) has suspended peace talks with the GoS in response to Amnesty International's 29 September report on the GoS' use of chemical weapons in Darfur. As this Prayer Bulletin has reported previously, the GoS has also used chemical weapons in the Nuba Mountains. The SPLM-N has long maintained that the GoS only engages in peace talks so it can prolong humanitarian crises. Today, with roads becoming passable again now the wet season is over, the SPLM-N warns that Khartoum 'is building up military forces from its militias and army, preparing for a dry-season offensive in the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile.' As we prepare for Christmas, the Christians of the Nuba Mountains are preparing for another season of aerial bombardment and genocidal jihad.

click on map to enlarge

Meanwhile, Christian schools and churches operated and attended by ethnic Nuba and other 'southerners' are coming under increased pressure. In Wad Madani, the capital of Al Jazirah state, a Christian school belonging to the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church has endured more than two months of intense harassment, intimidation and pressure. Established in Wad Madani (188km south-east of Khartoum) by the American Mission in 1901, the Evangelical Basic School has 1000 students aged 3 to 18 yrs. In September the GoS accused the community of providing material support to the SPLM-N, a charge the school denies. The school was raided three times in two months. The principal, a dozen teachers and another pastor were arrested, questioned and bailed (at great expense). Furthermore, the National Ministry of Guidance and Endowments attempted to take over the school. On 14 November, in response to parent protests, Wad Madani's Appeal Court for Administrative Affairs cancelled the order to close the highly regarded school. This does not mean the battle is over! Meanwhile in Khartoum, five churches have received notifications that their buildings will be demolished -- three belonging to the Sudan Church of Christ (SCOC), one to the Presbyterian Church and the other to the Episcopal Church in Sudan.

Petr Jasek (Voice of the Martyrs)
On Trial for their lives.
"[The defendants] stand accused of several
crimes against the State; but their only
 'crime' is standing in solidarity
with the persecuted church in Sudan."
Persecution Project Foundation. 

Also in Khartoum, the trial of Nuba pastors Rev. Hassan Abdelrahim and Rev. Kuwa Shemaal, Darfuri student and convert Abdelmoneim Abdelmoula, and Christian aid worker Petr Jasek (a Czech national) continues. [For background, see RLPB 372 (23 Aug 2016)].  On 3 November investigator Abdelrahman concluded the argument for the prosecution. Jasek stands accused of giving money to 'some individuals' (ethnic Nuba) which the prosecutor maintains amounts to support for the war against the state. For investigating and reporting persecution, Jasek stands accused of 'espionage' and 'tarnishing Sudan's image internationally'. For speaking at an international conference about the plight of Sudan's persecuted Church, the Reverends Hassan and Kuwa stand accused of 'inciting hatred against the state'. Darfuri convert Abdelmunim Abdelmoula is accused of being an accomplice in these 'subversive activities'. Cross-examination commenced on Monday 7 November and continued on 14 November. The case for the defence has now begun. Doubtless the GoS would like to use this trial as a warning to others, so as to silence all talk of persecution and genocide.

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT: 

* the Spirit of God will fortify all Sudan's pastors, evangelists, teachers and other Christian leaders, providing them with all the wisdom and grace they need to lead Christ's flock through dark and stormy times.

* God, who rules over heaven and earth, will intervene in the trial of the Reverends Hassan and Kuwa, Abdelmunim Abdelmoula and Petr Jasek, comforting, sustaining and equipping the believers, and gracing Khartoum's judges with insight and the courage to deliver justice.

* the Lord of Hosts will deliver Sudan from this evil regime. 'Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted. Break the arm [action and power] of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none' (Psalm 10:12, 15 ESV).

Prayer for Sudan: Psalm 10 

'O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.' (Psalm 10:17-18 ESV)


SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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KHARTOUM'S JIHAD TO ELIMINATE OPPOSITION IN SUDAN

The Islamist and Arabist Government of Sudan (GoS) is waging a jihad of ethnic and religious genocide as it seeks to eliminate all opposition to its Islamist and Arabist policies. The African Christians of the Nuba Mountains are preparing for another season of aerial bombardment and genocidal jihad. In the cities, Christian schools and churches operated and attended by Nuba and other 'southerners' are facing increased pressure. Five churches in Khartoum have been slated for demolition, while the trial of the Reverends Hassan and Kuwa (both Nuba), Darfuri convert Abdelmunim Abdelmoula and Czech aid worker Petr Jasek has resumed. For investigating and reporting persecution and supporting the persecuted church, the men stand accused of serious national security offences. Please pray for Sudan and its Church.

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Elizabeth Kendal is the author of Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today (Deror Books, Melbourne, Australia, Dec 2012) which offers a Biblical response to persecution and existential threat; and, After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East (Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, USA, June 2016).

