From Michael Ireland Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service
ORISSA STATE, EASTERN INDIA (ANS) -- More than 600 churches have been demolished, 4,000 Christians forced to flee from their villages, and at least 25 killed as a result of violent persecution in the state of Orissa in eastern India. ...
Since Sunday, August 24, churches, schools and other institutions, prayer rooms, and homes of Christians have been ransacked, burnt and destroyed. Christians have been assaulted and reportedly at least twenty-five have been killed, some of them burnt alive or cut into pieces.
In an August 26 email to the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), Swarupananda Patra, General Secretary of the All Orissa Baptist Churches Federation, said “All Christian villages [are] empty in Kandhamal as Christians, old and young, sick and pregnant mothers [are] hiding in forests exposed to the non-stop monsoon rains without food.”
He reported that Kandhamal is the hardest hit, with at least eight Christians killed and almost all Christian homes demolished, but Christians in the districts of Balasore, Bargarh, and Kalahandi are also experiencing severe persecution. ...
P. Ramesh Kumar, Principal of the Balasore Technical School, reported to the BWA on August 25, “We are all under immense danger and threat from these groups.…Please continue to uphold us in your prayer particularly for the safety of Christian brothers and sisters who are now hiding themselves in jungles.” ...
This is not the first time Christians in Orissa have experienced violent attacks. In December 2007, Hindu militants burned approximately 90 churches and 600 homes, killing an estimated 10 persons.
Read the full article here.
For more updates visit the following links:
http://www.persecution.org/suffering/index.php
http://www.christianpersecution.info
http://leadingfromthesandbox.blogspot.com
[Thanks to Jim, Jeff, and TJ Addington for the updates]
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