A brutal rebel takeover of several towns and villages in northeastern Nigeria
On Friday, October 3, 2014 12:33 AM, "ANS@Assist-Ministries.com" <ANS@Assist-Ministries.com> wrote:
| ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: assistnews@aol.com Thursday, October 2, 2014 Civilians Flee Terrorist Attacks on Towns in Northeastern Nigeria  Amie Cotton, APR (256) 426-4543 Christian Aid Mission amie@christianaid.org CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (ANS) -- A brutal rebel takeover of several towns and villages in northeastern Nigeria has sent a flood of people to safe-havens with only the shirts on their backs - and survival on their hearts.
At least 300 people were killed in the rebel attacks on the predominantly Christian towns and villages in late August and the first week of September, according to published reports. "More than 200,000 refugees alone entered Yola, while others fled to Cameroon and to Maiduguri, depending on which route takes them safer during the flight," the director said. "Now our ministry has been turned to helping virtually all the refugees. No one man can do this alone, as the number of people is on the increase." Yola is the capital of Adamawa State, which shares a border with Cameroon to the east and Borno State to the north, where Maiduguri is the capital. The Nigerian military later regained control of two of the attacked towns near the Adamawa/Borno border. Some who fled have beg un to trickle back to those areas, where the assailants burned down many homes, but thousands remain in Yola in need of food and shelter. The influx of fleeing masses has driven up food and other prices by 300 percent, but people continue to arrive without a means to pay for anything, said the director of the ministry that Christian Aid Mission assists. "Now we must ask you again because we cannot fight this battle alone," the ministry director said. "Our missionaries and the people need your urgent prayers, and we must not shy away from your prayers and support." He said the ministry is enlisting the help of some of its indigenous missionaries from other parts of Nigeria to help. "Pray for us as much as you can," he said. "Share with others to support children and others who have not eaten for days. We cannot afford to feed the displaced people, and local churches have come to understand they must also help to meet these desperate needs. But the number of people needing help is too great for them to handle alone." The group provides food and clothing to displaced persons taking refuge at the Yola School of Missions and also offers assistance, including help for those whose houses have been destroyed in the attacked areas. "Normally its costs $6 per day to feed one person," the director said. "But there have been times when there were so many that we spent $2,400 per month to feed them, not including the costs of providing soap and other kinds of support that usually go along with helping victims." The ministry has plans to relocate to Abuja, the federal capital in the central part of the country, but must first ensure the well-being of those who have become Christians under the ministry's influence in the area in Nigeria's predominantly Islamic north, he said. "We are planning to get more food and materials for the people," the director said. "This must be our ministry, to salvage both souls and spirit. Beloved, ask God's people to pray for us and for the northeast of Nigeria." For more information, visi t www.christianaid.org/News/2014/mir20140925.aspx?SC=MIR Learn more about indigenous missions around with world by signing up for Christian Aid Mission's weekly e-newsletter, Missions Insider, here: www.christianaid.us7.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=ad362c05e7e320f66e6a44d00&id=f17b618e6b. About Christian Aid Mission christianaid.us7 Christian Aid Mission is an evangelical missionary organization that seeks to establish a witness for Jesus Christ in every tribe and nation by assisting effective indigenous or native ministries through prayer, advocacy and financial support. Our focus is on reaching the unreached for Christ in areas in the world where there are few Christians, where Christians suffer because of poverty or persecution, or foreign missionaries are not allowed. We currently assist more than 500 ministries overseas that have tens of thousands of indigenous or native missionaries in the field. These ministries are engaging more than 1,000 unreached people groups in more than 100 countries around the world. For more information, please visit www.christianaid.org. For further information, please go to: Facebook: www.facebook.com/CAM53 Twitter: twitter.com/christianaid53 LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/christian-aid-mission?trk=company_name Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/christianaid53/  See all ASSIST News articles at www.assistnews.net** You may republish this story with proper attribution. Send this story to a friend. Note to our subscribers: It you really appreciate what we do through ANS and would like to make a donation to help us continue with this unique news service, you can do so in two ways. First, just go to our secure site at www.assistnews.net/assist/donations.htm, where you can sign up for a monthly gift or a one-off contribution (tax-deductible in the US). Second, if you prefer to send a check, just make it out to ASSIST, and mail it to ASSIST, PO Box, 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609, USA (also tax-deductible in the US). Thank you so much for caring! Dan Wooding
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