Peaceful demonstrations began last week in Wad Madani, parts of Khartoum, Port Sudan, Gadarif, Sinaar and Nyala to protest the government’s decision to lift fuel and food subsidies, which caused these commodities to double in price overnight. However, the protests soon evolved into a demand for the government’s downfall, with protesters adopting chants made popular during the Arab Uprisings. The demand became stronger as security services responded to protestors with disproportionate force, firing teargas, rubber bullets and live rounds. According to the Ministry of Interior, the death toll stands at 29. However in an interview with Sudanese media Dr Ahmed Al Sheikh, the head of the Sudanese Doctors’ Syndicate, said at least 210 people had died, mostly from gunshot wounds to the head and chest, with families forced to accept death certificates stating their relatives had died of “natural causes.”
Over 200 people are reported to have died and an estimated 500 may have been injured as Sudanese security forces continue to use live ammunition on unarmed anti-government protestors. The demonstrations have continued into their ninth day amid a clampdown on press freedom and mass arrests of activists.
Peaceful demonstrations began last week in Wad Madani, parts of Khartoum, Port Sudan, Gadarif, Sinaar and Nyala to protest the government’s decision to lift fuel and food subsidies, which caused these commodities to double in price overnight. However, the protests soon evolved into a demand for the government’s downfall, with protesters adopting chants made popular during the Arab Uprisings. The demand became stronger as security services responded to protestors with disproportionate force, firing teargas, rubber bullets and live rounds. According to the Ministry of Interior, the death toll stands at 29. However in an interview with Sudanese media Dr Ahmed Al Sheikh, the head of the Sudanese Doctors’ Syndicate, said at least 210 people had died, mostly from gunshot wounds to the head and chest, with families forced to accept death certificates stating their relatives had died of “natural causes.”
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Islamist sect Boko Haram has attacked a college, Christian settlement and a number of villages in the last fortnight, in an apparent escalation of attacks on civilian targets in the run-up to Nigeria’s Independence Day on 1 October. Over 40 students reportedly died when suspected Boko Haram gunmen attacked male hostels at the College of Agriculture in Gujba, a rural area approximately 50 km south of the Yobe State capital, Damaturu in north eastern Nigeria, during the early hours of 30 September. Survivors report that the gunmen, some of whom were dressed in military fatigues, killed several students in their beds, while others were forced outside, divided into groups, and then executed group by group. Those attempting to flee were also shot, and several classrooms were set ablaze. The overwhelming majority of victims were Muslims. Despite the terrible violence committed against them and their churches by Muslim Brotherhood supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi, Egypt's Christian minority has chosen not to retaliate in kind. "One of the churches resumed praying in the midst of the rubble," says Egyptian-born Christian physician Hany Guirgis, who now lives in Edmonton. "They raised a banner saying, 'To those who burned our church, we forgive you.' It's amazing." The attacks began on August 14 following the military's violent dispersal of Muslim Brotherhood sit-ins in Cairo over Morsi's ouster six weeks earlier. The protestors turned against the Christians, who they accused of taking part in his overthrow. "There is no war in the North. What we have is genocide against people of the Christian faith," said Rev. Musa Asake to Morning Star News (MSN). As reported by Worthy News, Asake added that Islamic terrorism and lack of state protection has led to “outright genocide” of Christians in northern Nigeria. He continued, "There is no prosecution of those who kill and this has encouraged these Boko Haram members to continue to bomb Christian areas while Fulani herdsmen continue to attack and kill Christians in rural areas of northern part of this country with impunity … Christians in the North are under an unprecedented siege by various groups of well-armed, roundly trained and heavily funded Muslim groups bent on expressing their hate against Christians and the Christian faith through mindless, mass murder of men, women and children." Four large blasts rocked Kenya's Westgate Mall on Monday, sending large plumes of smoke over an upscale suburb as Kenyan military forces sought to rescue an unknown number of hostages held by al-Qaida-linked militants. The explosions were followed by volleys of gunfire, then a thick, dark column of smoke. Military and police helicopters and one plane circled over the Nairobi mall, giving the upscale Westlands neighborhood the feel of a war zone. Security forces' efforts the previous day to rescue the unknown number of hostages inside failed despite the military announcing that "most" hostages had been saved. Kenyan officials have said preserving the hostages' lives is a top priority, greatly complicating the rescue effort. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is deeply concerned by an acid attack on an elderly Catholic priest in Zanzibar last Friday. The incident, which is the latest in a series of assaults on churches and church leaders in the semi-autonomous archipelago, highlights a worrying deterioration in freedom of religion or belief in Tanzania.
