[Today’s Prayer] Democratic Congo crisis spreads… UN: “Risk of violence spreading throughout the region is high”

The United Nations warned that the conflict between the M23 rebel group supported by Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has increased the risk of violence spreading throughout the region.

According to AFP and Reuters, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk warned on the 7th (local time), "The risk of escalating violence across the region is higher than ever," and "If no action is taken, the worst could happen again, not only for the people of eastern Congo but also for those beyond Congo's borders."

He said 3,000 people have been killed and 2,880 injured since M23 entered Goma, eastern Congo, on the 26th of last month, adding that the actual casualties could be much higher.

The M23 and Rwandan army, which have been rapidly occupying eastern Congo since last month, have taken over Goma city and are advancing into neighboring South Kivu province. According to local humanitarian organizations and sources, the Congolese army is preparing to attack the town of Kabumu, which has an airport important for military supplies. Kabumu is the last line of defense, located 30km from Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province. They added that they are moving troops and equipment secretly to avoid detection by the M23 and Rwandan army.

Source: News

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:1-2)

God, we hear the sad news that violence has erupted in Congo, with clashes between the rebel group M23 and government forces leaving 3,000 people dead and 2,880 injured.

Countless lives are being lost in the civil war, and more and more Congolese souls are suffering from the loss of their families and their homes.

Lord our refuge, we pray that You alone will be the rock of refuge among the Congolese people, that You will draw them to their knees, looking to Your throne as their hope in the midst of all their fears and suffering.

In the midst of civil war and violence, with rebels and government forces pointing guns at each other, may You come in love and envelop the hearts of the Congolese people and guide them to forgive and love one another.

We have Christian brothers and sisters among the Congolese people whom You have left behind. May our Congolese brothers and sisters in the holy faith be a generation set apart from the world in times like these.

As we pray for the future of the Congolese people, give them leaders who will provide direction through biblical values, and help them to serve and lift up those who have been affected by war and raise them up to see God's vision for the nations.

Through the prayers of the Congolese church, may God's mercy be extended among the Congolese people, and may the church look beyond the obstacles of national hardship to the day of your return, reaching out to the unreached peoples who have suffered the same hardships of war but have yet to know the gospel and experience the joy of salvation.

May the African church and the global church take up their crosses together in this work and see the spiritual worship of body, time, and soul transform the Congolese into a people on mission.

And may the Congolese people be a holy church, worshipping, praying, and spreading Your love for all the suffering peoples of the nations beyond Africa!