See www.ElizabethKendal.com

RLPB 352. Sudan & Nigeria: Invisible Jihads

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 352 | Wed 13 Apr 2016

Please forward this prayer bulletin widely, and encourage others to sign up to the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog. "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." (James 5:16 NIV)

SUDAN & NIGERIA: INVISIBLE JIHADS
plus draconian preaching law looms for Kaduna
By Elizabeth Kendal

SUDAN: GOVERNMENT WAGES JIHAD AROUND NUBA MOUNTAINS

Updating RLPB 344 (14 Feb) and RLPB 345 (23 Feb) -- Government forces are pressing in on the 'rebel' (Nuba) capital of Kauda from positions in the east and south. Aerial bombardment has also reached the outskirts of Kauda. Though massively outnumbered and out-gunned, the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army-North (SPLA-N) is holding its ground. The Sudan army, along with its allied Islamic paramilitaries, has vowed to continue military operations in South Kordofan until the 'rebellion' is 'crushed'. Meanwhile, the 'international community' is pressing the Nuba to accept the Government of Sudan (GoS)-approved Framework Agreement and agree to a ceasefire. It is worth remembering that this 'rebellion' only exists because the Arab Islamist GoS reneged on its promise -- sealed in the January 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement -- to conduct popular consultations in South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Abyei, so that the concerns of the non-Arab, mostly non-Muslim peoples might be addressed. Opting instead to ethnically cleanse and occupy the resource-rich 'new south', in 2011 the GoS launched a genocidal jihad. The 'international community' remains silent in the hope that Khartoum will provide intelligence for the 'war on terror', something Khartoum, a major sponsor of international terror, will never do. Meanwhile, the mostly Christian Nuba struggle to fend off genocidal jihad.

NIGERIA: TOWN-BY-TOWN JIHAD BY PROXY

Nigeria's new president, Muhammadu Buhari, might be making some ground in the fight against Boko Haram, but the perpetual southward advance of the Muslim Fulani receives little attention. This advance involves the ethnic cleansing of Christians across the volatile Middle Belt and now increasingly in the South. Desertification and modernisation have caused the cattle-herding nomadic Muslim Fulani to migrate south into Christian regions. Clashes erupt when Fulani herdsmen invade private farms so their cattle can feed on the crops, as well as when Muslim Fulani settlers subsequently compete with Christian indigenes for land, water, jobs and political power.

Agatu, Benue State, 12 March 2016
Senator David Mark suspects
 'orchestrated genocide'.

Boko Haram and Islamists in the Nigerian military support the Fulani Muslim, providing them with high-powered weapons and back-up to facilitate a 'predatory migration' and Islamic jihad by proxy. Furthermore, many Christian leaders are of the opinion that Muslim governors are 'beating the drum' to which the Muslim Fulani 'are dancing'. The town-by-town ethnic cleansing of Christians and eventual occupation and rule by Muslims attracts scant attention from mainstream media -- obsessed as they are with politically-correct messages -- as does the fact that some 1.3 million Nigerian Christians are this day internally displaced.

From 22 to 29 February Fulani herdsmen massacred an estimated 300 mostly Christian farmers in the Agatu Local Government Area of the mostly Christian state of Benue, in Nigeria's volatile Middle Belt. The destruction was enormous, with whole villages razed and some seven thousand Christians displaced. Whilst churches were burned, mosques were spared. Christian Solidarity Worldwide reported on 7 April that more than ten villages remained under siege and that continuing violence had caused the death toll to rise to some 500.

click on map to enlarge

Recent Fulani attacks in Ondo State in Nigeria's deep south-west has led Ondo Governor Olusegun Mimiko to warn that this 'monster' has become a threat to national security. In the southern state of Edo, Governor Adams Oshiomhole warned on 11 April that the situation risks escalating 'beyond what we can manage quietly'. The government needs to act.

[For more details on the crisis facing the Church in Nigeria, see report by Open Doors: 'Crushed But Not Defeated' (Feb 2016).]

KADUNA: DRACONIAN LAW BEFORE PARLIAMENT

On the pretext of preserving social cohesion, Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has proposed a truly draconian religious preaching bill, which is currently before the Kaduna State House of Assembly for consideration. Gov. El-Rufai also inflamed Christian leaders by publicly declaring that Kaduna state was 70 percent Muslim, when in reality it is 55 percent Christian. The religious preaching bill proposes that offences including preaching 'without a valid licence', or 'disturbing public peace,' or the use of 'any derogatory term in describing any religion' ... 'shall be liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding two years or a fine of two hundred thousand naira or both.' [The full text of the bill can be found here (beneath the lead article).]  Christian leaders fear that, if this preaching law is enacted in Kaduna, it will spread, furthering Nigeria's Islamisation. 

Update to RLPB 350 (30 March 2016): On 21 March, three leading figures from the United Church of Christ in Nigeria were abducted on the southern outskirts of Kaduna. The body of Rev Iliya Anto has been recovered, and Rev Dr Emmanuel Dziggau and Rev Yakubu Dzarma were released on the night of 30 March. No further details are available.


PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL

* intervene for his besieged and imperilled people, giving wisdom to all leaders and 'strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate' (from Isaiah 28:5-6 ESV).

