Prayer Alert: Violence escalates in DRCCarla Harding - 23 Nov 2012

Violence has increased significantly in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in recent months. Over the last week the situation around the city of Goma has worsened.  Our friends at Tearfund are calling for prayer.  Will we respond?

"It’s a Tuesday night and as I lie in bed, each gun shot that rings out makes my heart skip a beat." Writes Amy Cummings, a Tearfund worker who lived in Eastern DRC earlier this year. "Then comes the heavy exchange of fire from one end of the street to the next, silenced only by a rocket-propelled grenade, which lets out a large boom and calms things for a few minutes."

It is reported that the city is now under the control of an armed group called M23 and there are fears that the humanitarian crisis will deepen.  Thousands of families may flee in fear.

"This instability only compounds DR Congo’s complex issues," says David Bainbridge, Tearfund's International Director. "It undermines the region’s peace initiatives; hinders vital relief and development work and will intensify the prolonged suffering of many."

Want to pray?  Read more about the situation and get involved by praying every day next week with Tearfund's prayer guide. 

Let's pray...

O God, loving parent of all, comfort your children – displaced, wounded, lost or orphaned by conflict in the DRC; and give the people of that country courage to seek enduring peace with justice and freedom, that their children might grow up without fear. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

(Adapted from a Prayer from the Congo Swahili Prayer Book 1998)

Add your 'Amen' in the comments...