Christians attacked by officials in Vietnam
by Staff
August 4, 2009
(christiansunite.com) - Over 100 police and security officials attacked Christians in Dong Hoi, the capital city of Quang Binh province in Vietnam, on the morning of July 20. Approximately 150 Catholics from Tam Toa parish were gathered at their church compound to set up a temporary worship structure when officials arrived, firing teargas into the crowd and assaulting believers with batons, sticks and stun guns. More than 20 believers were injured and dozens were loaded into police vans. At last report, the whereabouts of the detained Christians were unknown. A cross, building materials and two generators were removed from the site and cameras and video recorders were confiscated.
The Christians of Tam Toa parish have attended open-air services on the church compound or gathered in local homes since the end of the Vietnam War, when their church building was badly damaged. In 1996, the People's Committee of Quang Binh province confiscated the site and declared that it would become a memorial site. However, local Christians insist that the property belongs to the church.
Pray for healing for those injured. Pray that those in detention will be released. Pray that religious freedom will be recognized and justly upheld in Vietnam.
To find out more about the plight of Vietnamese believers, go to www.persecution.net/vietnam.htm.