'And David came to Baal-perazim, and David defeated [the Philistines] there. And he said, "The LORD has broken through my enemies before me like a breaking flood." Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim [meaning: the Lord of the breakthrough]' (from 2 Samuel 5:17-25 ESV).

* provide for his persecuted, displaced, fearful and grieving people: may all their needs be met -- spiritual and pastoral, emotional and psychological, and physical (i.e. medical care, clean water and food security, shelter and education). May God fire up the Church, his human instruments, to come to their aid.

SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN WHOLE ARTICLE
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INVISIBLE JIHADS IN SUDAN & NIGERIA

The Government of Sudan (GoS) has been waging a genocidal jihad against the predominantly Christian Nuba of South Kordofan since June 2011. GoS forces are presently pressing in on the 'rebel' (Nuba) capital of Kauda, with both ground troops and aerial bombardment. Despite being massively outnumbered, the rebel SPLA-N army is holding its ground, preventing genocide. Meanwhile in Nigeria, Boko Haram and Islamists in the military and government are supporting the southward migration of the nomadic cattle-herding Muslim Fulani, facilitating a 'predatory migration' which is effectively an Islamic jihad. Fulani expansion involves the ethnic cleansing and then occupation of Christian villages, compounding the Islamisation of Nigeria and the suffering of the Church. Meanwhile, a draconian religious preaching law looms over Kaduna. Please pray for the Church in South Kordofan and Nigeria.

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PLEASE NOTE: Elizabeth Kendal will be speaking at two conferences in Canberra between 15 & 19 April. Consequently, next week's RLPB (353) will be issued a day later than usual.

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Elizabeth Kendal is the author of Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today (Deror Books, Dec 2012) which offers a Biblical response to persecution and existential threat.
 

Her new book, After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East, is presently being published by Wipf and Stock (Eugene, OR, USA) and will be available shortly. 

RLPB 345. February Update, Incl. Mexico, China, Sudan and South Sudan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Syria

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 345 | Wed 24 Feb 2016

By Elizabeth Kendal

'Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.' (Matthew 10:29-31 ESV)

FURTHER UPDATES added (26 Feb 2016) 
-- Mexico, China, and Egypt.

FEBRUARY 2016 ROUND-UP -- this month we prayed concerning ...

Fuente de fe, Alabanza y Poder
Zinacantan, Chiapas, 15 Feb 2016
source

* MEXICO (RLPB 342), where Protestant Christians -- especially those in rural and indigenous communities -- face persecution at the hands of Roman Catholic (particularly syncretistic animist-Catholic) majorities. Pope Francis was due to visit Mexico from 12-17 February.

UPDATE: On 15 February, the day before Pope Francis was to visit the southern province of Chiapas, a Protestant church was looted and torched in Zinacantan, a city in the central Chiapas highlands. The pastor, Ciro Díaz Mendez, has filed a complaint. Considering Chiapas has long been a persecution hot-spot, it is disappointing that the pontiff did not have anything to say about religious freedom, religious tolerance and the Catholic persecution of Protestants.

FURTHER UPDATE: Praise God, Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports that, two years after having their water and electricity cut as punishment for refusing to participate in Catholic ceremonies, 27 Protestant families in the village of Unión Juárez, Chiapas, have finally had their services restored. [Full story: CSW.]

* CHINA (RLPB 343), where President Xi, a committed Maoist, is consolidating power around himself as 'the core', and insisting Chinese culture -- including arts, media and religion -- be brought into the service of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Pastors in two of China's largest TSPM (CCP-approved) churches have been arrested, purportedly for corruption, but in reality for criticising the CCP policy of removing crosses and church demolitions in Zhejiang.

UPDATE
(1) ESTABLISHING CONTROL OVER THE CHURCH: In the same way that Christian lawyer and defender of the cross, Zhang Kai, and his legal assistant Liu Peng, were doubtless coerced to write the letters in which they dismiss their lawyers [RLPB 341 (27 Jan)], Pastor 'Joseph' Gu Yuese, pastor of Hangzhou's Chongyi Church was doubtless coerced to write the letter in which he exhorts the members of Chongyi Church not to protest or make inquiries, but to support their new CCP-appointed pastor. Pray for the Church in China!

Zhang Kai. [report: Epoch Times]

FURTHER UPDATE: China state media reports that Christian lawyer and defender of the cross, Zhang Kai [see RLPB 325 (2 Sept 2015)] has appeared on Chinese state television 'confessing' to his 'crimes'. 'I’ve broken the law,' he said, 'disturbed social order, endangered state security, and violated the ethics of the legal profession. I am deeply remorseful for my actions. . . I also warn those so-called human rights lawyers to take me as a warning and not collude with foreigners, take money from foreign organisations, or be engaged in activities that break the law or harm national security and interests. . .'  The CCP maintains that Zhang Kai has been carrying out a political agenda on the order of foreign forces. It took six months of secret, 'black jail' detention, doubtless replete with cruel and inhumane treatment, but the CCP now has Zhang's coerced 'confession'. We await the sentence. Zhang Kai's friends feel certain he has been tortured. Pray for China. May the Lord intervene for Zhang Kai.

