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Main suspect behind Sri Lanka Easter churches’ deaths arrested

March 31, 2020 Sri Lanka Catholics, Churches, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Minorities, Sri Lanka

Detectives have arrested the man suspected of being the ‘handler’ of the bomber of Zion Protestant Church in Batticaloa, eastern Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday 2019, 21 April. The man, from Mount Lavinia, south of the capital Colombo – across the complete width of the island from Zion Church, around . . . Read More

India: Eight Christians acquitted of kidnapping and forced conversion

February 21, 2020 India Anti-conversion law, Children, India, Madhya Pradesh

The eight Christians were arrested while travelling with the children on a train. (Photo: Getty Images)

Two and a half years after they were arrested, an Indian court has acquitted eight Christians accused of kidnapping and forced conversion of 60 children, reports the Catholic news site UCAN. Their case was dismissed 18 February by the criminal court in Ratlam in the central state of Madhya Pradesh. . . . Read More

Sudan: Three churches burned down twice within one month

February 3, 2020 Sudan Blue Nile, Churches, NISS, South Kordofan, Sudan

Pulpit in the Al Gadaref Lutheran Church, eastern Sudan, following an arson attack in 2015. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Three churches in Sudan’s southern Blue Nile state, rebuilt after arson attacks in December, were burned down again in January, reports a Sudanese rights organisation. On the evening of 28 December, the Sudan Internal Church, Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church in Bout town, near the border with South Sudan, . . . Read More

Nigeria: ‘Government is Boko Haram but without bomb’, says church leader

January 20, 2020 Nigeria Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen, Islamic State West Africa Province, Leah Sharibu, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria

A mother sits mourning the death of her husband after Boko Haram attacks at Dalori village on the outskirts of Maiduguri in northeastern Nigeria on 31 January 2016. (Photo: Getty Images)

Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, is visiting the United Kingdom this week to discuss trade and investment amid increased criticism from church leaders back home who say the government is effectively enabling attacks on Christians in the country. “They [the government] are using the levers of power to secure the supremacy . . . Read More

Christians in Africa face ‘explosion’ in violence, senior church leader says

December 20, 2019 Global News -- No Particular Country Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Islamic extremism, Mozambique, Nigeria

Church leaders as well as government officials and representatives of the Muslim community attended the funeral of the six killed in the Dablo attack. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Violence against Christians in Africa “is exploding”, according to a senior church leader in the Central African Republic. In Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Mozambique there has been an increase in attacks on Christians, including church leaders and churches in recent weeks, said Cardinal Dieudonne Nzapalainga in an interview with the . . . Read More

Who owns the church? Sudan court puts elders on trial for trespass and theft

October 21, 2019 Sudan Churches, Sudan, Sudanese Church of Christ

Several churches are in conflict with the Sudanese government over ownership of their properties and are facing fines and destruction of church buildings. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

A criminal case against eight leaders of a Sudan church is testing the application of a law that puts church property under the control of the government. The eight leaders of the Sudanese Church of Christ were arrested in August 2017 after they refused to hand over control of the . . . Read More

Algeria: Another Protestant church closed

August 16, 2019 Algeria Algeria, Churches, Kabylie, Protestant Church of Algeria, Tizi Ouzou

The key hole of a closed down church in Algeria is sealed with wax. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Algerian authorities closed a Protestant church in northern Tizi Ouzou province earlier this month, after shutting another church in the same area in May, reports Christian advocacy group Middle East Concern (MEC). Officers of the National Gendarmerie arrived on 6 August with orders from the province’s governor to seal the . . . Read More

Eritrea: Orthodox Patriarch Antonios expelled for ‘heresy’

August 2, 2019 Eritrea Abune Antonios, Donald Trump, Eritrea, Eritrean Orthodox Church, UN

Abune Antonios, Patriarch, Eritrean Orthodox Church

Eritrea’s Orthodox patriarch, Abune Antonios, who was placed under house arrest by the government in 2007, has been expelled by pro-government bishops in his church on accusations of heresy, the BBC reported. The attempt to excommunicate is widely seen as symptomatic of Eritrea’s government push for more political control over . . . Read More

Iranian church closed, cross torn down

May 24, 2019 Iran Armenians, Assyrians, Crosses, Iran, Minorities

The cross was removed from the church's tower. (Photo: Article 18)

An Assyrian church in northwestern Iran has been closed down and the cross removed from its tower, reports advocacy organisation Article 18. A “large number” of agents from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and EIKO, an organisation presided over by the Supreme Leader, reportedly stormed the 100-year-old-church on 9 May, changed . . . Read More

Egypt legalises 156 churches with many more still waiting

March 6, 2019 Egypt Al-Azhar, Churches, Copts, Egypt

Entrance to a Coptic Church in Egypt. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Egypt legalised 156 more churches and service buildings on Tuesday, 5 March, bringing the total of approved religious venues to 783, reports Egypt Independent. Since 2016, more than 3,700 churches have applied for legal status under a new law that was designed to make it easier to establish and build churches . . . Read More

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Catching Our Eye

Catching Our Eye

Main suspect behind Sri Lanka Easter churches’ deaths arrested

India: Eight Christians acquitted of kidnapping and forced conversion

Sudan: Three churches burned down twice within one month

Nigeria: ‘Government is Boko Haram but without bomb’, says church leader

Christians in Africa face ‘explosion’ in violence, senior church leader says

Who owns the church? Sudan court puts elders on trial for trespass and theft

Algeria: Another Protestant church closed

Eritrea: Orthodox Patriarch Antonios expelled for ‘heresy’

Iranian church closed, cross torn down

Egypt legalises 156 churches with many more still waiting

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