COUNTRY OF THE WEEK

It's the beginning of another week and as we go about with our activities, The CSW-Nigeria team,(staff, volunteers, coordinators , partners and friends) would be praying for Eritrea. please be faithful in doing so and don't hesitate to drop a comment where ever the need arises. God bless you as you do so!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ERITREA ( capital –ASMARA)

Population :   6.131 million

Official Language: Tigrigna Language, English Language, Arabic Language

Religion : The north is associated with Islam as the dominant religion ( mostly Sunni Muslims )and the south with Christianity  as the second-largest religion in the country and Other indigenous religious groups include Buddhists, Bahais, followers of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, and Bossonists, who follow traditions of the Akan ethnic group.

Location : Eritrea is located along the Red Sea, north of the Horn of Africa, between Djibouti and Sudan. Eritrea’s longest border is shared with Ethiopia to the south, Eritrea shares a 1,626-kilometer border with three nations: Sudan to the north and west (605 kilometers), Ethiopia to the south (912 kilometers), and Djibouti to the southeast (109 kilometers).

Eritrea is one of the world’s most repressive regimes, often likened to North Korea. It is a single party state dominated by a dictatorial president, and the military pervades every aspect of society, including the economy. The regime demands total allegiance, thus Christians are perceived as a threat to national unity due to their ultimate allegiance to a higher being.

PRAYER REQUEST

• Pray for the Lord’s intervention in Eritrea and for the salvation of the president and other influential government leaders.
• Pray That the Lord will sustain all those believers who are being kept in prison; Particularly for the wives and children of jailed church leaders to stay strong in the Lord.
• Pray For underground churches and their leaders to experience God’s protection from prying eyes so that they can continue to minister to people.
• Pray That the Lord will provide for His children in the face of food shortages.
• Pray That the Lord will build His Church in Eritrea for His own glory.
• Pray For protection of and provision for Eritrean Christian refugees residing in other countries.

NIGERIA: CURFEW IN KAFANCHAN FOLLOWING PROTESTS.

A 24-hour curfew was imposed on Kafanchan, Jema'a Local Government Area,a major town in southern Kaduna on 2 April after local youths reacted angrily to the discovery by law enforcement agents of weaponry in a truck carrying about 22 Fulani herdsmen to the area in a truck.

 
According to an eyewitness report received by Christian Solidarity Worldwide -Nigeria (CSW-N), following the discovery the youth of Kafanchan took to the streets demanding instant justice. The military responded by shooting at the protesters and wounding several, many of whom received medical attention. However a confirmed report states that two protesters died.

The southern part of Kaduna State, which has witnessed several deadly attacks by Fulani herdsmen since 2011, saw a steep rise in this violence during 2014.

The most recent violence involved the destruction of three communities and the killing of over a hundred people in the Manchock area of Kaura Local Government Area (LGA). Amidst heightened local anger at a seeming official inability to prevent these attacks, on 30 March soldiers from the Nigerian Army raided Ladunga Village, an infamous Fulani settlement in Kachia LGA, southern Kaduna State, arresting 18 people and recovering several weapons. On 31 March, a major military offensive was launched to end similar attacks in Benue, Plateau and Nasarawa States.

Rev Yunusa Nmadu, CEO of CSW-Nigeria said: "While commending recent pro-active interventions by security operatives to avert violence, we urge the government to illustrate consistent commitment to ending the culture of impunity surrounding attacks on rural communities, as insufficient intervention encourages such violence to continue. In addition, while understanding the source of the deep frustrations felt by young people in southern Kaduna in the face of the continuing attacks against their communities and deeply lamenting any deaths or injuries ensuing from the events, we caution against communities taking the law into their own hands, as this inevitably leads to further violence that undermines the rule of law." we also urge the government to take necessary precautions to safeguard lives and properties.