Displaying items by tag: War

Vladimir Putin has told his French counterpart the shelling of the besieged city of Mariupol will only end when Ukrainian troops surrender. The key southern port city has been under heavy shelling for weeks. French officials said on 30 March that the Russian leader had agreed to consider plans to evacuate civilians from the city. They called the situation in the city ‘catastrophic’, adding that civilian populations must be protected and must leave the city if they wish. They must have access to food aid, water and medicine. France, Turkey, Greece and several humanitarian groups have presented Putin with a plan to evacuate the city. Officials said Putin told Emmanuel Macron that he will think about it. However after the talks with Ukraine the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, played down any hopes of a breakthrough. On 31 March Ukraine made another attempt to send aid and bring back evacuees.

Ukraine’s Christians are praying for God's protection, peace, and His will to be done, seeking Him in churches, bomb shelters, and homes. They are believing for miracles, healing and the supernatural presence of God to manifest itself powerfully throughout Ukraine. There is such faith being exercised, with crying out to God, as shown on videos, that some wonder if the presence and glory of God will become so pervasive that Russian soldiers will kneel down and repent on the battlefield, while Ukrainians extend grace, forgiveness and mercy, showing the love of Christ. In the midst of trial and war, the church is singing. It is standing against the wave of evil, bringing a standard of righteousness and holiness in the midst of calamity. Worship and prayer, spiritual warfare tools, are cutting through the darkness and joining brothers and sisters in Christ worldwide.

Up to 1,000 people – including priests and church leaders – were killed in recent attacks in Ethiopia. A Belgium-based nonprofit organisation released reports of 1,000 people hiding in an Orthodox church in Aksum, thought to contain the Ark of the Covenant. They were brought out and shot in the square. 750 were definitely murdered, and possibly more of the injured died later. Inside Ethiopia there is political conflict. The government’s term of office ended in September, and the May elections were cancelled due to coronavirus. This has created political unrest where Christians and Muslims are dying in a long line of fatal assaults against innocent people in the Tigray region. 154 were killed in December in Maryam Dengelat, and ten from one family were killed on Christmas Day. Also, Eritrean troops have been killing dozens.

Fighting continues despite an agreed ceasefire; the Red Cross reports ‘hundreds killed’ in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey and Israel are offering drone support and technologies. Azerbaijan wants to gain control of as much of its claimed territory as possible. Armenians have mobilised to stop it. The Red Cross reports indiscriminate shelling by both sides into towns and cities far from contested areas. On 21 October Russian bombers made a powerful air strike on a convoy and assembly point with Syrian mercenaries in Nagorno-Karabakh. However researchers found old video footage re-edited and wrongly labelled as portraying recent events. While the majority of online media is news reports, official government information or campaign slogans and images, there is doctored or old footage. Disinformation in conflicts is not uncommon, where accessing accurate information can prove difficult. Pray for peace in this part of the Caucasus: it’s a crisis entangling Russia, Turkey, Israel, Iran, and Azeri and Armenian diasporas.

Starvation is being intentionally used as a war tactic in South Sudan’s brutal conflict, a UN-backed human rights panel report stated. South Sudan gained independence in 2011 but descended into conflict 2½ years later, following tensions between President Salva Kiir and his deputy. Most South Sudanese are Christian, whereas the majority in Sudan belong to the Sunni branch of Islam. Religion deeply influences governance and daily life, playing a dominant role in the nation's politics. The brutal fighting has caused incalculable suffering to civilians, and resulted in staggering levels of acute food insecurity and malnutrition. 7.5 million South Sudanese, in several areas, currently require humanitarian assistance. Both governments and opposition forces have deliberately used the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare in these areas, sometimes as an instrument to punish non-aligning communities, as in the case of Jonglei.

Yemen’s Saudi-backed government has accused the Houthis of covering up a large outbreak of coronavirus in areas that they hold, and has called for urgent global assistance to help their war-ravaged health sector deal with coronavirus. The United Nations warned that the country could suffer a ‘catastrophic’ food security situation due to the pandemic. The WHO said that the virus is spreading undetected among the population in the country, control of which is divided between the government in the south and the Houthi group in the north.

At a time when Yemen is scrambling to respond to coronavirus and ensure that hospitals can treat the patients, the country has entered the sixth year of a war that has all but decimated its healthcare system. The multiparty war has not spared hospitals or health workers. More than the violence and destruction, the new threat of the virus will complicate an already disastrous and entirely man-made humanitarian crisis. Yemen’s president has called for new measures and efforts to confront the spread of coronavirus and instructed the health ministry to send medical supplies and medical teams urgently to cities with the virus. The former deputy prime minister said, ‘A comprehensive cease-fire in Yemen and the release of all detainees, prisoners and abductees are humanitarian necessities, in order to devote efforts to protect the Yemeni people from the potential coronavirus pandemic.’

It has been almost ten years since the horrific war began. The Syrian army has retaken most of the land (except Idlib). Many believe that what happens here could be the culmination of the entire war. Recent devastating airstrikes and ground operations have forced millions to run again. But to where? No nation wants them. Refugee camps are full, and it is winter. This has the potential to be the worst refugee and humanitarian crisis in Syria yet. An incredibly fragile ceasefire was declared, bringing a tense calm. But for these traumatised masses, it was too late. Bad news has been coming out of Syria for so long, we hardly even notice any more. But Jesus does. Let us not give up praying for peace in the nation and in every heart in Syria.

Haya was nine months pregnant when she fled from IS soldiers with her family and miraculously reached a hospital just as she went into labour. Fighting was fierce and staff were caring for the wounded as she gave birth. Then bombing increased and everyone had to leave the hospital. Haya couldn’t move. Her temperature was dropping fast; she told the nurses she was dying, and asked them to give her baby to her husband and leave her behind. Not long afterwards she felt a very warm hand touching her, moving her down the stairs, and a voice said, ‘Do not be afraid: I am the Lord Jesus Christ, and I am by your side.’ Upon arriving at the exit doors, she felt a surge of energy and was able to flee the bombing. She is now safe with her family and baby, and says on that day there were two new births: her baby and herself, as she became a strong believer in Christ.

Syrian forces backed by Russian fighter jets recaptured key government positions as Turkey warned of swift revenge if more of its troops are attacked. Syria's army is trying to capture all of the country's last rebel-held territory. Consequently, more people have fled from fighting in Syria over the past 10 weeks than at any other time in the nine-year-old conflict. Pray for all the internally displaced Syrians from western Aleppo’s countryside, fleeing with the only belongings that they can carry, uncertain if they will ever return to normal life. Pray for those who have sheltered in the city of Idlib. On 11 February two UN agencies said it could become a graveyard if hostilities continue. Currently Syrian government forces are shelling their way northwards. Turkey, which backs the rebels and is fearful of additional refugees, has retaliated militarily. Displaced civilians are caught in between. 700,000 people have fled since December, mostly women and children.