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Candidates for Libya's first national election will have 18 days to campaign from June 18 until July 5 ahead of July 7 polls to choose a national assembly. During his 42-year rule Gaddafi banned elections calling them bourgeois and anti-democratic. The UN envoy for Libya said, ‘In a post-conflict situation it would be unrealistic to believe there would be no security problems, but I am encouraged that there were no serious security incidents around voter registration.’ However gun battles raged on Monday between fighters supporting the revolution and former Gaddafi loyalists, killing 60+ people. Elsewhere on Sunday troops imposed a ceasefire as fighting spilled into a seventh day. Other clashes this month centred on the southern city of Kufra and in the Nafusa mountain region west of the capital Tripoli. Libya has also witnessed a series of attacks on Western targets in recent weeks, mostly in the eastern city of Benghazi.
Pray: for fair and peaceful campaigning and elections that enable Libya to have the future God purposed for them. (Pr.11:3)
More: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/06/201261813164556680.html
Following last week’s announcement that ‘Islamic Sharia Law will be the basis for the country’s new government.’ (See Prayer Alert 43-2011) Open Doors report, ‘For now the small minority of local Libyan Christians will continue to keep a low profile.’ While Gadhafi was in power Christians were apprehensive and didn’t know whom they could trust. If they shared with a friend or relative that they had become a Christian, they might go to the security service or would even take action themselves. In addition to the few local Christians, there are many foreign Christians from sub-Saharan African countries who became targets for revenge attacks, because they were thought to be mercenaries. It is not very likely that the situation for the Christians will quickly change. Christians are asking for humanitarian aid, Christian literature and Bibles.
Pray: that God will protect and strengthen our brothers and sisters in Libya and release many Christian NGOs to help rebuild the nation. (Is.32:17-18)
Our prayers have been requested following the arrest of Sherif, an Egyptian Christian businessman, who runs a bookshop in Benghazi, eastern Libya. His stock includes Christian books, intended for sale to the many expatriate Arabic speaking Christians living and working in Benghazi and the surrounding areas. He was arrested on 10 Feb. and remains detained but not charged before a court. He has been physically mistreated repeatedly. Other Christians in Benghazi have also been arrested, including several Egyptians and three non-Arab expatriates working as language teachers or businessmen. They are accused of proselytising no formal charges have yet been made against any of them. This month several communities of Catholic nuns have left the country following threats against their safety. One group located in Benghazi chose to remain. Christians supporting Sherif request our prayers that, ‘Sherif will know the presence and peace of Jesus each day, and be released soon’
Pray: for Sherif's wife and the others detained to know the close presence and healing of Jesus both physically and psychologically. (Ro.16:20)
Pope Benedict urges Christians in the Middle East to be peacemakers at an open-air mass in Beirut attended by hundreds of thousands of people. He urged Christians in the Middle East to work for peace to counter ‘the grim trail of death and destruction’ in the world, in a sermon delivered in Lebanon as civil war raged in neighbouring Syria. The open-air mass was held on Beirut's Mediterranean seafront and attended by 350,000 worshippers and leaders of Lebanon's Christian and Muslim communities. Peace between warring factions and among the many religious groups in the Middle East has been a central theme of the Pope's visit to Lebanon, along with his call to Christians not to leave the region despite war and growing pressure from radical Islamists.
Pray: for the volatile situation in the Middle East and for the Christians who live and work there. (Ps.85:8)
1,000 Syrians are now fleeing the country daily for Lebanon. Pontifical Mission Societies in Lebanon expressed the Church’s response, ‘We have Christian families who have fled Syria from violence or the oppression of the regime. There are families who have relatives in Lebanon who have fled here and want to change their lives looking for work. The Church's response in Lebanon has been hospitality and care of these people. We host them in parishes, provide food and clothing, assist them at an economic level and insert them into the social fabric. As a Church we reiterate that we are against violence, we want to promote peace and encourage dialogue. As for the Christians, the danger that looms is a scenario like Iraq, where Christians are forced to flee the country. The risk is that a dictatorial regime is replaced with an Islamist type which imposes the Sharia.’
