Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin

Tuesday, November 9, 2021

RLPB 623. Nigeria: Christian Crisis in Kaduna

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 623 | Wed 10 Nov 2021
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

Subscribe (free) or view archives at: Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) blog. The RLPB is sponsored by Christian Faith and Freedom Inc.

NIGERIA: CHRISTIAN CRISIS IN KADUNA
- Boko Haram sets up base in Rijana Forest, Chikun LGA.
Also UPDATE on Ethiopia Crisis
by Elizabeth Kendal

Ransomed child is reunited with family.
Source: Punch (25 July).

BETHEL BAPTIST HIGH SCHOOL: On Sunday 31 October the Vice-President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (19 Northern States and Abuja) and CAN's chairman in Kaduna State, Rev. Joseph John Hayab, issued a statement regarding the four remaining captives from Kaduna's Bethel Baptist High School. The captive children are the last of the 121 students abducted from the school's hostel in Damishi, Chikun Local Government Area (LGA), by Fulani bandits in the early hours of Monday 5 July [RLPB 605 (7 July 2021)]. Since Sunday 25 July the bandits have been releasing the children in batches as ransom is paid. The last release occurred on 5 October; there has been no word since and fears for the children's safety and well-being are mounting. To hinder the region's out-of-control banditry, Kaduna authorities have suspended all telecommunications in the area. Unfortunately, this also means that Christians cannot phone for help when they come under attack and parents and intermediaries cannot contact kidnappers and vice versa. 'We have prayed, and we are still praying', said Rev Joseph Hayab as he lamented the government's slow response. 'The pains and trauma their parents are going through cannot be described. We must not forget these children.' Please pray.

Fulani gunmen/'bandits' (jihadist proxies)

EMMANUEL BAPTIST CHURCH: At 10am on Sunday 31 October Fulani gunmen surrounded Emmanuel Baptist Church in Kakau Daji, Chikun LGA, Kaduna State. Worship was in progress when the bandits began firing their weapons. One worshipper was killed, one was seriously wounded and 66 were taken captive. Then on Saturday 6 November the captors opened fire on their captives, killing two and wounding three who are now in hospital in a critical condition. On Sunday 7 November the President of the Nigerian Baptist Convention (NBC), Rev. Israel Akanji, confirmed that the bandits were carrying out their earlier threat to kill hostages until the government agrees to a round-table discussion. Not only does Rev. Israel Akanji have no authority to grant the kidnappers' request, he cannot even speak to President Buhari at the moment because the president is out of the country - in London, return date unknown. The remaining 61 captive church members are therefore in a diabolical situation. Please pray.

Kaduna LGAs
click on map to enlarge

TERRORISM: Located on the western edge of southern Kaduna, Chikun LGA is contiguous with Niger State's Shiroro and Munya LGAs where Boko Haram now controls some 500 communities [see: RLPB 618 (6 Oct 2021)]. According to reports, Boko Haram has relocated its base from the Sambisi Forest in Borno State to the Rijana Forest in Chikun LGA. According to reports, Boko Haram bomb makers - known as Amaliyyahs - have recently arrived at the Rijana Forest base. The State Security Service (SSS) - also called the Department of State Services (DSS) - has asked security agencies in Kaduna to brace themselves for likely attacks. Meanwhile, in Nigeria's north-east, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has reportedly procured fake military uniforms from Libya. The uniforms and other military supplies are allegedly in Cameroon, awaiting transport to the ISWAP base in the Lake Chad basin area of Borno State. According to the intelligence, ISWAP is planning major attacks on Nigerians during the Christmas season. Please pray.

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL:

* protect, sustain and ultimately deliver the four remaining captive children from Kaduna's Bethel Baptist High School. We pray also for Christian captive Leah Sharibu, held by Boko Haram in Yobe State since March 2018 [see: RLPB 448 (28 March 2018)] and for the more than 100 mostly Christian girls still missing after being abducted by Boko Haram from their school in Chibok, Borno State, in April 2014 [see: RLPB 257 (23 April 2014)]. Lord in your mercy, protect, sustain and deliver them all.

* intervene to save the believers abducted from Kaduna's Emmanuel Baptist Church; may the killing not continue. May the Holy Spirit help the believers to fix their eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-3) who assures us, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me,' and has promised, 'I am with you always' (Matthew 28:18-20).

* grant Nigeria's Christian leaders great wisdom and discernment as they are forced to negotiate with terrorists while seeking help and solutions from state and federal officials; we pray especially for those in crisis-wracked Kaduna. Lord in your mercy, guide them, sustain them and deliver Kaduna from the evil which plagues it.

