Police sealed off two churches in the north-eastern province of Kabylie which has seen a spike in the number of churches in the region.
The church’s leaders – who wish to remain anonymous – told World Watch Monitor: “The officers came in on Friday morning. They simply sealed off the main entrance without a prior notice, as was the case before with other Eglises Protestantes d’Algerie (EPA) affiliated churches.”
Despite church leaders reporting the closure to police in the city of Bejaia, they have not been given a reason to why the churches were closed by authorities.
The closures follow the EPA – an organisation that links 45 Protestant churches in Algeria – making an official plea to the government after the total number of churches closed since November 2017 rose to four.
The keyhole of a closed down church sealed with wax in Oran
Earlier in the month, the EPA called on the Algerian government to lift its measure for closing down churches and to protect the rights of Christians in the country.
“As full citizens, we call on the highest authorities in the country to ensure that all the fundamental rights of the citizen are protected, regardless of their religious affiliation,” their statement read.
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