Mexican police are searching for an armed gang that attacked a Christian youth camp outside Mexico City. Prosecutors said the gang subjected the campers to an ordeal lasting several hours. Seven girls were sexually assaulted and other youths were beaten. The attackers took cash, cameras and mobile phones and escaped in two stolen vehicles. The Governor of Mexico State, Eruviel Avila, has promised to do everything possible to catch those responsible. About 90 members of the Christian youth group were camping in tents in the Colibri ecological park near the town of Ixtapaluca. The attackers burst into the camp at around midnight on Thursday firing shots into the air, the victims said. The park is in a hilly region with no mobile phone coverage so it was some time before the alarm was raised. Mexican newspapers have questioned why there was not better security at the site .STOP PRESS:Police in Mexico have arrested 17 people in connection with the attack.

Pray: for all the youngsters that their ordeal will leave no lasting effect and that the authorities will succeed in finding the perpetrators.

More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18845208

Once a year, Muslims of every ethnic group, colour, social status, and culture gather together in Mecca to stand before the Kaaba praising Allah. It is a ritual designed to promote the bonds of Islamic brotherhood and sisterhood by presenting everyone is equal in the eyes of Allah. The Hajj is designed to make Muslims feel theimportance of life here on earth and the afterlife by stripping away all markers of social status, wealth and pride. In the Hajj all are considered truly equal. The Hajjis or pilgrims wear simple white clothes, perform acts of worship and they renew their sense of purpose in the world. - Christians are invited to pray throughout the Hajj for the millions of Muslims from all over the world who will flock to Mecca to perform the rituals and follow the steps of Muhammad their prophet. For a prayer guide and brief prayer video click on the more link below.

Pray:    for seekers to encounter ‘The Son and the radiance of God’s glory’ and see ‘the exact representation of He who sustaining all things by his powerful word’ as they discover Gods provision for the purification of sins. (Heb. 1:3)

More:    http://www.pray-ap.info/hajj

It has been just over a month since a group of soldiers toppled Mali's democratically elected president. After a counter-coup attempt Mali's ruling military leaders said yesterday in a message aired over state television that they are in control of the state broadcaster building, the airport and the military base in Kati near the capital Bamako. The television message said, ‘Elements from abroad, supported by some obscure forces within the country, carried out these attacks. Some of them have been arrested,’ A witness to the fighting saw a large convoy of military vehicles heading to the town of Kati just outside Bamako, where the junta has set up its headquarters. The US embassy in Bamako, through its Twitter account, reported shooting, but did not specify the groups involved. A former executive of Microsoft for Africa, was appointed along with former national assembly speaker, as the interim president, to lead the country ahead of elections later this year.

Pray: for the country to return completely to constitutional rule. (Ps.45:4)

More: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/05/2012514022453752.html

Amnesty International has documented dozens of cases of detainees being tortured or ill-treated after being arrested for having alleged links with armed groups. The organization also documented more than 20 cases of extrajudicial-executions or enforced disappearances. Amnesty International’s delegates spoke to more than 80 of the 200 detainees held in the capital Bamako, most of them charged with acts of terrorism and other offences. Many reported being tortured or ill-treated. Some were denied medical treatment. A number of them had marks and scars of burnings and cuts – including on their backs, chests and ears. At least five detainees died in the facility in April 2013, most of them apparently as a result of the appalling conditions of detention and lack of medical care. Mali authorities recognized that some human rights violations had been committed and said a number of cases were being investigated, but so far no one has been brought to justice.

Pray: that all those responsible for human rights abuses will face justice and for a lasting stabilization of Mali. (Tit.3:1-2

More: http://www.amnesty.org/en/

As troops from France and Chad enter the last major city in northern Mali, critical Christian aid efforts have been hampered by a climate of violence and instability. ‘I wish I knew what is going on,’ says Laura Delaney, medical coordinator with Medicines for Mali. Her organization works closely with Blessings International to deliver medical aid and access to clean water to poor villages in the south. She intended to deliver vital medicines but plans changed after a Frenchman was abducted near Bamako. Access to communication is spotty in the villages they serve. ‘The sad part is people don’t know what’s going on, except that we’re not coming. They fear we will not come back, but we reassured them we will return when it’s safe. It’s heart-wrenching not to go, medicine is in short supply'; she said. Meanwhile 1,800 Chadian troops secured Kidal in northern Mali, and French troops are holding the Kidal airport so that more forces can land.