(2) CONSOLIDATING POWER IN XI: On 19 February the CCP's flagship newspaper, The People's Daily, carried an editorial exhorting news reporters and editors to be 'disseminators of the Party's policies and propositions.' 'Marxist political parties have always regarded the work of guiding public opinion as a sharp weapon in revolution,' it said, adding that guiding public opinion is at the very forefront of the ideological battle, which calls for a common ideological ground for pursuing the Chinese dream. No doubt President Xi is preparing the political ground ahead of the 2017 Communist Party Congress. Some analysts have surmised that Xi might be planning to follow Mao and rule for life. Pray for the Church in China!

* SUDAN (RLPB 344), where the Government of Sudan (GoS) is preparing for a major military offensive against the African Christians of the Nuba Mountains.

UPDATE
(1) BOMBING AND ENCIRCLING THE NUBA

click on map to enlarge

The Government of Sudan (GoS) has resumed aerial bombardment of the Nuba Mountains. Arnu Ngutulu Lodi, spokesman for the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), reports that Sabat, Tujur, and Lumbry in Dalami County were targeted with seven bombs on Saturday 13 February, nine bombs on Sunday 14 February and 18 bombs on Tuesday 16 February. Two schoolgirls, Alnaya Abdalla Altaj (12) and Aisha Abdalla Altaj (14), were wounded, as was Samir Saeed (46). On Monday 15 February the GoS bombed the Alabu area in Umdorain County, killing Jibril Tia, and wounding several others. Army and militia forces are massing in the north-east, the south-west (where the oil fields are), the state capital Kadugli and Talodi. Just as in January-February  2012, it appears the GoS are preparing to drive the Nuba out of the Nuba Mountains into the Kauda valley, which leads to Yida, in Unity State, South Sudan. The plan would be to encircle and slaughter them north of Talodi. May the God of the breakthrough (2 Samuel 5:20) fight for his people.

(2) DISPLACING NUBA REFUGEES
The United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) reports that 1,787 starving Nuba refugees have arrived in Yida, Unity State, South Sudan, since the beginning of the year, including 609 during the first two weeks of February. Home to 70,166 registered Nuba refugees, the large sprawling informal Yida refugee camp includes markets, businesses, schools, farms and even an airstrip. Indeed the Nuba in Yida are largely self-reliant. However, the UN and South Sudan's Refugee Affairs Commission are calling now for the camp to be closed in June 2016 and the refugees to be moved to another camp where they will be confined and provided for by the UNHCR. New arrivals in Yida now receive UNHCR rations only if they relocate to Ajuong Thok camp, which the Nuba claim is not as secure as the Yida camp. Not only is Ajuong Thok closer to a Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) garrison, it is located in territory controlled by South Sudan's rebels led by Riek Machar, a long-time ally of Khartoum. Reports emerged in late 2014, exposing Khartoum's plan to starve the Nuba and empty their refugee camps. [For full details see RLPB 286 (12 Nov 2014).]  Pray for the Nuba refugees in South Sudan.

'In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.' (Psalm 10:2 ESV)

FEBRUARY ROUND-UP -- also this month ...

* BANGLADESH: ISLAMIC STATE INCITING KILLINGS
On Sunday 21 February Islamic militants murdered a Hindu priest in the far north of Bangladesh, slitting his throat in the Deviganj temple near Panchagar. Three Islamic militants have been arrested. In claiming responsibility, Islamic State boasted that the 'soldiers of the Caliphate liquidated the priest' in a temple belonging to 'infidel Hindus'. This killing stands as a stark reminder of the threat facing churches and Christian pastors in Bangladesh. May God protect and preserve the Church in Bangladesh.

* EGYPT: WHERE 'INSULTING ISLAM' IS A CRIME
In February 2015 ISIS released a video showing the beheading of 20 Copts and one Ghanaian on a Libyan beach. Days later, a Coptic teacher filmed some students mocking the pseudo piety of IS -- a piety that enables them to lift their hands in prayer to Allah one minute and then take a knife to a bound man's throat the next. Unfortunately the teacher lost his phone and the footage ended up being shared on social media. The teacher, Gad Younan (42), has since been sentenced to three years jail for insulting Islam, although he has been released pending an appeal.

The four Coptic teenage boys in the 30-second video have been charged with insulting Islam by misrepresenting Islamic prayer. They will face court on Thursday 25 February to hear the verdict. Pray for the Church in Egypt.

FURTHER UPDATE: On Thursday 25 February, an Egyptian court  sentenced three teenage Coptic boys to five years in prison for the crime of 'contempt of Islam' and 'inciting sectarian strife'. The fourth and youngest teen has been sentenced to an indefinite periodt in a youth detention centre. Defence lawyer Maher Naguib described the verdict as 'unbelievable', and vowed to appeal. The boys have already been forced out of their village in  Minya, Upper Egypt. The verdict has left the boys and their families distraught and 'terrified'. Pray for Egypt's threatened Christians.

