Bangladesh’s religious minorities warned they may face ‘brunt’ of election violence

Christians protest following an attack by local thugs on a church last Saturday in which three men were injured and the building damaged. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
Christians and other minorities in Bangladesh face a “daunting election” at the end of the year, warns the Bangladeshi Bureau Chief of Catholic news agency UCAN. “Elections and violence go hand-in-hand in Bangladesh and minorities often face the brunt of this amid a tug-of-war between political parties jockeying for power,” . . . Read More

Bangladesh: Militant group ‘targets’ Christian converts

Bangladesh: Militant group ‘targets’ Christian converts
The arrest of two members of a banned Bangladeshi militant group, who confessed to wanting to kill Christian converts, has put the spotlight on the changing tactics of Muslim extremist groups in the country. Security forces arrested two members of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) on 14 February in Dhaka, the capital, . . . Read More

Bangladesh: 12 militants charged with Catholic’s murder

Street in the capital Dhaka, February 2016. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
Police in Bangladesh’s northern Natore district have charged 12 militants with the murder of a Catholic shopkeeper in June last year. The charges followed a reported confession by a militant leader in custody, who is said to have admitted that members of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, an organisation affiliated to the Islamic . . . Read More

Police arrest man over Bangladesh pastor attack

Police have arrested Obaidul Islam, 28, in connection with the attack yesterday on Luke Sarkar, a Bangladeshi pastor, reports The Daily Star. An attempt was made to cut the 50-year-old’s throat, but he escaped with non-life-threatening injuries. Islam is an active member of Shibir (the student wing of the illegal . . . Read More