Gang rage puts bull's-eye on Christians

Thousands flee violence from guerrilla group



Christians in the central African nation of Congo are becoming the targets of the M23 guerrilla group, the revolutionary band trying to overthrow Congolese leader Joseph Kabila, according to a report from Britain-based Christian group Barnabas Aid.

“Villages plundered, boys forcibly recruited, women raped; their villages too unsafe for them to stay. Thousands of Christians in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo are in urgent need of food and shelter after escaping the violence of a new rebel group, called M23,” the Barnabas Aid report said.





The Joshua Project reports that over 90 percent of the People’s Democratic Republic of the Congo is Christian. WND reported in January that based on a Pew Research Center study, the Congo is in the world’s top 10 nations in the number of Christians. Almost half (48 percent) of all Christians live in the 10 countries with the largest number of Christians. Three are in sub-Saharan Africa (Nigeria, Congo and Ethiopia), reflecting Christianity’s global reach.
Heritage Foundation Africa analyst Morgan Roach says the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s previous colonial status has influenced the religious demographics.
“Being a former Belgian colony, there’s a large Roman Catholic population,” Roach said.
Barnabas Aid U. S. Director Julian Dobbs says the reports coming from the Congo indicate M23 is zeroing in on Christians, without distinction.
“I don’t think M23 is discriminating between Catholic or evangelical Christians. It’s an ongoing struggle because they’re specifically targeting Christians,” Dobbs said
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2012/12/gang-rage...rJmEhp34Zdl.99