Release International

An underground church leader in Somalia who escaped a kidnapping attempt by Islamist extremists earlier this month has succumbed to their bullets.

Madobe Abdi was found dead in Mahaday village on March 15, less than a fortnight after he had foiled an attempt by Al Shabaab militants to kidnap him on March 2. Al Shabaab, which has links with al-Qaeda, reportedly gave warning against anyone trying to bury Madobe's body – demanding that it be left outside in the street as a warning to other Christians, according to sources for Compass Direct news agency.

Al Shabaab, which appears determined to rid Somalia of all Christians, has murdered several believers in the past year, specifically targeting those with a Muslim background. Madobe was different in so far as he was raised as a Christian.

Christians in Somalia are under pressure on all sides. Members of the government-aligned Islamic Courts Union, a coalition of Sharia judges and militants, are alleged to have set fire to a Christian home in a district of Mogadishu last month, after learning that it contained a Bible and Christian literature.
 
(Source: Compass Direct)

• Pray for the relatives and friends of murdered church leader Madobe Abdi.
• Pray God's peace over His church in Somalia, hard pressed on all sides.

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