Sources: Christian Post, The Barnabas Fund, Australian Prayer Network

Local authorities confirmed reports that the terrorists targeted Christians, killing those who refused to convert to Islam.

At least 15 people were abducted from two churches, while 14 other Christians were transported to a hospital and reported as being in critical condition suffering from severe injuries.

One Christian survivor witnessed the murder of his wife and three children as he hid in a bathroom. In another village, a pastor lost all five members of his family who were slaughtered after they refused to convert to Islam.

Led by Musa Baluku, the ADF has become the DRC’s most active and violent terrorist group over the past two years. The group is known for committing crimes such as murder, rape, and abduction of women and children, as well as slavery and indoctrination.

Attacks against Christians in the DRC have increased since October 2019, when the Congolese Army launched an operation against the ADF’s leaders and bases in the jungle around the city of Beni. In response, the jihadist group intensified its campaign of massacres in rural areas, predominantly targeting Christians, who make up 95% of the population.

Source: The Voice of the Martyrs USA

Members of the church and the pastor went to the police station to report the killing, but the officers would not hear their case. A lawyer has since been appointed to pursue the case in court.

Sources: International Christian Concern, Union of Catholic Asian News, Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement

On 5 December, Shaheen was recovered by police from the home of Hayat. Human rights activists reported Shaheen had marks of abuse on her body and was transferred to a shelter home by local courts. “Officials first brought [Shaheen] to the police station after negotiations with the criminals,” Lala Robin Daniel, a local activist said.

“Her ankles and feet were wounded. They were bandaged at the police station. She was in trauma and couldn’t talk about the torture.”

In January, authorities dropped charges against Shaheen’s abductors after she testified that she willingly married Hayat. Shaheen’s family argued she was traumatised and feared retribution from her abductors if she gave testimony against them.

The Sessions Court in Faisalabad ordered that Shaheen return to her family after she told local media she wished to re-join her family. Judge Rana Masoon Akhtar said, “This girl cannot be kept in the shelter home for an indefinite period.”

According to a 2014 study by the Movement for Solidarity and Peace Pakistan, an estimated 1,000 Christian and Hindu women are abducted, forcefully married, and forcefully converted every year. Many of the victims are minors. Sexual assaults and fraudulent marriages are used by perpetrators to entrap victims and authorities are often complicit.

The issue of religion is injected into cases of sexual assault to place victims from religious minority communities at a disadvantage. By playing upon religious biases, perpetrators know they can cover up and justify their crimes.

Source: The Voice of the Martyrs USA

Recently, one church raised the necessary funds to rebuild and even acquired permission.

However, when a contractor arrived to begin the rebuilding process, district officials stopped him. The believers involved elevated the case to local government officials, regional officials and finally the federal government, who are in the process of investigating.
The church also houses a school, which is currently shut down because there is no building.

Source: ChinaAid

Afterwards, Brother Chen and his mother were taken to the Hengyang police station. Officials released Brother Chen’s mother at 11pm. Authorities detained him for 15 more days, making this the fourth time officers had detained him during the past four months. Brother Chen has repeatedly said that he wants to spread the Gospel to the police and prison officials. Regarding his detention, he posted on his WeChat Moment:

“Hallelujah! Thank You, Lord – for your grace and blessing.”

On 29 January, only days after police released Brother Chen from detention, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government officials visited him at his home. During the visit which lasted until midnight, several CCP officials tried to persuade Brother Chen to stop spreading the Gospel in the street. Instead of convincing him, however, Brother Chen seized the opportunity to share the Gospel with the officials.

Police have transported Brother Chen to the local station so often that most Hengyang police officers and detention centre officials know him by name. Each time a police officer arrests him, Brother Chen smiles and says,

“Jesus loves you. God bless you. I will go with you.” When released, he thanks and blesses those around him.

Regardless of warnings, threats, and detentions, Brother Chen does not plan to stop. Even if imprisoned, Brother Chen said, “I have made up my mind to proclaim the Gospel, even in prison.