Indonesia (MNN)–The U-S State Department is warning citizens away from Indonesia. The advisories come as terrorist threats surface in the world’s most populous Muslim country.
They come on the heels of two bombs that exploded May 28th in a busy market in a refugee village for Christians in Tentena, Indonesia. The explosions killed 21 people and injured 49. The timing of the attack was calculated to inflict the greatest possible damage.
The bombing may be linked to an earlier raid on a Christian village in Mamasa regency on April 24. According to Compass Direct, a suspect arrested in connection with that incident was carrying documents that revealed a wider terrorist plot to carry out bombings and attacks throughout Indonesia.
It was those threats on top of other credible information that prompted the State Department warning. Militant members of the Jemaah Islamiyah terror group are active in the region. They have been blamed for the Bali nightclub bombings and other deadly attacks on Jakarta’s Marriott hotel and the Australian Embassy in the past three years.
In light of that, Open Doors’ Carl Moeller says while it’s prudent for unaffiliated or business associated Americans to leave the country for security and safety reasons, “Open Doors sees that as the invitation that we need to go in, to encourage them. When their churches are burned, we need to rebuild them. When their people are scattered, we need to gather them, and when they are deprived of the basic economic necessities, even the word of God, itself, we need to be there providing those resources for them.”
Observers believe the latest attack could stir up renewed fighting in the province. Moeller says the attacks, including last week’s bombing, targeted Christian regions.
The best ways to help, he advises, include staying informed, but also: “Stand with them in prayer. Not everyone can go, in fact, most people can’t– especially according to our government, they shouldn’t. But, they can all pray. Everyone within the sound of my voice can right now ask God to provide the help and the resources for His church in Indonesia.”