* EGYPT: UPDATE ON SAT 7 [RLPB 331 (14 Oct 2015)]. On 17 February SAT-7 Egypt Director Farid Samir received official confirmation that the case against him had been closed and all charges had been dropped. Middle East Concern reports that cameras and other equipment confiscated by the authorities in the October raid have been returned to SAT-7. The charges were proven false and SAT-7's registration and licences are all in good order. Praise God for justice.

* SYRIA: UPDATE ON ASSYRIAN CAPTIVES [RLPB 331 (14 Oct 2015)]. On Monday 22 February IS released another 43 Assyrian captives. The Assyrian International News Agency reports: 'According to the Assyrian Church of the East, there are no more Assyrians from Khabur being held by IS. However, IS is still holding 179 Assyrians it captured in the town of Qaryatain on August 6, 2015.' Praise God for the safe return of the 43 captives and pray for the remaining captive Assyrians. Pray for the Assyrian nation, a Christian refugee nation driven from its homeland. May God protect, preserve and restore the Assyrians.

* SYRIA: DANGEROUS ESCALATION
The Syrian government made great advances in 2014. Then in early 2015 Turkey and Saudi Arabia escalated their support of the Islamist opposition. This changed the balance and by September 2015, al-Qaeda-aligned forces were pressing into Latakia (the Alawite heart) and IS was poised to cut the M5 Highway, severing Damascus from the rest of the country. Either would have been fatal and IS was poised to fill the vacuum in Damascus [see RLPB 322 (12 Aug 2015)]. It was at this point that Russia entered the fray, at Syria's invitation, to defend its own interests and help fight for the preservation of a secular, pluralist Syria. This puts Russia at odds (ultimately) with both the Sunni Axis and with Iran. Unnerved by Iran's Shi'ite sectarianism, the Syrian government is leaning increasingly on Russia. Meanwhile, with total disregard for Syria's Christians and other minorities, the West is backing the Turkey-Arab Sunni Axis, which seeks regime change in Damascus so it can install a Sunni dictator more amenable to Sunni interests.

The primary objective of the loyalist offensive in the north has been to close the Turkish border through which jihadists flow in and IS oil flows out. Syrian forces are now very close to severing the critical rebel supply-line that runs from Turkey to Aleppo. With the balance shifting again, Turkey has escalated its calls for a no-fly zone and, along with Saudi Arabia, is appealing for Western support for an invasion. Saudi Arabia has deployed fighter aircraft to Turkey's Incirlik air base, (purportedly to fight Islamic State) and is calling for the rebels to be supplied with surface-to-air missiles for use against loyalist aircraft. Any foreign invasion would be illegal and explosive. Meanwhile, the West -- which competes with Russia for markets -- is ramping up its 'Russiaphobia' to new heights. Reports even claim that Germany's migrant crisis is part of Putin's grand conspiracy to destroy Angela Merkel and all Europe with her. In truth, the migrant crisis is the result of a regime change operation gone wrong, followed by a catastrophic open-door migration policy.

The Syrian government is all that stands between Syria's imperilled minorities and genocidal jihad. Pray for God's mercy and grace and power to be manifest in Syria, for the sake of his people, our brothers and sisters in Christ.

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Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks toChristians Today
(Deror Books, Dec 2012), which presents a Biblical response to persecution and existential threat.

Her second book, ‘After Saturday Comes Sunday’: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East, is being published by Wipf and Stock (Eugene, OR, USA), and will be released in the coming months.  

RLPB 344. Sudan: the Nuba brace for more jihad

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 344 | Wed 17 Feb 2016

SUDAN: THE NUBA BRACE FOR MORE JIHAD
By Elizabeth Kendal

For Christians in the southern hemisphere, summer is fading and will soon be replaced with the glorious colours of autumn/fall. For Christians in the northern hemisphere, winter is coming to a close and spring is in sight, heralded by early blossoms. For Christians in the tropics, the wet season is over, the roads are opening and people are on the move once again. What this means for Christians in northern hemisphere and tropical conflict zones, however, is that the fighting season is upon them: the Spring Offensives are about to begin. 

click on map to enlarge

Long economically and politically marginalised, discriminated against and violently persecuted, the black African peoples of Sudan's Darfur (in the west) and South Kordofan and Blue Nile (in the south) oppose the overtly racist, Arabist supremacist and Islamist totalitarian rule of the Government of Sudan (GoS) in Khartoum. However, the GoS does not abide opposition, resistance or rebellion, especially when Darfur has gold, Blue Nile has gold and water and South Kordofan has oil. The GoS wants these regions subdued -- preferably ethnically cleansed and repopulated with Arab Muslims who will support the regime in Khartoum. Located in the centre of South Kordofan, the Nuba Mountains are home to some 50 African tribes, collectively known as the Nuba. Predominantly Christian, the Nuba have already survived an attempted genocidal jihad in 1992-93, when 100,000 Nuba perished from GoS attacks alone. In June 2011, ahead of the secession of South Sudan, the GoS re-launched its genocidal jihad against the Nuba, and by September 2011 had spread its war into Blue Nile. [Darfur (west) is a separate theatre of conflict. For more background on the GoS jihad in the south, see RLPB 194 (22 Jan 2013)].

