Story number 1 for 20 Jun 2000

Our newscast begins in Indonesia, where we have fresh reports of an attack by the Muslim Jihad militia. According to our sources, two to three thousand people attacked the predominantly Christian areas of Halmahera Island in the Molucca area. The villagers were either slaughtered or fled into the jungle to hide. AMG International’s Muriel Lovestrand. “Since the Jihad militia have announced that they were going after Christians, there seems to have been some attacks in various places. There has been a great deal of persecution against Christians…[but] our work has been less under attack in recent years.” Lovestrand adds that much of this has changed because of the rising violence, causing their workers some concern. “Some of churches have been stoned, and some of our workers persecuted. In some of the reports we get from our church planters in various villages, they ask prayer for courage and strength in the midst of persecution.”