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At least 59 people were killed with 15 injured while 10 children and six women were abducted when armed Sudanese government forces simultaneously attacked 10 villages in southern Sudan Thursday, May 22. The attacks occurred in the eastern Upper Nile region in violation of internationally agreed cease-fire provisions. Government militia attacked the village of Longchok using a combination of rocket-propelled grenades, heavy machine guns and assault rifles, reported Servant's Heart. Huts were set ablaze and many villagers were burned to death in their homes, including Presbyterian minister Jacob Gadet Manyiel, the region's only Christian pastor. He was burned to death along with his wife and four children as government troops surrounded their home, threatening to shoot any family member attempting to escape the flames. The latest attacks are part of a continuing violation of current cease-fire agreements signed by the Sudanese government in October 2002 and February 2003. The May 22 attacks also violated a U.S.-brokered agreement for the protection of civilians and noncombatants. However, even as the attacks were occurring, the Sudanese Foreign Minister was meeting in Washington with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, stating that a peace agreement was in sight. (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)

2 PASTORS KILLED, 11 CHURCHES BURNED IN MILITARY CRACKDOWN IN PAPUA

Since the Indonesian military started a crackdown around Wamena in the central highlands of Papua in early April, at least 15 villagers have been killed, some being tortured to death. Among the dead are Baptist pastors Kutis Tabuli, 41, and his brother, Engellek Tabuli, 57, who was the district church leader. Many villagers in Wamena have been robbed, intimidated and tortured by soldiers. Hundreds of villagers have fled to the jungles where some have starved to death. At least 11 churches have been burned down. There are also reports of military personnel burning Bibles as an expression of contempt. More than 90 percent of indigenous Papuans are officially called Christians. However, Muslim transmigration from Java, the growing presence of the Laskar Jihad Muslim extremist group, and the February 2003 presidential decree to divide Papua into three provinces all threaten the integrity of Papua and the future of Christianity in the area. Papua is in the easternmost part of Indonesia, covering the western half of the island of New Guinea. (Religious Liberty Prayer List)

EVANGELIST IN BELARUS FINED FOR ALLEGEDLY HOLDING CHURCH SERVICE

A Pentecostal evangelist is refusing to pay a fine for allegedly conducting worship services in the town of Zheludok in the western Grodno region of Belarus. Mikhail Balyk, who rejects the accusation, was fined 26,600 rubles (US$13) on May 27 by the administrative commission of the Molodechno municipal administration. Balyk said that no worship services were taking place at the address cited -- a domestic residence -- and he is preparing an appeal. Two police officers and a local administration official dealing with religious affairs visited a Zheludok address rented by the Grodno regional branch of the Pentecostal Union and drew up a protocol against Balyk for conducting illegal worship services. The municipal administration accused him of "organizing and conducting evangelistic meetings and other religious ceremonies every Sunday between 2 and 3 p.m." at an address in the town. His lawyer, Nina Shavtsova, said that unregistered religious organizations are often fined in this way. (Forum 18 News Service)

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY ASSOCIATION ESTABLISHED IN KAZAKHSTAN

Seventh-day Adventists in the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan established a chapter of the International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA) last month, making it the third Muslim country with an IRLA presence. Kazakhstan has presented "no opposition" for religious groups who want religious freedom, says IRLA Secretary General Dr. John Graz. However, many governments in Central Asia are sensitive about religious freedom. "They are afraid religious freedom will open the door to religious extremists," he says. "They believe that many groups can use religion with a hidden agenda. So we have to explain what religious freedom means. Religious freedom is not dangerous. Religious freedom is a plus for peace, for justice in every society. We can understand the concern of the government, but at the same time we believe religious freedom is the best answer when it is well understood." Participants in the Kazakhstan IRLA, meeting in Almaty, included representatives from Buddhist, Muslim, Orthodox Christian, Protestant and Jewish communities. The IRLA was founded in 1893 by Adventist church leaders and has developed into a non-sectarian organization dedicated to safeguarding religious civil rights worldwide. (Adventist News Network)

PEACE IN ANGOLA OPENS DOORS TO GOSPEL AFTER 27-YEAR CIVIL WAR

African leaders asked for and got pledges for help from G-8 Summit leaders meeting in France in rebuilding their war-torn continent. Among the countries most needing aid is Angola where the fog of a 27-year-long civil war is lifting. Barbosa de Oliveira Jr. of OC International, a church planter serving in Angola and Mozambique, says the situation is still dangerous because there are more than two landmines for each Angolan. "How does that affect ministry? Mostly through transportation issues -- people coming from the countryside into the cities to get trained and to go back into their areas." Oliveira says there are "enormous pockets of Christians," and believers are eager to reach their countrymen with the gospel. "They are capable of doing better -- better than any missionary -- because they know the context, they know the culture, they know their own people," he says. (Mission Network News)

AVIATION SERVICE CONNECTS BIBLE TRANSLATORS WITH PEOPLE GROUPS

Bible translators continue to find ways to communicate the gospel message to those who cannot read their own language, says Jim Hollister of JAARS, the aviation service of Wycliffe Bible Translators. He says the service plays an important role, transporting translators to specific language groups to work on various projects, including the recording of Scripture onto video and audio cassettes. Translation teams have completed more than 300 Bible videos. "It's different from month to month with all the different vernacular media services projects that are going on," Hollister says. "But as far as translation programs go, Wycliffe is working on more than 1,200 language projects, and some of those do have media projects going on." (Mission Network News)

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