by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - Four Christian men were beheaded in Indonesia earlier this month, in what is believed to have been an attack by East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) Islamic terrorists, Christian Today reports. The horrifying attack was carried out just six months after four Christians were murdered at a Salvation Army outpost in Sigi, Central Sulawesi.
Aged between 42 and 61, the four men murdered this month were attacked in Kalimago Village in Central Sulawesi, Christian Today reports. Two of the men were members of the Mamasa Toraja Church, one was from Toraja Church and the fourth attended a local Catholic church.
According to a local partner of the Open Doors persecution watchdog group, it is not entirely clear whether the killings were motivated by religious persecution. "We're not sure if the attack is religiously motivated even though the victims are Christians,” Ari Hartono, whose name was changed for security reasons, told Christian Today. "It could be an act of survival. After the Sigi incident, the terrorists in Central Sulawesi have been increasingly pressed by the police and the army. Their logistics are exhausted. The only way to survive is to rob people of food. In this area, there are many farmers who live in the forest far from the village and they were the ones targeted by the terrorists."
"Pray for protection over God's people in Poso and Central Sulawesi,” Hartono added. “As long as these terrorists are not caught, the threat lingers.” Hartono also asked for prayer for the Madago Raya Task Force which is trying to capture the killers. “We pray for their protection, strength and wisdom to do their job, and pray that they will catch these perpetrators."
Christians have been increasingly attacked in Indonesia in recent years, and the country now ranks 47 on the Open Doors watch list of the top 50 countries in which believers are persecuted.