(Graphic courtesy of VOM Canada)
Laos (MNN) ― Plain-clothes police in Laos arrested 13 Christians on June 12, Voice of the Martyrs-Canada reports.
The Christians were working in a Christian village, as they did on a daily basis, when the police questioned them. Officials have not yet offered any explanation for the arrest, or for the continued detention of the believers at a provincial police station.
The Laotian government places heavy restrictions on most religious groups, while openly promoting Buddhism and Buddhist organizations. Open Doors Ministries recently named Laos number 8 on its list of the worst places in the world to be a Christian. Authorities have arrested, murdered, and starved Christians and their families in order to pressure them to renounce their faith.
According to the CIA, 67 percent of the country's approximately 6,800,000 people are Buddhist. Only 1.5 percent are Christian.
Pray that God will protect Laotian Christians and give them boldness to share His Word.