Fighting is virtually impossible during the wet season in Sudan which lasts from May to October. During the dry season, GoS strategy involves aerial bombardment followed by ground offensives aimed at devastating and decimating non-compliant peoples ahead of the next wet season when roads will again be impassable and delivery of aid virtually impossible.

 

Nuba Christians
photo: Samaritan's Purse

In late November 2015 DefenceMinister Awad Ibnauf told the federal parliament that the areas controlled by the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army-North (SPLA-N) 'will be liberated through a massive military operation'.  Days later, sources in Blue Nile and South Kordofan told Radio Tamazuj (Sudan) that Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) troops and equipment were arriving in Malkan, Geissan and outskirts of Kurmuk areas in Blue Nile state, and in Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan State. On 9 February 2016 an eye-witness in West Kordofan told Radio Tamazuj that SAF troops had passed through El-Fula on their way to South Kordofan. The source reported seeing some 500 pick-up trucks belonging to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the GoS-sponsored Arab militia (janaweed). According to the source, the convoy appeared to be ethnically mixed, which could indicate the GoS is now employing foreign jihadists.

Similarly, eye witnesses have told Nuba Reports that the GoS is amassing troops along the borders of SPLA-N-controlled areas. 'Mass government troop movements are repositioning themselves south of South Kordofan's capital, Kadugli, to areas near the Sudan and South Sudan border. Other government forces are moving from Rashad County to Abu Jubaiha in South Kordofan in what may be a two-pronged attack on the rebel-controlled capital town, Kauda.' Eye witnesses in Blue Nile have also reported a mass build-up of troops 'moving at night through the state's capital, Damazin, south to the Kurmuk County region'. The spokesperson for the SPLA-N, Arnu Ngutulu, confirmed that the SPLA-N is preparing and re-positioning accordingly. Sources maintain this is the largest build-up of SAF troops they have seen. While an estimated 4000 troops are believed to have arrived in the south, the ultimate number of troops could be much larger as the SAF has been recruiting within the area as well. The situation across the entire 'New South' is extremely serious and some 230,000 predominantly Christian Nuba are at imminent risk of military attack.

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT

* 'Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand, with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him' (1 Peter 3:22 ESV), the Lord of Hosts, will command his forces to fight in defence of his precious people. May the SPLA-N prevail; may the people be spared; may the plans of the wicked come to nothing.  Pray Psalm 33:8-22.

* the Lord will protect the Nuba, along with their crops and livestock, maintaining access to food and medical aid, and providing his children with everything they need.

* God will bless all those who risk their lives to bring aid and to support the imperilled believers of the Nuba Mountains. May aid groups be blessed with everything they need to fund and deliver aid to the Nuba; may local pastors have divine wisdom and insight, as well as a shield of protection, so they can care for the flock and bolster their faith.

* the Sovereign King of Kings will lift up his hand against the evil regime in Khartoum which wreaks terror across the land and kills with impunity. Pray Psalm 10:12-18.

NOTE: In February 2012 the GoS drove some 200,000 starving Nuba out of the mountains and was preparing to massacre them in the Kauda valley, until the battle was turned back in answer to prayer [see RLPB 148 (28 Feb 2012)]. Just twelve months ago, in January 2015, SAF and RSF forces surged into Nuba territory and advanced to within 20km of the rebel capital, Kauda, [RLPB 292 (16 Jan 2015)] before the battle was turned back at the gate in answer to prayer [RLPB 294 (28 Jan 2015)]. 

Exodus 17:8-16

As long as the Arab supremacist, Islamist regime of President Omar el-Bashir is in power in Khartoum, the Nuba will be imperilled existentially. The world has abandoned them but if the Church keeps its hands up in prayer, the Lord will most surely enable them to prevail. May the Nuba declare: 'The Lord is my Banner.' (Exodus 17:8-16)

SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN WHOLE ARTICLE

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THE NUBA IN SUDAN BRACE FOR MORE JIHAD

Christians in the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan, Sudan, are bracing for yet another round of genocidal jihad. Eye-witnesses report that the overtly racist and Islamist totalitarian Government of Sudan (GoS) has deployed some 4000 troops south, both Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The RSF appears to be ethnically diverse, raising suspicions that the GoS is employing foreign jihadists. Whilst the build-up commenced in December, columns of many hundreds of military vehicles have reportedly been seen entering South Kordofan in recent days. They seem to be preparing for a two-pronged attack on the 'rebel' capital, Kauda. The GoS does this every year -- and every year we pray and God answers prayer. Please pray for the Nuba and for Sudan, asking God to intervene.

