Christian Persecution – Africa

Rebel soldiers have targeted Christians and churches of various denominations during the past year as this West African country’s civil war, one of the region’s bloodiest conflicts, shows few signs of abating.

A resurgence of violence between Muslims and Christians erupted on May 23 and 24 in Kaduna city of northern Nigeria, but sources dispute the extent of the carnage.

The building’s walls crumble when you touch them. Chipped and broken cinder blocks litter the floor, along with charred scraps of wood and broken glass.

Two Christian women were abducted by Muslim youths enforcing Sharia (Islamic law) in the capital of Zamfara state in northern Nigeria, according to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). The women managed to escape several hours later and reported their kidnapping to police.

A Christian-Muslim conflict in Damboa in northeastern Nigeria’s Borno state resulted in the deaths of 15 Christians, and four churches were burned.

Nigerian police authorities reported that 123 churches were burned and 55 mosques razed during the Kaduna religious riots in late February that involved violent clashes between Christians and Muslims over the implementation of sharia (Islamic legal system) in northern Nigeria.

Churches throughout Nigeria continue to send relief supplies to help more than 50,000 people displaced by religious riots in the city of Kaduna in February. Many churches in the state of Kaduna have turned their compounds into rehabilitation centers as well and are assisting orphans and others left homeless by the fighting.

Baptists in Nigeria are sifting through the ashes and counting the cost after the Baptist seminary in Kaduna was attacked during riots in late February.

Four churches were burned by Muslim youths on Monday in Demboa in the state of Borno in northeast Nigeria, police there confirm. Eight houses and shops owned by Christians and a police station were destroyed during the riot, which authorities said was started by Muslim youths who want to force the relocation of churches from the center of town to the outskirts.

A Christian school in Southern Sudan was attacked on Thursday, March 23, by the Islamic-led government forces of Sudan and numerous injuries were inflicted to students and their parents.

A VOM-sponsored hospital in Southern Sudan was targeted by bombs of the radical Islamic Government of Sudan (GOS) early Tuesday morning, killing one Christian worker and one other person and injuring several others.

About 300 Christians of the Kabe ethnic group in the city of Kaduna were abducted and forced to renounce their faith by their Muslim captors during religious clashes in the state last month, according to a human rights group.

Dozens of people — including a Baptist seminary student — were killed when riots between Christians and Muslims broke out Feb. 21 in Kaduna, Nigeria.