Several missing after Muslim mob attacks prayer meeting 

Several missing after Muslim mob attacks prayer meeting 

KATIRA, Uganda — A pastor in eastern Uganda and eight other Christians are missing two weeks after a Muslim mob attacked a church prayer meeting, locked the congregation in, beat several members and raped 15 women, sources said.
Ninety Muslims broke into the evening prayer meeting of Katira Church of Uganda, in Katira village, Budaka District on Jan. 15 and beat them with clubs and sticks, area sources said.

Pastor Moses Mutasa had been outside the church when several Muslims arrived shouting, “Away with the pastor who is converting our Muslims to Christianity,” and he fled, said Musa Mukenye, who oversees several churches in the district’s Iki-iki County.
“We do not know what has happened to our pastor,” Mukenye told a meeting of local officials, police and other security officers.

The assailants locked about half of the 80 members in attendance inside the building, beat and tied up the men while they raped women, said a church elder who escaped the building. Some who fled the church before the doors locked were assaulted and raped by Muslims stationed outside.

Police arrived about two hours after the assault began, causing the attackers to flee, sources said. Several church members also were injured as they were trampled in the rush to get out of the building and much of the church property was damaged. (MS)