More Christians die in Eritrea's camps

Eritrea (MNN) ― Open Doors says at least seven prisoners held at Wi'a Military camp in Eritrea have died in an outbreak of meningitis.

By the time the government relocated the prisoners and staff to Mitire Military Concentration Camp, at least one of them, Mesfin Gebrekristos, was among those who succumbed to both weakened health and the illness. Mesfin was a believer who spent the last year imprisoned for his faith.

He died on September 3 and leaves behind a wife and two children. He is the tenth reported Christian to have died while being incarcerated for his worship outside of the state-approved Lutheran, Catholic and Orthodox churches.

Open Doors also reports that two weeks ago, the Eritrean government called on all its citizens to inform the police of any illegal gatherings of Christians in their neighborhoods.

According to their sources, the call was made during a meeting titled, "Working Along With The Police To Prevent Crime In The Country." Authorities said meetings by unregistered groups in homes is a criminal act and asked civilians to also regard them as such. The government then took that a step further by indicating that such criminal acts deserved to be punished by law.

Christians belonging to unregistered groups are fearful. Open Doors says Christian leaders are encouraging believers to be bold and ask prayer for God's strength for these believers. Keep praying too that the hope of Christ will speak loudly for the believers who cannot speak for themselves.