Armed attack on two house church leaders in Vietnam
Two house church pastors in Vietnam were the target of an armed attack.
Two house church leaders in Vietnam were attacked and injured because their churches were not registered by the Vietnamese communist government.
Pastor Vai Hong Aon, 62, and Pastor Vai Phu Aban, 57, pastor unregistered house churches in central Vietnam, according to the International Christian Committee (ICC). Aon was reportedly attacked with rubber bullets by two masked men on a motorbike, seriously injuring his legs.
Aban was also shot while working on his coffee plantation, but with live bullets, causing serious injuries that left him unable to walk. The International Christian Committee wrote in its recently released report on the attacks: “Leaders and members of unregistered house churches are often persecuted by local and central authorities, particularly because they are not members of the official church system and are not recognized by the Vietnamese government. Both pastors stated that they believe the attacks against them are due to the ongoing activities of their unregistered church.”
The Vietnamese government strictly controls religion and denominations in the country, and Christians are required to attend government-approved churches, not unregistered house churches.
The Christian organization Open Doors also wrote in its report this year on Christians and the pressures against them in Vietnam: "For many Christians in Vietnam, following Jesus can bring intense hostility and even violence, while Roman Catholic churches enjoy some freedoms. Protestants, especially Christian converts, also face much persecution for their faith in remote areas of central and northern Vietnam."
