Uganda (MNN) — Ugandan police have killed five men, including a Muslim cleric. All of them allegedly had ties to the twin bombings in the country’s capital Kampala on Tuesday. The bombings killed at least four civilians and injured several others.
The cleric was killed in a confrontation when police tried to search his home. Police ambushed the four others in a small frontier town near the border with Congo. Police are searching for a second cleric, who has been accused of radicalizing young people towards religious violence.
AMG headquarters
The explosions rocked the AMG International headquarters in Kampala as well, says Brian Dennett. “We spoke yesterday with our national leader there. And they felt it, they heard it. It was quite a chaotic scene, with many trying to flee the city and just a lot of fear generated from the blasts.”
People have avoided traveling downtown, or even gathering together to worship. They worry suicide bombers could strike again at any moment. One partner called the situation a “bomb pandemic.” Dennett says, “The Allied Democratic Force, the ADF, which is an affiliate of ISIS, has accepted responsibility for that. There is a fear that this is going to continue.”
How to pray
Pray for the safety of Ugandans. Ask God to turn hearts away from violence and towards the love of Jesus.
Pray also that AMG’s work in Kampala will continue to provide the hope of Jesus to people during a fearful time. Dennett says, “Right in and around Kampala, we have a number of schools with hundreds of children that attend. And then we also have church planters and a network of pastors based out of that area. And then outside of Kampala, we also have a nursing school.”
Dennett says Uganda has a huge need for new nurses. Learn more about that school here.
The header photo shows the entrance to the Parliament of Uganda, near where one of the two suicide explosions happened. (Photo courtesy of Andrew Regan, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
