16
January 2014
Christians
in a city in northern Mali, already forced to hold services in a school
classroom because their church was looted and not ready to host meetings, had a
bomb scare on Sunday (Jan. 14).Military
personnel patrolling the area in Gao on Sunday morning discovered explosives
near the school. French army personnel were able to safely defuse the devices
and authorities are now investigating, but the incident left church members
shocked.
The
pastor of the church, whose identity is being withheld to protect his security,
told World Watch Monitor there is "insecurity in all aspects of life" at the
moment, but that his congregation was refusing to panic."I
cannot say for sure that the bomb was intended to hurt us Christians," he said.
"I only know that the location of the bomb was right next to our place of
worship and also a route frequently used by the military."
It
is just over a year now since French troops ousted the Tuareg-led Islamist
group, which had taken over northern Mali and declared independence, aiming to
impose Islamic law on cities such as Gao.On
January 11 last year, French troops moved to regain control of the region after
the Islamist militants had attempted to progress further south.For
nearly a year, the armed Islamist groups had ruled the region, banning the
practice of other religions and desecrating and looting churches and other
places of worship.