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 Elizabeth Kendal is the author of 

Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks toChristians Today
(Deror Books, Dec 2012).

RLPB 294. Jan Update, Incl. Nuba Mts Sudan, Niger, China, Libya, Mali, Nigeria, UK

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 294 | Wed 28 Jan 2015

By Elizabeth Kendal

'Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.' (Romans 12:15 ESV)

JANUARY 2015 UPDATE -- During January we prayed concerning ...

* NUBA MTS, SUDAN (RLPB 292), where Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) troops backed by Rapid Support Forces (RSF -- janjaweed militias) had seized control of Angartu, bringing the Islamist forces to within 20km of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army-North (SPLM/A-N) base in Kauda. An urgent prayer request for the imperilled, predominantly Christian Nuba was issued on Friday 16 January.

UPDATE: 'REVERSAL OF FORTUNES'
-- 'persecuted but not forsaken ...' (2 Corinthians 4:9 ESV)

On Friday 16 January, SPLA-N forces launched a full frontal assault on the town of Angartu. During some four hours of intensive fighting the SPLA-N forced the SAF and RSF fighters to retreat to positions in and around Talodi (about 50km south), reversing the gains the Arab-Islamist Government of Sudan (GoS) had made since early January. At much the same time, SPLA-N forces advanced to within 20km of the state capital, Kadugli (about 90km west of Angartu), long held by the GoS. [Full report: Nuba Reports.] Whilst the Nuba rejoice and praise God for the 'reversal of fortunes', they also know that the battle for life and liberty continues. Praise God for his grace and mercy; may Baal-perazim (the Lord who bursts through [see 2 Samuel 5:17-21]) defend, provide for and ultimately deliver his people.

* NIGER (RLPB 293), where Islamic anti-Christian pogroms erupted after Friday prayers on 16 January. In two days of Islamic rioting, dozens of Christian homes and Christian properties, as well as some 70 churches, were looted, burnt and razed.

UPDATE: 'ARE YOU ALLAHU AKBAR OR ARE YOU ALLELUIA?'

Christians in Niger are 'in a state of shock', reports Archbishop Michel Cartateguy of Niamey. 'We are re-living Jesus' agony. This could continue if we are not protected. There are people going round asking "are you Allahu Akbar or are you Alleluia?", trying to identify Christians in the city. What will they do next?' The Archbishop is not alone in suspecting the violence was 'manipulated from abroad'. Niger's Interior Minister Massaoudou Hassoumi has said he saw 'Boko Haram flags' in Zinder, which is only about 200km north of Kano, where Boko Haram has staged numerous terror attacks and about 500 km west of Boko Haram's base by Lake Chad. Many suspect that the violence was pre-planned and that the Charlie Hebdo issue served only as a pretext to launch what was an extremely thorough and highly organised attack. Christians in Zinder are living in great fear, with many too afraid to return home. On 23 January the Niger government announced a programme to rebuild the destroyed churches. Until then, Christians are holding meetings in their own homes under the protection of the Niger police.

Pray Psalm 57 for the Church in Niger: 'Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by. I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfils his purpose for me.' (vv1,2)


JANUARY 2015 ROUND-UP -- also this month ...

* CHINA: ANTI-CHRISTMAS MEASURES IN SEVERAL CITIES

The ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is escalating its attacks on Christianity on the pretext of protecting Chinese culture and national security.  On Christmas Eve a university in Xi'an in China's heartland hoisted banners across the campus urging students to 'oppose kitsch Western holidays' and requiring them to attend a three-hour screening of propaganda films on Christmas Day. Also on Christmas Eve, university students in Changsha, the capital of traditionally hostile Hunan Province (Mao's birthplace), staged an anti-Christmas parade with placards reading: 'Chinese should not celebrate foreign festivals'. In coastal Wenzhou, the substantially Christian city in Zhejiang where the CCP has been busy 'de-Christianising' the sky-line (see RLPB blog, label 'Wenzhou'), all Christmas activities in schools and kindergartens were banned. Please pray for China's leaders and for the Church in China (1Timothy 2:1-4).

* LIBYA: EGYPTIAN COPTS TARGETED FOR BEING CHRISTIAN

Until NATO backed an Islamist-led regime-change operation, Copts could find good jobs in Libya. However, these days Libya is no longer safe for Christians. On Tuesday 23 December two Coptic doctors in Sirte were shot and killed in their home in front of their children. Their teenage daughter was taken captive and her bullet-riddled body dumped in the desert two days later. On 29 December seven Copts were abducted while driving back to Egypt from Sirte. Then, on 3 January 13 Copts were abducted when jihadists raided the complex where they were living, calling for them by name. Expelled from the complex, the remaining Copts hid in farms until arrangements could be made for them to be smuggled out of Libya. On 12 January the IS affiliate in Libya claimed responsibility, posting photos of the captives online [see here] (without any ransom demand) and boasting: 'The soldiers of the Islamic State in the province of Tripoli hold captive 21 Christian crusaders.'

