Conservative Islamic youth group attacks Christian churches in Indonesia’s Aceh province, leading to injuries, one death, and locals’ flight

• The group, known as the Aceh Singkil Islamic Care Youth Students Association (PPI), set fire to two churches in a Christian village in the Aceh Singkil regency for reportedly being unlicensed houses of worship.
• One in the attacking group was reportedly killed after a third Christian congregation defended their church, and there were conflicting reports of masses of locals fleeing for neighboring regencies.
• The Aceh province is Indonesia’s most conservative, having implemented Sharia law and allowed for a decades-old agreement in Aceh Singkil limiting Christians to one church and four houses of worship in the regency.

Read more:
“Thousands leave Aceh after church burning” (The Jakarta Post)
“Churches attacked and one man killed in clashes in Aceh, Indonesia” (BBC)
“Indonesia deploys troops to calm religious unrest in Aceh province” (Reuters)

(Image Credit: Hotli Simanjuntak/The Jakarta Post)