Ethiopian Muslims warn Christians to convert, leave city or face death

Pray for believers in Ethiopia today.

International Christian Concern has learned that Christians in the Ethiopian city of Besheno are being harassed and physically abused after Muslims posted notices on the doors of Christian homes, warning them to convert, leave the city or face death, reported the Assyrian International News Agency.

Three Christian leaders were forced to flee the city and two Christians have been forced to convert to Islam. In the Muslim majority city, the entire evangelical Christian community consists of about 30 believers.

Evangelist Kassa Awano remains in critical condition after Muslims attacked him on November 29, 2010. A few days after the attack, nearly 100 Muslims surrounded a vehicle carrying Christian leaders on their way to negotiate for peace with Muslim leaders. Two men, Tesema Hirego and Niggusie Denano, were seriously wounded, and the other leaders suffered minor injuries. On January 2, Muslims assaulted Temesgen Peteros with a knife after he testified about the attacks on these Christians in court.

Christians in Besheno have been targeted by Muslims for many years. Unfortunately, the local Muslim officials of the city refuse to protect the Christians. The officials ignore their appeals for justice, declining repeated requests for the building of a place of worship and a cemetery.

Besheno is a city located in the province of Alaba in Southern Ethiopia. According to the 2007 national census, 93.84 percent of the population of the province is Muslim. Christians make up 5.82 percent of the population.

You can read the full report here.