Trouble follows the church in Laos.

Laos (MNN)–Christian Aid Mission says believers in villages of Laos’s Attapue province are being told they must renounce their faith in Christ, leave their villages, or face being beaten to death.

Confidential sources in the region say 11 believers who were released from prison January 9 are facing renewed pressure by authorities to renounce their faith. Another 34 Christians who had fled but returned to their villages were facing similar pressure. The threats have allegedly been made by the deputy district head of Sanamsai district and the head of religious affairs for Attapue province.

It was reported that on January 18 they started digging pits, saying if believers did not deny Christ, they would be buried. Believers in Dongsung village also were told
they could deny Christ, leave the area, or face death. The next day these same two officials were reported to have led non-Christian villagers to two other villages and threatened believers there the same way.

Laos reject charges of denying religious freedom, however, the US State Department included Laos on a worst offenders list of totalitarian states that view religions as a threat.