Barnabas Aid, August 7th, 2024 (excerpts)
The minority Christian community of Bangladesh is among those at risk from the political unrest that has swept across the country.
A Barnabas Aid contact has reported that Christian schools have been attacked, along with homes belonging to Christians and other religious minorities.
These attacks have been carried out by Islamist extremists who have joined with the anti-government protestors.
Leaders of the student protest movement and military leaders have called on local authorities to provide greater protection for Christians and Hindus from mob violence.
The student-led protests began peacefully on 1 July 2024 but turned violent around two weeks later. On 5 August Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country after 15 years in power. The following day it was announced that economist Muhammad Yunus would replace Hasina as leader of an interim government.
Christians are a small minority in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, representing less than 1% of the population.
Pray for a peaceful solution to the civil and political unrest in Bangladesh and that extremists will not have opportunities to attack minority groups.