‘The attacks have not come to an end’: New violence in Manipur, India

The violence in Manipur State in northeast India has left the Christian community in tatters. Our local Open Doors partner was able to get some video footage of the devastation, showing burned churches, buildings, cars, homes and businesses.

Watch the video:

And though the height of the attacks may be over, the violence has continued. Our field just reported that fresh violence recently erupted between the Kuki tribe and Meitei community.

A local Open Doors partner, Yohan Murray*, tells us: “The attacks on churches have not come to an end; churches and Christian houses, properties are constantly attacked, Though the government claims [they are] maintaining peace and order, we do not see the results; every second night there is clashes taking place.”

The conflict is complicated with underlying ethnic reasons [60+ CHRISTIANS KILLED IN MANIPUR, INDIA]—but the Kuki are largely Christian, and some of the violence has targeted Christians across the ethnic lines. There is some evidence that Hindu extremists are using the tension to inflame persecution against Christians of every ethnic group.

This latest violence took place because so many Kuki have fled the area. Hindu extremists among the Meitei took advantage of their absence and began to attack the abandoned Christian houses. Most of the homes had been vacated, but some of the Kuki tribal people fired gunshots into the air to ward off the attackers.

Extremists also attacked a church, part of the Independent Church of India (ICI) denomination, and burned it down, along with the church offices and pastors’ homes. Six people in the offices had to run for safety.

This church was already impacted during the initial wave of violence. A local Christian from Imphal (the capital and largest city of Manipur State) said that during the first wave of attacks, 400 believers who belong to the ICI are already living in refugee camps; others have fled to neighboring states. These 400 believers’ houses were also burned down.

please pray

Our field partners tell us this is how we can pray with our brothers and sisters in India:

Pray for peace and harmony among the different ethnic and religious groups in Manipur. The tension is not new—but the violence has taken the existing conflict into dangerous territory.
Pray for the six people who were in the ICI church offices who had to go into hiding. Pray for believers who are sheltering in camps and neighboring states.
Pray the government (both local and national) would take the right steps to maintain justice, law and order.
Ask that God would use this situation to turn hearts to Him.

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Open Doors local church partners responded immediately to meet urgent needs and are preparing to provide long-term support. If you feel led, your gift today could meet similar needs for Christians in India and around the world.

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