World Watch Monitor | Oct. 22, 2018
![A number of Protestant churches have been closed by the Algerian government in the 12 months. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)](https://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Algeria_2008_0260005789.jpg)
Algerian police closed another church in the north-eastern province of Bejaia last week, reports Christian advocacy group Middle East Concern.
On Tuesday (16 October) police officers closed and sealed the doors of the Protestant church in Azaghar, a village near Akbou, about 180km southeast of the capital Algiers.
This follows this year’s closure of a number of Protestant churches, the latest in July, also near Akbou. Although three churches were later opened, a Christian bookshop and day-care centre for Christian children were also closed.
The church in Azaghar, a member of the Église Protestante d’Algérie (EPA), the legally recognised umbrella of protestant churches in Algeria, has been active for more than five years and has about 300 congregants.