Church attack routs thousands of Indonesian Christians
Authorities in Indonesia’s Aceh region have started to tear down churches following last week’s religious violence that left at least one person dead and forced thousands of Christians to flee.
Clashes broke out after Islamic hardliners burned down a church in Aceh Singkil on 13 Oct. According to local church leader Rev. Erde Berutu, “around 8,000” fled into the bordering province of Northern Sumatra.
Muslim residents had demanded that unlicensed churches in the area be pulled down, citing a lack of building permits, but religious and political figures – including Christians – agreed at a meeting on 12 Oct. to close the houses of worship. Police started tearing down the churches with axes and sledgehammers on the morning of 19 Oct....