* intervene in Nigeria to disrupt the plans of Islamic jihadists, including those wreaking havoc in the north-west and those in the north-east plotting Christmas terror; may supply lines be cut, may confusion abound and may those plotting evil devour themselves (Psalm 127:2).

SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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NIGERIA: CHRISTIAN CRISIS IN KADUNA

Christian leaders have called upon Nigerians not to forget the victims of Kaduna's Bethel Baptist High School abduction. Of the 121 children abducted on 5 July, four remain in captivity and there has been no word from their captors since 5 October. Meanwhile, on Sunday morning 31 October, Fulani gunmen attacked Kaduna's Emmanuel Baptist Church, killing one believer, wounding another and abducting 66. The terrorists threatened to kill captives until the government agrees to talks. On Saturday 6 November they opened fire, killing two hostages and critically wounding three. Unfortunately, negotiator Rev. Israel Akanji does not have the authority to grant the terrorists' request and President Buhari is currently out of the country. Both attacks occurred in southern Kaduna's Chikun Local Government Area, where Boko Haram is establishing its new base. Please pray.

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ETHIOPIA CRISIS
UPDATE to RLPB 602, Christian Crisis Looms as Rebels Advance, (3 Nov).

On Sunday 7 November over one million Ethiopians came together in Addis Ababa to voice their support for the government of Prime Minister Abiy and to protest TPLF-OLA belligerence, foreign interference, US duplicity, and Western media bias. It was the largest demonstration in Ethiopia's history. Smaller demonstrations also occurred in other major cities throughout the country. Meanwhile, the OLA continues its fight to sever the A2 highway, while the TPLF/TDF is fighting in Afar Region for the strategic town of Mille on the A1 highway. Ethiopian forces are reportedly massing in Shewa Robit ahead of a counter-offensive. While it is highly doubtful the TPLF-OLA could capture Addis Ababa, let alone hold it, there is absolutely no doubt about how much destruction they are prepared to unleash and how much Ethiopian blood they are prepared to spill. Please pray.

Over one million Ethiopians march in support of the government.
Addis Ababa, Sunday 7 November 2021.

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. She serves as Director of Research at Canberra-based Christian Faith and Freedom Inc (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

Tuesday, November 2, 2021

RLPB 622. Ethiopia: Christian Crisis Looms as Rebels Advance

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 622 | Wed 03 Nov 2021
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

Subscribe (free) or view archives at: Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) blog. The RLPB is sponsored by Christian Faith and Freedom Inc.

ETHIOPIA: CHRISTIAN CRISIS LOOMS AS REBELS ADVANCE.
by Elizabeth Kendal

Enabled by foreign powers - particularly Egypt, the Sudanese military and the US Biden administration - the Marxist, separatist Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF, also known as the Tigray Defence Force) and the ethno-nationalist Oromo Liberation Army (OLA, formerly OLF-Shane) have achieved a strategic and possibly pivotal victory. Despite lacking popular support, the hated rebels are now poised to advance on the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. The collapse of Ethiopia would herald a Christian crisis of monumental proportions as the TPLF and OLA would move with genocidal intent against the Christian ethnic Amhara. In October 2020 the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) warned that the fragmentation of Ethiopia (population 105 million) would be 'the largest state collapse in modern history', and would likely lead to 'mass inter-ethnic and inter-religious conflict [code for a genocidal war against Amhara Christians]; a dangerous vulnerability to exploitation by extremists [code for Islamic jihadists]; an acceleration of illicit trafficking, including of arms; as well as a humanitarian and security crisis at the crossroads of Africa and the Middle East on a scale that would overshadow the existing conflicts in South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen'.

Not short on looted funds, the rebels have won the struggle for Information Dominance; their propaganda is everywhere. The claim parroted by mainstream media, that the war in Ethiopia started when PM Abiy sent troops into Tigray, is simply untrue as is the claim that the Ethiopian government is deliberately starving ethnic Tigrayans. The TPLF launched its planned war against the Ethiopian government in the early hours of 4 November 2020 with surprise attacks on the Northern Command's headquarters in the Tigray capital, Mekelle, and bases across Tigray. TPLF fighters and sympathisers within the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) slaughtered ethnic Amharan soldiers in cold blood so they might loot the army's heavy and mechanised weaponry. The TPLF called the attacks 'a pre-emptive strike' for the purpose of 'self-defence'. The Ethiopian government took the multi-pronged attack for what it was - a declaration of war - and sent in the troops. By the end of November 2020, the ENDF had captured Mekelle. A caretaker government was subsequently installed comprising members of Tigrayan opposition parties. The TPLF staged a strategic retreat but continued the fight in rural areas. This, as Tigrayans were struggling to avoid famine amidst Tigray's worst locust plague in 25 years.

