Indonesian Church leader murdered

ARMED MEN MURDER ANOTHER PROMINENT INDONESIAN CHURCH LEADERIn what has become a seriously disturbing trend, another prominent Christian leader has been murdered in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Rev. Susianty Tinulele, 26, of the Presbyterian Christian Church of Central Sulawesi in Palu, was preaching the evening of Sunday, July 18, when attackers sprayed her and the worship team with gunfire. Tinulele died instantly after being shot through the head. Another woman, Desrianti Tengkede, 17, was also killed. Three other worshipers were seriously wounded and are recovering in a local hospital. Witnesses report that four men on motorbikes, wearing black masks, arrived at the front door of the church and opened fire with machine guns. The attack culminated a weekend of violence in Central Sulawesi in which a bomb exploded outside a cultural center Saturday night. That same evening Helmy Tombiling, 35, a well-known Christian in the area, was stabbed to death.Jihad attackers have tried many times to reignite a large-scale conflict in Central Sulawesi since fighting in the area from 1998 to 2001 left 2,000 people dead. In December 2001 the Malino Accord was signed, resulting in a dramatic decline in communal clashes. However, sporadic attacks have continued. In November 2003 Hindu extremists began assassinating Christian leaders and conducting carefully planned machine gun attacks on worshipers during church services.From the news flow at Intercessors Network

INDONESIAN PRESIDENT VOWS TO BRING PASTOR’S KILLERS TO JUSTICEIndonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri has met with Christian leaders in Jakarta and sent National Police Chief Dai Bachtiar to Palu to personally supervise the investigation of murdered preacher Rev. Susianty Tinulele. She was gunned down at the conclusion of her sermon just after 7 p.m. Sunday, July 18, at Effata Presbyterian Church in Palu, Central Sulawesi, in eastern Indonesia. Four other congregants were also shot and injured. Eye witnesses said five men were involved in the attack. Two were on motorbikes, and three were in a car parked on street.It is believed the assassins were able to hide their weapons in the car to avoid detection before and after the shooting. Following the murder, many Christian leaders began receiving text messages on their mobile phones, warning them that the purpose of these attacks was to provoke a reaction from the Christian community and that “if the church was not provoked then more attacks would continue on your wife/children.” There have been a total of 17 shooting incidents in the region since last October.Frome the news flow of Intercessors Network