Release International

Iraqi Christians in the northern city of Kirkuk are calling on officials to improve security after two members of their community were murdered last weekend.

Thirty-year-old restaurant worker Bassam Isho was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the Muthana district of the city on Sunday. The previous day, the body of Hanna Polos Emmanuel, who was 60, was found on the city's outskirts, by the side of a road leading to Baghdad.

Middle East Concern reports that three Assyrian Christians kidnapped near Kirkuk on September 21, along with a Turkman Muslim, were released last Friday – after a ransom was reportedly paid. The four had been seized by armed men as they returned from a hunting trip. Religious and ethnic minority groups such as Christians are a particular target for kidnappings and extortion rackets.

Although the international media spotlight may have moved away from Iraq, life for the country's Christians remains tense.

Several bombs exploded at the Syriac Orthodox Church of St Ephraim in central Kirkuk on August 15, causing serious damage. Earlier that same month, a car bomb was detonated in front of the Syrian Catholic Church of the Holy Family, injuring 15 people.

Middle East Concern (MEC) reports that local Christians are interpreting these attacks as a deliberate effort to 'destabilise' their communities. MEC reports that Christians are requesting prayer that the authorities will take decisive action to improve security in the area.

AsiaNews quoted one anonymous Christian as saying: 'The attacks on Christians continue and the world remains totally silent. It's as if we've been swallowed up by the night.'

Kurds want to see Kirkuk, which has large oilfields, annexed to become part of Kurdistan, while Arabs and Turkmen want to maintain links with Iraq's central Government. Christians are not only caught up in this dispute but are also a target for criminal gangs and Islamist extremist groups, still active in Iraq.

For a country profile and more news about Iraq, go to: www.releaseinternational.org/pages/country-profiles/iraq.php

NEWS UPDATE:
Religious leaders and local government officials have agreed to work together to promote religious tolerance in the central Mexican town of San Rafael Tlanalapan, from which about 70 evangelicals were expelled last month (Prayer Alert, September 20, 2011). Hardline traditionalists threatened to 'crucify or lynch' the evangelicals, forcing them to flee or seek refuge in a local church. A local priest accused of stirring up animosity towards them has reportedly been removed from his post. Under the agreement, the evangelicals agreed to relocate their church to another part of town, with support from the local government.

(Sources: AsiaNews, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Middle East Concern)

• Pray for relatives and friends of the two Christians murdered in Kirkuk over the weekend. Ask God to heal emotionally the four men who were abducted then freed. Pray that the authorities in Kirkuk will step up efforts to increase security generally.
• Pray for religious harmony and tolerance between all faiths and denominations in San Rafael Tlanalapan in Mexico's Puebla state. Pray that local evangelicals will be allowed to return home and worship in freedom.

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