Pray: for this and other agencies attempting to reach difficult areas with much needed aid. Pray also for the innocent villages caught up in this conflict. (Ps.22:19-22)

More: http://blog.godreports.com/2013/02/medical-mission-diverted-from-mali/#more-2843

‘I ask Algerian authorities to find a solution to save my life.’ Was the video plea sent this week to the Algerian government by a hostage in North Mali. He was identified as an employee of the Algerian consulate in Mali's northern city of Gao. See: Last week Jihadists cut off the hand of a thief in accordance with the new Islamic law in Mali. See: Persecution Watch reported the strict sharia law is victimising Christians, women and other vulnerable groups. A Christian leader who fled from northern Mali said, ‘all the Christians have left Timbuktu because of the Sharia law and the presence of people linked with Al-Qaeda.’

Pray: for God to pour out his mercy on the countless villages, cities and towns in Northern Mali living in fear; pray also for His intervention in the different power dynamics, affiliations, ideologies and motivations that are rising in Mali. (Ps.56:3)

More: http://www.persecution.org/2012/06/08/christians-women-victims-as-islamic-forces-implement-sharia-law-in-north-mali/

Armed conflict and food shortages have driven 400,000+ from their homes after April’s coup d'état left a government once considered a model of African democracy in shambles. Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist groups controlling an expanse the size of France are implementing a strict and destructive version of Sharia law. The international community said the situation is ‘a potential threat to international peace and security’. See: Valerie Amos the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator is visiting the area to assess this ongoing humanitarian need and draw attention to the severe food and nutrition crisis affecting people in Mali, including 175,000 children at risk of severe malnutrition. During her meetings with Government officials and humanitarian partners Ms. Amos is exploring ways to strengthen humanitarian operations and improve access to the north of the country. She will also call for urgent funding to scale up operations in the south, where the majority of people suffering the effects of the food and nutrition crisis live.

Pray: for God in His mercy to enable wise and effective distribution of food and medical aid to every area in need at this time. (Ps.57:1)

More: http://www.zimbio.com/Baroness+Amos/articles/vnYQz83IhEH/UN+HUMANITARIAN+CHIEF+VALERIE+AMOS

Christians had enjoyed widespread freedoms in Malian society, including allowing foreign Christian missionaries into the country. But the situation dramatically changed with the 2012 capture of the northern part of the country by Tuareg separatist rebels and Islamist fighters. However, French troops have launched a military operation aiming at stopping the advance of Islamists from their bases in the north to the South. The French intervention started on Friday, Jan 11 with air strikes, and had enabled the Malian troops to regain control of the central town of Konna, occupied by Islamists the day before. Since then, French warplanes have been bombing Islamists’ positions in Timbuktu, Gao and elsewhere in the North. Military authorities said France would double its commitment of troops to the country to about 1,500. More than half of Mali has been controlled by rebel groups, some with links to al-Qaeda, since April 2012. Many of the displaced Christians are anxious because they don’t know whether some of their family members are alive or dead.

Pray: that the French intervention will not cause Malion citizens to suffer but rather allow Mali to return to peaceful cohabitation between various religious groups. (Eph.12:13-14)

More: http://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/english/country/otherafrica/article_2012420.html

The military junta that seized power promised to hold a national convention to determine the country's future. Meanwhile international pressure to restore civilian rule continues. The military leaders, who overthrew Mali's democratically elected president, will invite the political class and all civil society representatives to decide what path to take ‘in a consensual manner, democratically and in all freedom, Capt. Amadou Sanogo, the junta leader, said onTuesday. Mali has a history of controversy surrounding presidential elections. Rebels have been given until Monday to hand over power or face sanctions of:- closed borders except for humanitarian purposes, - denied access to neighbouring ports - freeze regional bank accounts - suspend participation in cultural and sporting events. Historically Mali has been more threatened by tribal insurgencies than by terrorist threats and has been one of the largest recipients in the region of military training and assistance from the United States.(see this weeks INSIGHT article)

Pray: the changes and turmoil will peacefully bring about economic favour in this devastatingly poor country. May the Mali have confidence in their leaders. (Job 5:9-16)

More: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/04/world/africa/mali-unrest/index.html

Government forces collapsed in the north following the coup, allowing separatist and Islamist rebels to seize control of the country’s three northern regions. Around 215,000 people have been displaced from their homes, many of them crossing into Burkina Faso and Mauritania. Many Christians have sought safety in Mali’s capital, Bamako, where they are being fed and sheltered by a network of churches. A Barnabus Fund contact in Mali reports that churches in the towns of Gao and Timbuktu were destroyed in the takeover, with the congregations abandoning their homes and fleeing south. ‘Horrible crimes have been made against the population – massacres, rape of women, obligation to wear the veil, chasing Christians,’ the source reports. The plight of refugees was being compounded by the existing food crisis in the Sahel which has seen the cost of basic foodstuffs double.

Pray: for those providing homes, corn, rice and medicine to hundreds of Christian refugees to know God’s enabling power and provision. (Ps.111:5)

More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/christians.forced.to.flee.northern.mali/29746.htm