We just heard an update from someone who was down on the main roads with the crowds. The mob apparently burnt down two police vehicles. They've also barricaded all the main roads in/out of town and say they won't let any more police or armed forces in until the accused murderer is given to them (so they can kill him). They say that a few people have been shot by now, but apparently none of the injuries seemed to be life-threatening. People are still debating on whether or not the accused murderer is even still here in town - some say he's already been taken to the other town, some say he's still here. If he's already been taken away though, I don't see this mob situation ending any time soon. If he's still here, I think eventually he'll be given up to the mob. We haven't heard any gunshots for a few hours now - at that time it was just a few far off and a few much nearer by. Apparently the situation still isn't resolved. Please keep praying!

So, we've got quite a bit of an update today (though we're not entirely sure how much of it is rumors and how much is exactly true). The thing that's for sure though and great news is that the big conflict between the crowd/mob and the police/authorities is finished for now. It finished sometime yesterday afternoon. No one is sure how many people were shot, but it sounds like for sure no one was shot badly (no deaths) and maybe there were 1-2 shot in the leg or somewhere with minor injuries. Apparently the governor of the province came out to talk with the crowd. The crowd demanded justice, they asked for the investigation to be carried out quickly, and for the man's accomplices to also be found. We've heard different stories about where the court case will be (because there's no court here in Ambilobe), but it sounds like the crowd is hoping/expecting that when the court case is finished, the guilty person will be brought back to them so they can kill him. That doesn't sound (to me) like it's likely to happen, but who knows. The governor told everyone to calm things down again so kids can go back to school and the markets can start selling again, etc. Some schools were back in session today and the market was mostly open as well (though the trouble yesterday meant some produce wasn't available again yet). According to more details we've received today (who knows the full truth of these details?), this man was apparently some sort of serial killer/kidnapper. The new story we heard is that it *wasn't* the police who investigated and arrested him, but some local people went and found and caught the guy. Apparently when they caught him he told the crowd that he's already killed/kidnapped 9 people (including some children). Then, when they caught him, the police heard about it and went and took him from the crowd (and sent him off to another town). Regarding his criminal history, apparently in the past, others have plead guilty on his behalf, apparently because he paid them? People are saying he's probably been paying off the police too. It's important to remember that these are all second- or third-hand tellings (i.e. rumor) and we have no idea of the truth of it all. But the stories going around are that this man has been doing this a lot in this area for going on 5 years or so, that this particular murder wasn't just a murder but *really* nasty and sickening the way he did it, and that the police haven't tried to stop him because of corruption, etc. So, we don't know how many of these details are true, but we know these are the general sentiments of the people going around. To me, this means that depending on the outcome of the case, and whether they catch and investigate his supposed accomplices, it's possible that there could be some protests again in the future. Our good friend telling us all of this thinks there probably won't be though, and she should have a better feel on it all than we do, so we hope that's true. Anyway, we want to thank all of you so much for your prayers! Please keep praying for justice to be done in Madagascar, for peace to return to the people, and above all for them to know the true peace and love of Jesus. Pray that through this we would also have some special opportunities to pray with people and share more about who Jesus is. Thank you!

There are so many rumors going around that we don't know the real facts about the situation. People are saying that the murderer actually killed a pregnant woman, took the baby from her belly, and took her eyeballs as well. (This story is consistent with everyone so far.) People say that presumably the murderer did that because someone asked for those body parts and that they want to purchase them. No one has yet said *who* might want to actually do that, and no one believes that anyone here in Ambilobe is the person who purchases those sort of body parts. So this part of the story is very strange. Some people are saying that the accused murderer has already been sent to the other city, some people are saying that he hasn't been sent away yet. In Madagascar, people are usually quickly aware of *who* is doing *what* crime (because it's so much harder to keep things secret and private here, due to the strongly community-centered nature of life). But there's certainly a chance that it's the wrong person that the police caught and that the mob is seeking to kill. Regardless, pray for everyone's lives and safety, for people to truly trust God to bring justice, and for people to work peacefully towards justice for everyone.

A big very heavy rainstorm just swept through. Let's hope that if there was anyone still there in the mob, that this would have scattered them.

Praying for all involved and for your family’s safety!

Heard about it in early morning. Praying for you and all people there to be safe and for calm to be back. God protect you

Hope so!! God's response to our prayers. We keep praying

Have a look at the Infoseg com's page. It is the official information from the gendarmerie

In today's midi Madagasikara

Praying for you