[Today's Prayer] Saudi border guards kill thousands of Ethiopian migrants from Yemen

Hundreds of unarmed migrants have been killed in recent years after Saudi Arabia's border guards fired machine guns and mortars at Ethiopians trying to cross from Yemen to Saudi Arabia, according to a report by the international human rights group Amnesty International (HRW) on the 21st.

HRW said it "probably puts the death toll in the thousands" based on eyewitness reports of the attack by border guards and photos showing bodies and burial sites of the migrants, but an exact death toll was not possible.

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About 750,000 Ethiopians live in Saudi Arabia, according to 2022 statistics from the International Organization for Migration (IMP), of which 450,000 are likely smugglers. A two-year civil war in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia has resulted in a large number of refugees.

Saudi Arabia, which is suffering from unemployment, has cooperated with Ethiopia to return thousands to Ethiopia, but smuggling continued.

HRW revealed that they had heard from 38 Ethiopian migrants and four of their relatives who were trying to cross the border between March 2022 and June 2023 that Saudi border guards had seen them firing guns and grain guns at the migrants.

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Ethiopian migrants were detained, abused, or even killed in Saudi Arabia and Yemen during the war. In recent months, however, U.N. human rights organizations have been increasingly concerned about Saudi forces attacking migrants from Yemen.

On October 3, 2022, UN inspectors sent a letter to Saudi Arabia stating that "up to 430 people are suspected to have been killed and 650 wounded in cross-border shelling and small arms fire believed to have been carried out by Saudi security forces”. "Arrested migrants have been known to be tortured, including being asked if they preferred to be shot in the arm or leg, and some survivors have escaped by pretending to be dead”.

Source: Newsis

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. (Psalm 30:4-5)

God of justice, we hear that Saudi border guards have killed Ethiopian refugees fleeing Yemen to Saudi Arabia, killing hundreds in recent years.

There are greater difficulties and dangers for refugees who have left their homes due to Ethiopia's civil war. May the souls of those who are hurt and suffering be comforted and restored. And let the civil war come to an end as soon as possible and be free from the threat of life.

Just as the Ethiopian eunuch heard about Jesus Christ and received and obeyed Him, let the church follow the word of the Lord and arise in Ethiopia so that even in the midst of suffering and tribulation, they may praise the Lord only and fully receive the eternal grace of God.

Lord, I ask that God's reign and grace be upon the Saudis so that the guns and threats against the migrants will cease. May they repent of hatred and resentment toward immigrants and strangers, and rather take care of them like brothers, and become a land of Arabia that spreads the grace and love of the Lord.

On that day, we believe that our Lord will wipe away everyone's tears. May the Ethiopians and the Saudis become a nation that only worships God, preparing the way for the coming of the Lord with joy in the midst of suffering and wounds!