In June 2021 the US Biden administration forced the Abiy government to declare a unilateral ceasefire. Tigray's caretaker government fled Mekelle, the TPLF returned and thousands of withdrawing ENDF troops were taken captive. Rejecting the ceasefire, the TPLF then went on the offensive, taking their war into Afar and Amhara regions [see: 'Ethiopia's Future Hangs in the Balance' RLM, 11 July 2021]. On 5 August the TPLF seized control of the historic city of Lalibela - a UNESCO heritage site, famed for its ancient rock-hewn churches. On 11 August the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) announced it had forged an alliance with the TPLF to oust the government of Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed [see: RLPB 611, 'TPLF-OLA Move to Escalate War,' 18 Aug 2021]. Fighting has been concentrated in the east of Amhara Region, particularly in North Wollo Zone (where Lalibela is located) and South Wollo Zone (where the strategic towns of Dessie and Kombolcha are located). Dessie and Kombolcha sit on Ethiopia's A2 highway, which links Addis Ababa to Mekelle, historic Adwa and the two main border crossings into Eritrea. Industrial Kombolcha is a junction town from where the B11 highway starts its route east into Afar Region, where it meets up with the A1 highway which connects Addis Ababa to ports in Assab, Eritrea and Djibouti.

Click on map to enlarge.
For updates see: Livemap

On Sunday 31 October the TLPF claimed to have seized control of Dessie and its 'twin city' Kombolcha, along with its airport. The government denied the claim, insisting the ENDF is still in control amidst fierce fighting. PM Abiy also claimed that foreign fighters were fighting with the TPLF in Dessie and Kombolcha and that the TPLF had rounded up and summarily executed some 100 youths in Kombolcha - a claim the TPLF has not denied. Meanwhile the OLA claims to have captured Kemise, 53km south of Kombolcha on the A2 and just 325km north of Addis Ababa, in Amhara Region's Oromia Zone (which is 86 percent ethnic Oromo). The Amhara regional government has declared a state of emergency and ordered all government institutions to suspend regular services and divert their budgets to the 'survival campaign'. According to news on Livemap, senior Ethiopian government members are making get-away plans, pre-booking flights and getting their families to safe havens. On Tuesday 2 November the US Biden administration escalated pressure on Ethiopia, revoking trade preferences over alleged gross human rights abuses. The TPLF and OLA have now physically linked up south of Kombolcha. As The Africa Report warns (2 Nov), 'A likely advance on Addis Ababa now seems imminent.'

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL:

* draw Ethiopians and Christians throughout the world onto their knees for the nation of Ethiopia - an ancient nation of great geo-strategic significance and missions powerhouse!

* protect and sustain his precious Church in Ethiopia - the ancient Ethiopian Orthodox Church, as well as the Catholics and Protestants, which includes ever increasing numbers of converts from Islam - as we recognise that this is first and foremost a spiritual battle.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God ... praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints' (from Ephesians 6:12-18).

* protect our brother Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed and his government and grace them with divine wisdom, discernment, courage to strengthen and to deliver justice and turn back the battle.

In that day [of existential threat] the Lord of hosts will be a crown of glory, and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people, and a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate (Isaiah 28:5-6 ESV).

[Isaiah's prophecy was fulfilled when a repentant King Hezekiah returned to the way of faith. His 'wait' over (Isaiah 30:18), God responded in grace and the Assyrian conquest of Jerusalem - which was both imminent and inevitable (Isaiah 36) - was miraculously turned back at the gate (Isaiah 37).]

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God… the Lord loves the righteous… but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin (from Psalm 146). Please pray!

SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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ETHIOPIA: CHRISTIAN CRISIS LOOMS AS REBELS ADVANCE

Enabled by foreign powers - particularly Egypt, the Sudanese military and the US Biden administration - the Marxist, separatist Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) and the ethno-nationalist Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) have achieved a strategic and possibly pivotal victory. On 31 October the TPLF claimed to have captured the strategic towns of Dessie and Kombolcha on the A2 highway in Amhara Region's eastern South Wollo Zone. The OLA then claimed to have captured Kemise, 35km further south, also on the A2. Fierce fighting continues and Amhara Region has declared a state of emergency. These widely hated rebels are now poised to advance on the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. A Christian crisis of monumental proportions looms as the TPLF and OLA move with genocidal intent against the Christian ethnic Amhara. Please pray.