Congregants of the Church of Christ in the Thiba Al Hamyida area of Khartoum stood by helplessly as Sudanese government officials destroyed their church building.
A church member told CNN that the government came in during Sunday mass and said they would be destroying the building. About 70 security personnel, some armed with guns and tear gas, used a bulldozer to destroy the building.
“They wanted to beat us or throw tear gas on us,” the church member said.
Reverend Kwa Shamal told the Morning Star News that government officials made it clear they were to not ask questions about why they were destroying the church. The government also gave no compensation to the church for the destruction of their building.
The pastor said the church’s congregation will meet in a tent this Sunday.
A group of Chinese Christians who could not stop the government from destroying their church building stood and sang hymns as the workers stripped crosses off the building.
The Chinese government continued their crackdown on any Christian emblems in Wenzhou City. The city had been the source of a major movement of Christianity that the government claimed was illegal and sought to end.
The government has gone as far as to destroy a multimillion dollar church building that took five years to build within weeks of the church’s official opening. The government claimed that the building violated building codes and had to be destroyed.
The government is now blocking any website that makes mention of the crackdown on churches in Wenzhou, saying that the information in violation of Chinese law and that they are nothing more than propaganda which is aimed to overthrow the government.
Local Christians have told aid organiztions that over 360 churches have been destroyed in the last few weeks in the Zhejiang Province which includes Wenhzou City. All of the buildings were destroyed for “illegal construction” and are going to be replaced with government buildings aimed at “urban development.”
On Sunday, Chinese authorities told Christians in Zhejiang province they are no longer allowed to gather and worship.
The government also demolished 10 church buildings using the same claim that all the buildings had violated “building codes” for the region. The government has now destroyed 64 churches since the forced demolition of a $4.8 million Sanjiang Church building on April 28th.
“There is a church building that also houses a grocery market about 1/3 miles from my home,” a house church worshipper from Yueqing County in Wenzhou told China Aid. “The people were notified to implement an order that all gatherings shall stop from this Sunday. If people there don’t stop their gatherings, the building…will be confiscated.”
Government officals have also been ripping down any crosses they find on buildings or along roadways.
Christians in the Wenzhou area say that the latest crackdown by the government is unlike any previous actions because they are trying to completely obliterate any sign of Christianity. Elderly residents noted in previous crackdowns, even when churches were turned into warehouses for the government, the crosses on the buildings are not removed and destroyed.
Christians who have challenged the government’s action have found themselves suspended from jobs, had their factories and businesses sealed and suffered tax audits that cause great expense.
A wildfire in the Texas panhandle has destroyed at least 100 homes and caused hundreds to flee the flames.
Fire officials say the fire began around 4 p.m. near Fritch, Texas.
The fire raged through the night and destroyed the homes despite the fact firefighters had the flames over 75% contained. The fire has not hit the main part of Fritch but has left many homes in the area without power as the flames took out power lines.
The Texas Forestry Service has been flying aircraft over the site dropping flame retardant chemicals in an attempt to keep containing the fire.
Over 1,500 acres were confirmed to have been burned in the blaze whose origin is still not known by fire officials. A spokesman with the Hutchinson County emergency services said that it could be days before people can return to their homes or check to see if their home survived the fire.
The Texas panhandle has been in emergency drought conditions for months.
The Chinese government is opening up a war on Christians.
Authorities used police to break through a human barricade to bring in heavy equipment for the destruction of a newly built church in Wenzhou. The church had made worldwide headlines when the worshippers formed a human shield around the building a month ago in an attempt to stop the government from their announced intent to tear it down.
The government claims they aren’t attacking Christians but that the building had violated multiple buildings codes and was unsafe for occupation.
However, church members have reported being harassed by police both at the church and at their homes. Also, they have found electronic devices spying on their phone calls and at least one person has been harassed by secret police for a phone conversation.
The head of Zhejiang’s Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee has said before the move on the church building “Christianity’s spread has been too excessive and haphazard.”