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Nigeria: Plateau attackers arrested, as Christians call for grazing ban

December 12, 2017 Nigeria Church of Christ in Nigeria, Fulani herdsmen, Jos, Nigeria, Plateau

Many experts now report that ongoing violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, where mainly Muslim Fulani herdsmen have attacked predominantly Christian farmers, has killed more people than Boko Haram. Now, after a period of relative calm, that violence has resumed in Plateau state, which has also witnessed the deadliest sectarian violence . . . Read More

Nigeria: Government failure and the spread of Fulani herdsmen attacks in Adamawa state

December 11, 2017 Nigeria Adamawa, Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen, Nigeria, Sultan of Sokoto

”I watched helplessly as the Fulani herdsmen killed people and burnt houses. They did this with glee on their faces. Numan [Local Government Area] and its environs belong to us. If the government cannot protect us, then we have no choice but to protect our land, our heritage and the . . . Read More

Mali: ‘Christians can simply be slaughtered’

December 11, 2017 Mali Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Islamic extremism, Mali, Missionaries, Tuareg

Christians from northern Mali, displaced by the violence that started in 2012, are settling and building homes in the south. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Sory* was threatened by Islamists when they heard about his work at a church in Djalloube, central Mali, and fled, leaving his family traumatised. “I started to face serious problems when the Islamists heard about me and the conversion of some of the people [from Islam to Christianity],” Sory says. . . . Read More

CAR Christians and Muslims risk crossing ‘red line’ to establish peace

December 7, 2017 Central African Republic Anti-balaka, Central African Republic, Religious freedom, Seleka, UN

At the market in Boda, a mining town in the southwest of the Central African Republic, Christians and Muslims come together to purchase goods set on wooden tables along the dusty roadside. It’s a picture of peaceful coexistence that would be unthinkable in some parts of a country that has . . . Read More

Nigeria: Northern Christian leaders claim government lacks political will to stop Fulani herdsmen’s impunity

December 5, 2017 Nigeria Christian Association of Nigeria, Church of Christ in Nigeria, Fulani herdsmen, Jos, Nigeria, Plateau

Christian leaders in northern Nigeria have continued to lament the impunity with which Fulani herdsmen are attacking Christians in the region, especially in Plateau state, and the lack of political will by the federal government to stop it – in spite of their repeated calls. Last Thursday (30 November), at . . . Read More

Syria: Homs Christians return to rebuild homes and lives

December 5, 2017 Syria Homs, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Syria

Basima in her renovated kitchen. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Syrians who fled the city of Homs five years ago are slowly returning to rebuild their homes and lives. Much of Syria’s third largest city has been destroyed, but Maha says she is just “so happy” to be back. With her husband and her sister, she recently returned to live . . . Read More

CAR: ‘They wanted to silence the preacher who converts Muslims to Christianity’

December 5, 2017 Central African Republic Anti-balaka, Bangui, Central African Republic, PK5, Seleka

The Central Mosque of Bangui in the predominantly Muslim neighbourhood of PK5. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Four years ago today, an eruption of violence in the capital of the Central African Republic, Bangui, left dozens dead and shattered the lives of many others. An attempt by Anti-Balaka (“anti-machete”) vigilantes to oust rebel leader Michel Djotodia, who had swept across the country into the capital to proclaim . . . Read More

Nigeria: Boko Haram survivor and her baby ‘shamed’

December 1, 2017 Nigeria Acid attacks, Boko Haram, Borno, Converts, Gwoza, Islamic extremism, Nigeria, Rape, Trauma, UN, West Africa, Women

Boko Haram survivor Esther*, holding her daughter Rebecca in her arms. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

As Islamic extremist group Boko Haram continues to hold young women captive in West Africa, some have been rescued only to return to their homes in shame, finding themselves labelled “Boko Haram women”. Until October 2015 Esther* lived the normal life of a 17-year-old in Gwoza, a town in southern . . . Read More

India archbishop served notice for raising human rights ahead of Gujarat elections

December 1, 2017 India Alphons Kannanthanam, BJP, Catholics, Elections, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, Hindu nationalism, Human rights, India, Narendra Modi

Christian groups and networks in India have rallied behind Archbishop Thomas Macwan of Gandhinagar, capital of Gujarat state in western India, after the federal Election Commission served a notice on the prelate for his pastoral letter ahead of state elections this month. Gujarat is the home state of Prime Minister . . . Read More

Bangladesh: Catholic priest missing as Pope Francis arrives

November 30, 2017 Bangladesh Bangladesh, Catholics, Dhaka, Education, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Pope Francis, Religious freedom

Pope Francis hold hands with President of Bangladesh Abdul Hamid (L) upon arriving at the Presidential palace in Dhaka on 30 November 2017. (Photo: VINCENZO PINTO/AFP/Getty Images)

Pope Francis has arrived in Bangladesh, where a Catholic priest disappeared three days ago, highlighting the pressure Christians and other minority groups are under in the mainly Muslim country. Father Walter William Rozario, who is also the headmaster of a high school, went missing in northern Natore district on 27 . . . Read More

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