Eritrea still carries the wounds from 30 years of fighting for independence, after the United Nations made the unpopular decision to join Eritrea to Ethiopia in 1950. 65,000 people died as Eritrea and Ethiopia fought the longest African war of the 20th century.

Eritrea began to rebuild its country in the ‘90s but squabbles with rival Ethiopia flared up into full scale war over who could own a piece of land on their borders – near the town of Badme.

70,000 people died in trench warfare between 1998 and 2000, when a peace agreement was finally reached.

Roughly half the population are Christian and half are Muslim – this delicate balance means that churches and religious organisations are sometimes restricted in what they can do.

Pray that there will a genuine end to the hostility between Eritrea and Ethiopia and humility and trust between the countries leaders.

Government restrictions have stopped Christian organisations from bringing help and aid into Eritrea and made it hard for any Christians to go and live or work there. Pray that these restrictions would be lifted.

A third of the population are Tigre – who are almost entirely Muslim. Pray for the few Tigre who are Christians, that they can be a powerful witness in their lives.