Pray: God’s provision for those in desperate fear, leaving behind everything as they look for new beginnings. (Jos.1:9)
More: http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=13580
Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said Saudi Arabia has ceased being a mediator in Lebanon’s political crisis. This decision means a key US ally won't be involved in efforts to ease tensions in a dangerous situation. Many fear the political crisis could lead to street protests and violence that have been the scourge of Lebanon for years, including the1975-1990 civil war and sectarian battles between Sunnis and Shiites in 2008. According to Lebanon's current power-sharing system, the President must be a Christian Maronite, the Prime Minister a Sunni and the parliament speaker a Shiite. Each faith makes up about a third of Lebanon's population of 4 million. Lebanon’s political crisis stems from a UN court investigating the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005. The Iranian and Syrian sponsored Shiite group, accused of being behind the assignation deny any role in Hariri's killing. They also caused the collapse of Lebanon's Western-backed government last week. See Observers say, ‘the undeniable reality is that the Iranian-sponsored Shia Islamist movement is the strongest force in the country and will remain.’ Pray: that a peaceful co-existence will be established and maintained in Lebanon. (Da.2:21-22) More: http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=204313
Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati, who is backed by the Hezbollah led March 8 coalition, is optimistic about forming a government capable of uniting the Lebanese and ending rival factions. He said he was continuing contacts with all parties, including leaders from the March 14 coalition, in an attempt to reach an agreement that evokes satisfaction among all Lebanese. Mikati refuses to make commitment to any single party, stressing that conflicting demands by rival factions could be solved through dialogue. Iran’s Ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Roknabadi said, ‘I reaffirm that the Iranian position is to stand at the same distance with all the Lebanese and call on them to reach agreement and close ranks in order to serve this country.’ UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon hoped that a new government would be formed soon. Pray: for an inclusive Lebanese government to be formed More: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=124444#ixzz1CniZRrN1
The Obama administration is committed to improving relations with Syria despite its moves to aid the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. Israel regards Hezbollah as a major threat and accuses Syria of providing the group with Scuds. A Scud has a far longer range and can carry a much bigger warhead than the rockets Hezbollah has used in the past, and could reach anywhere in Israel from Hezbollah bases in southern Lebanon. Lebanon is independent providing freedom of religion and freedom to practice all religious rites provided public order is not disturbed. They have no state religion and officially recognizes 18 religious groups of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Around one-third of the four million people are Christian and two-thirds are Muslim. Hezbollah (whose name means party of god) is based in Lebanon and it is a state-within-a-state gaining support among many Lebanese Shiites by providing social support to operate schools, hospitals, and agricultural services for thousands.
Pray: for God to use this situation at this time to draw more into His family and may the bride of Christ in the Middle East be called deeper into the presence of the Lord Jesus. (SS:4:8)
More: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hxDzV2v2jrhRDQkI0V9heGBJZcLgD9F83JUG2
Refugee camps were set up by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in 1949 for Palestinian refugees. The Shatila refugee camp, which was already overcrowded, is now home to around 33,000 Palestinians seeking refuge in Lebanon where they face overcrowding and poor conditions. At least a fifth of the houses in the camps are not fit to live in, with many lacking walls, roofs, windows or toilet facilities. In camps where homes do not have water or electricity, there are concerns that the increase in refugees will trigger hygiene issues. Palestinians already living in the camps are doing what they can to support the new arrivals, but as Palestinians are not permitted to work in many professions in Lebanon, they mostly work in low-paid jobs, meaning their own resources are thin. There are as many as 15 people living in one room. Many are ill and malnourished. Inflation and the lack of jobs means refugees can't afford to eat properly and children are facing years out of education.
Pray: for the release of more resources for Palestinian and Syrian refugees. May God in His mercy raise up more agencies to provide assistance to those at risk of falling through the support net. (Ps.140:12)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/palestinians.are.syrias.double.refugees/32018.h
Human rights activist, and Media Chairman for the Canadian Lebanese Coordinating Council, Elias Bejjani, reports from the Beiruit Observer, ‘3,500 Hezbollah militiamen are secretly deployed in the Eastern Christian region of Lebanon, and Hezbollah has reached its final logistic preparations to execute an armed coup to take over all of Lebanon by force.’ The web site attributed its information to well-informed sources in the Saudi media.’ see Also Syria and Saudi Arabia have stepped in to ease tensions in Lebanon in light of an escalating crisis between rival political parties over a UN-backed tribunal probing the murder of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri. There are fears that should the court indict Hezbollah members, this could lead to a Sunni-Shiite conflict similar to the one that brought the country close to civil war in May 2008. Pray: that militant plans would come to nothing and God’s benchmark would be used in every negotiation. (Ps.29:11) More: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gfIikqY7gudl2YLeSKkgs-WTlN0Q