Tragedy in Turkey
The small Christian community in Turkey has been rocked by another attack. Wednesday, in the eastern city of Malatya, at approximately 1:30 pm, three men were bound hand and foot and their throats were cut. Two of them were found dead at the scene; one died later in the hospital. The victims are identified as Necati Aydin, who had moved from Izmir five years ago, Tillman Geske from Germany who moved to Malatya in 2002 and Ugur Yuksel who had moved to Malatya two years ago. Necati and Tillman were each married and have several children; Ugur was single.
The two Turkish victims were employees of Zirve, a Christian publishing and distributing company. Four alleged attackers were apprehended while still in the Zirve office, reportedly still in possession of their weapons. A fifth accomplice was captured outside after jumping from a 4th story window in an attempt to escape.
While none of our workers live in this city, some of them knew these brothers; they will be missed. Pray for the wives and children left behind. Pray for the several thousand Turkish believers. Pray that the peace that Jesus promised would be with all his people, local or foreign.
Click here to read a news story about this tragedy.