On 19 January relatives of the abducted workers wept as they protested quietly outside the UN office in Cairo.  Among them was Bisheer Estefanos, a farmer from Minya in Upper Egypt, whose brothers, Bishoy and Samuel, were among the captives. 'All we can do is pray to God for help,' he said.  'Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life.' (Psalm 54:4 ESV)

A Libya researcher at Human Rights Watch, Hanan Salah, said, 'It is extremely disturbing to see a group of people being apprehended simply on the basis of their religion. We have seen this trend before -- others have been killed, arrested or kidnapped merely for the possession of a Bible or just for being a Christian.'


* MALI: JIHADISTS RE-LAUNCH OFFENSIVE

On 5,7,8 and 10 January al-Qaeda-linked jihadists launched hit-and-run attacks in Mali. On Friday 16 January some 20 jihadists on motorcycles opened fire on Malian soldiers manning the checkpoint at the entrance to the central Malian town of Teninkou. A three hour-long fire-fight ensued and the jihadists withdrew. Then, on 17 January jihadists struck the UN base in Kidal, northern Mali. In what was a far more complex assault, the jihadists deployed two suicide car bombs and a barrage of eight rockets. A local government source confirmed that the attackers cried 'Allahu Akbar' (God is greatest) indicating they were Islamic jihadists, not Tuareg separatists. Though French forces drove the jihadists from the cities in 2012, they have now regrouped and re-armed. When jihadists took control of northern Mali in 2012, they enforced strict Sharia, targeting Christians and driving them from their homes. [Background: RLPB 154 (11 April 2012) and RLM label 'Mali'.] Please pray.

 * NIGERIA: BOKO HARAM 

On 3 January Boko Haram seized control of Baga, a fishing village on the shores of Lake Chad, along with the multi-national army base located there. Eager to capture Maiduguri as the capital of its Caliphate, Boko Haram has been hampered by the city of Monguno which is located between Baga and Maiduguri. It is home to 100,000 civilians and a large military base and acts as a buffer. On Sunday 25 January Boko Haram launched simultaneous pre-dawn raids on Maiduguri and Monguno. Under cover of attack helicopters and military jets, the Nigerian military repelled Boko Haram from the outskirts of Maiduguri. However, in Monguno the military was overwhelmed. Thousands more civilians have been displaced [CNN news video] and Boko Haram has expanded its territory and acquired yet more armaments. Boko Haram, which controls 'an area about the size of Belgium', makes most of its money from ransoms, extortion (protection rackets) and bank robberies. Nigeria's general elections are scheduled for 14 February. Violence is escalating, tensions are high and the situation is explosive.

* UK: CHRISTIAN VALUES UNACCEPTABLE

Richard Page

IN THE COURT: Christian Magistrate Richard Page (68), who has served as a Justice of the Peace in Kent for 15 years, has been disciplined for sharing with two colleagues in a private, closed-door consultation, his belief that a child's best interests lie in being raised by both a mother and a father. He has been publicly reprimanded for 'serious misconduct' and barred from sitting as a magistrate until he has received 'equality training' (a polite term for 're-education'). Page has been under enormous pressure. 'Everyone else seems to be allowed to stand up for their beliefs except for Christians,' he said. Christian Concern co-founder and CEO, Andrea Williams, summed up the situation perfectly: 'Richard Page is accused of being prejudiced on account of his Christian faith. Ironically, closer inspection of this case reveals that the real discriminatory prejudice is that practised by those who would prioritise the placing of this child with a same-sex couple, not on the basis of evidence but on the basis of ideology.'

Victoria Wasteney

IN THE HOSPITAL: Victoria Wasteney (37), Head of Forensic Occupational Therapy at the John Howard Centre in London, has been suspended for nine months for witnessing to (deemed 'harassing and bullying') a Muslim colleague. Whilst Miss Enya Nawaz (25) did make the complaint, Wasteney believes she was pressured to do so, as the two had enjoyed a genuine friendship over some time, talking openly, sharing interests and attending events together. Regarding her Christian witness, Wasteney says, 'It was a natural and open thing for me to do and she didn't object in any way.' Wasteney has taken her case to the Employment Tribunal.

IN THE SCHOOL: Christian schools continue to suffer as Ofsted inspectors continue to downgrade schools deemed not to be promoting 'British values', which are now defined by the Equality Act. Despite achieving the best academic results in the region, Grindon Hall Christian School, Sunderland, has been downgraded to 'inadequate' and recommended for 'special measures' due to its Christian values. Parents are outraged, particularly as the Ofsted inspectors make their assessments by walking around asking young children extremely inappropriate questions which leave children upset and confused. The inspection was launched after a complaint by a former teacher who had been dismissed due to poor performance. In other words, hostile elements know that the law can be used as a weapon against Christians. The school is considering legal action. Please pray.
[Daily Mail special report;
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Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today 
(Deror Books, Dec 2012).