Afghan Christians are reportedly fleeing to the mountains in a desperate attempt to escape the Taliban who is going door-to-door trying to kill them.
An underground church that partners with Frontier Alliance International (FAI) has reported that the Taliban are targeting Christians for death. According to FAI:
The Taliban has a hit list of known Christians they are targeting to pursue and kill. The US Embassy is defunct and there is no longer a safe place for believers to take refuge. All borders to neighboring countries are closed and all flights to and from have been halted, with the exception of private planes. People are fleeing into the mountains looking for asylum. They are fully reliant on God, who is the only One who can and will protect them.
The Taliban are going door-to-door taking women and children. The people must mark their house with an “X” if they have a girl over 12 years old, so that the Taliban can take them. If they find a young girl and the house was not marked they will execute the entire family. If a married woman 25 years or older has been found, the Taliban promptly kill her husband, do whatever they want to her, and then sell her as a sex slave.
Husbands and fathers have given their wives and daughters guns and told them that when the Taliban come, they can choose to kill them or kill themselves—it is their choice.
Taliban are also reportedly rifling through people’s phones to look for any apps that would give them away as Christians.
“We’re hearing from reliable sources that the Taliban demand people’s phones, and if they find a downloaded Bible on your device, they will kill you immediately,” said Dr. Rex Rogers, who is president of the Christian nonprofit organization SAT-7 North America, according to Religion News Service. “It’s incredibly dangerous right now for Afghans to have anything Christian on their phones. The Taliban have spies and informants everywhere.”
“Because it’s so dangerous to seek the company of other Christians, many Afghan believers are totally alone, with not even one other Christian with whom to talk,” Rogers said. “Our local director told me: ‘Most dare not attend a house church. They’re alone, fearful, and looking to us. We’re their last resort.”
According to a video released by FAI, a member of the underground church in Afghanistan wept as he described the situation unfolding as the Taliban quickly resumes the reins of power.
“We are unable to control our emotions because we’ve worked so hard for 20 years,” the man said, whose grief was apparent despite his blurred face and disguised voice. “All of our work over the past 20 years has been lost overnight. Only God understands how much pain we have and how broken our hearts are. We are not crying out of fear, but because our hearts ache for our beautiful country. It has now been destroyed by this savage and extremist group.”
Claiming “the whole world has abandoned us,” the man went on to assert “we are not leaving the field, we will fight harder and will continue in God’s work.”
“I’m sorry I cried and became emotional,” he later added. “My heart hurts.”
WATCH:
Evangelical pastors, grassroots leaders, and faith-based refugee resettlement organizations in the United States have excoriated the Biden administration for the humanitarian crisis left in the wake of its botched exit from Afghanistan, according to The Christian Post.
“There is no question this whole withdrawal has been grossly mishandled, and for a rare moment in time people on both sides of the political aisle are in agreement on this,” Pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship said in a statement.
“I would ask that we all specifically remember to pray for our Christian brothers and sisters in Afghanistan right now. A relief organization working in the region is warning of an increase in attacks on Christians across Afghanistan. They said, “Anyone identified as a Christian could be killed for their faith, and that they risk betrayal or falling victim to an honor killing by their own family members.'”
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