Tag: Refugees

Lebanese stockpiling weapons against IS

September 10, 2014 Lebanon Islamic State, Lebanon, Refugees, Syria

The Associated Press (AP) reports that some Lebanese Christians are stockpiling weapons and setting up self-defence units to protect themselves from the Islamic State. This report came the day before IS militants beheaded Lebanese soldier Abbas Medlej who had been taken hostage by the group’s militants in August. Photos of . . . Read More

Cameroon’s churches struggle to cope with Boko Haram spillover

September 8, 2014 Cameroon Boko Haram, Far North, IDPs, Maroua, Refugees

The United Nations camp for Nigerian refugees in Mokolo, norhtern Cameroon, in July.World Watch Monitor Northern Cameroon is more than ever in the sights of Boko Haram, as details of atrocities committed by the radical Islamic sect from neighboring Nigeria continue to emerge. The militant sect, which now controls . . . Read More

Sunni militants push Christians out of Qaraqosh

August 7, 2014 Iraq Iraq, Islamic State, Kirkuk, Kurds, Mosul, Qaraqosh, Refugees, Sunni

Armed jihadists of the so-called “Islamic State” took over Iraq’s largest Christian town, Qaraqosh, and surrounding towns early Thursday, forcing thousands of Christians to flee further into Kurdistan. Widespread news reports said Sunni militants moved into the area overnight, after Kurdish defense forces withdrew. The militants also have seized Mosul Dam, . . . Read More

The lessons of Kim Jong-Wook

June 20, 2014 North Korea Kenneth Bae, Kim Jong Wook, Missionaries, Refugees

North Korea seen through barbed wire at the China border.Open Doors International Last week, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea rejected a request from South Korea to hold discussions about the fate of Kim Jong-Wook. The DPRK in late May sentenced Kim to spend the rest of his life . . . Read More

CAR clerics plead for ceasefire

February 28, 2014 Central African Republic Anti-balaka, Bangui, Catherine Samba-Panza, Central African Republic, Dieudonné Nzapalainga, Michel Djotodia, Nicolas Guérékoyamé-Gbangou, Oumar Kobine Layama, Refugees, Seleka, UN

Two of the most senior religious leaders in the Central African Republic have issued a joint plea for a truce between retreating militant rebels and vigilantes who have been taking their revenge. “May all the brothers carrying weapons hand over their arms,” said the Catholic Archbishop of Bangui, Msgr. Dieudonné . . . Read More

A postcard from ‘Little Baghdad’

December 12, 2013 Assyrians, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Refugees, Sweden, Syria, Syriacs, Turkey

Nuri Kino Södertälje, Sweden, is also known as Mesopotälje – “Little Baghdad”. One in four people in Södertälje is a Christian from Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq or Egypt. Most are Assyrian/Syriacs. The city was once home to more Iraqi refugees than the United States and Canada combined. Every week, 30 . . . Read More

Turkish pastor arrested on human trafficking accusations

November 15, 2013 Turkey Orhan Picaklar, Protestants, Refugees

Pastor Orhan Picaklar was arrested on Monday.Samsun Agape Church A Turkish Protestant pastor arrested by police in the Black Sea province of Samsun this week is accused of involvement in prostitution and the human trafficking of refugees. Pastor Orhan Picaklar of the Samsun Agape Church was summoned to local . . . Read More

Another boatful of migrants capsizes

October 11, 2013 Africa, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Europe, Lampedusa, Migrants, Refugees

One week after a shipwreck killed more than 300 African migrants seeking asylum in Europe, another boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea on Friday, Oct. 11, killing several more. The boat, carrying more than 200 migrants, capsized about 105 kilometres southeast of Lampedusa, an island that itself is about 130 . . . Read More

African migrants risk lives to flee war and persecution

October 8, 2013 Africa, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Europe, Italy, Lampedusa, Libya, Migrants, Mussie Zerai, Netherlands, Refugees, Somalia

The latest tragic incident of hundreds of African migrants drowning in European waters tells a wider story. Scratch beneath the surface and for many of the migrants, their stories are not only of wanting a better life. Often they will be of fleeing persecution or conflict at home, and paying . . . Read More

Archbishop of Canterbury and UK Foreign Office Minister alerted to need of Syrian Christians

July 10, 2013 Aleppo, Armenians, Bashar al-Assad, Damascus, Homs, Islamic extremism, Justin Welby, London, Middle East, Minorities, North Africa, Refugees, Religious freedom, Shia, Sunni, Syria, Syriacs, UK

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the UK Foreign Office Minister responsible for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), have both acknowledged the findings of a report which says that Christians in Syria are increasingly targeted and vulnerable to persecution, amidst the on-going conflict there. Syria: Church on . . . Read More

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