Updates on the persecuted Church – 12 September 2023

Nigerian church minister burned to death; Christian man and woman arrested for street preaching in Nepal; Five more arrests in Uganda Islamist bomb plot; New report raises concerns of a second Armenian genocide

• A church minister in southern Kaduna State, Nigeria, was burned to death on 7 September by Fulani Islamist extremists. The assailants were attempting to abduct Na’aman Danlami and others from the rectory of a church in Kafanchan when they set fire to his car. The fire spread to the house. Three other men were able to escape, but Na’aman died in the blaze. “The assault lasted more than an hour, but there was no reaction or support from the military forces,” said Julius Kundi, a senior church leader. Pray for the bereaved family and friends of Na’aman. Ask that security forces will be awakened to the need to protect Christians.

• A man and a woman in the city of Janakpurdham, Nepal, were attacked on the morning of 5 September for preaching Christianity. A group of extremists smeared black soot on the man’s face and handed both Christians to the police. The incident comes as church leaders in Nepal report attacks on at least seven church buildings in the last three weeks. Ask that attacks on Christians will come to an end. Pray that the two arrested Christians will not face charges despite the vague wording of a law banning “hurting religious sentiment”, which makes any sharing of belief potentially illegal.

• Five more suspected jihadists have been arrested and five bombs discovered in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. The five were apprehended just days after the arrest of another member of the bomb plot as he attempted to enter a church service with an explosive device on Sunday 3 September. All men are linked to the Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh)-affiliated Allied Democratic Forces, the group that carried out the Kasese school massacre in June. Ask the Lord to protect Christians, and all Ugandans, from violent extremism.

• A new report from the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention raises concerns that the Azerbaijani blockade of Armenian Christian enclave Nagorno-Karabakh, which began nine months ago on 12 December, represents the beginnings of a new Armenian Genocide. The report also notes an Azerbaijani military build-up that began in mid-August and the risk to Armenians throughout the South Caucasus region. Pray that ongoing international pressure will bring an end to the blockade and prevent any armed escalation.