Father Anselm Mwang’amba was attacked as he left an internet cafe in the historic Stone Town area of the Zanzibar capital, and is currently hospitalized with severe burns to the face, neck and hands. According to a local report, while inside the cafe Father Mwang’amba received a call from an unknown number and was doused with acid as he exited to answer his telephone. The assault on Father Mwang’amba is the fourth major attack on a Christian leader in Zanzibar since December 2012, when a Catholic priest was wounded by unknown gunmen. Local Christians report receiving threats via text message or in leaflets naming church leaders who have been targeted for assassination, and in some instances referring to a prospective date. In February 2013, the murder of a Protestant pastor was followed a week later by the killing of a Catholic priest. In addition, at least 20 churches have been looted and either burnt or demolished, allegedly by supporters of the separatist religious movement Uamsho (Awakening). Perpetrators of religious violence are never brought to trial even when identified or caught in the act, and police investigations are generally extended indefinitely. In a comment to CSW on the attack on Father Mwang’amba a local Christian who preferred to remain anonymous said: "We are asking the international community to intervene in this issue. Christians do not have any protection. In this environment we live in so much fear of what will happen to whom tomorrow." CSW has also received reports of increasing discrimination on the Tanzanian mainland and an inadequate official response to religion-related violence. The family of a Pentecostal pastor beheaded in March 2013 in violence that erupted in Geita after the Muslim community objected to the opening of a Christian-owned butchery are still awaiting justice. Christians complain of the uneven application of public order stipulations designed to maintain religious harmony, including discrimination in the granting of permits for open-air meetings and new media outlets. In May, people died and over sixty were injured when the inauguration service for a new Catholic Cathedral in Arusha was bombed in what the Tanzanian president described as a “terrorist attack.” Daniel Sinclair, Communications Director at CSW said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with Father Mwang’amba, who we wish a speedy recovery. These threats and attacks targeting church leaders and church buildings are in violation of the Tanzanian constitution, which provides for freedom of religion or belief. If left unchecked, religious violence will ultimately undermine national cohesion. CSW calls upon the Tanzanian authorities to take decisive action to tackle rising extremism and prevent impunity from taking hold in any part of the country. It is vital that the Government of Zanzibar effectively addresses attacks on the local Christian community, offers protection to all who are under threat, adequately compensates churches that have been looted or demolished, and ensures that inciters and perpetrators of religion-related violence are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” Christians in the U.S. should support Nigerian believers with prayer and financial gifts to counter the Nigerian government's refusal to outlaw child marriage in the African country, a Southern Baptist expert on Nigerian relations said. The Nigerian government's refusal to set the legal marriage age at 18 will allow preteen Christian girls to be bought as the brides of Muslim men, automatically forcing them to convert to Islam, Adeniyi Ojutiku, a Southern Baptist working from Raleigh, N.C., to evangelize and serve Nigerians in his homeland, told Baptist Press. "We need the church to raise an altar on our [behalf], to go to God in prayer for our country Nigeria, to bring about a quick review of this law because [with] this law in place, the future is bleak for our daughters of 12 years, not to mention the one that is just 5 years old," said Ojutiku, who organized the grassroots group Lift Up Now, with an estimated 2,000 supporters in Nigeria. An attorney from Kenya is seeking an international court to consider a re-trial for Jesus. Attorney Dola Indidis is trying to sue Emperor Tiberius, Pontius Pilate, Jewish elders and King Herod, holding they remain responsible for an illegal trial and the result, the crucifixion Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel says it's strange if Indidis is seeking to have Jesus pardoned, noting that Jesus pardoned us. At least 50 civilians were killed and dozens more injured in a series of weekend attacks in north-eastern Nigeria by the Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram. Twelve people are reported to have been killed when Boko Haram members dressed in military and police uniforms attacked Ngom, a village situated between Mafa and Konduga Local Government Areas in Borno State, on Saturday 10 August. Several sources report the victims' hands were tied behind their backs prior to their throats being slit. According to an unconfirmed report, 19 people from surrounding villages were also murdered in a similar manner during Sunday 11 August. Also on 11 August, Boko Haram gunmen attacked Konduga Central Mosque and adjoining mosques in Konduga Town during early morning prayers, killing 46 worshipers and injuring at least 30 people, 26 of whom required hospital treatment. At the same time, other members of the group petrol bombed and destroyed around 50 homes. This was Boko Haram's first large scale attack inside a mosque; the group had previously targeted individuals on their way to or from prayer. For the last several weeks, I have been asked for my response to an article posted on the Grace to You website by Conrad Mbewe, pastor of the Kabwata Baptist Church in Zambia and one of the speakers at Pastor John MacArthur’s upcoming Strange Fire conference. According to the article, which is entitled “Why Is the Charismatic Movement Thriving in Africa?” this movement is not a powerful visitation of the Holy Spirit. Rather, “We need to sound the warning that this is not Christianity.”
Not Christianity? Really? Now, had Pastor Mbewe said, “I praise God for the wonderful things that He is doing throughout Africa by His Spirit, but there are serious errors that need to be addressed,” I would have said, "Amen," to many of his concerns. In fact, charismatic leaders in Africa are addressing these problems as well. Unfortunately, Pastor Mbewe, just like many other anti-charismatic leaders, fails to see the extraordinary forest because of some very bad trees. |
Walter Blackwood
Associate Pastor with The Bridge Community of Faith in Kelowna BC Canada. Archives
May 2017
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