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Czech shared Sudan prison cell with Islamic State convicts who beat him up and abused him

February 27, 2017 Sudan Abdulmonem Abdumawla, Hassan Taour, Khartoum, Omar al-Bashir, Petr Jašek, Sudan

A Czech Christian aid worker, freed from prison in Sudan on 26 Feb, has spoken of how the prison authorities treated him. “The first two months were probably the most severe for me because I was placed in a cell together with members of the Islamic State, who humiliated me . . . Read More

UPDATE: Kidnapped German archeologists freed; no ransom paid

February 27, 2017 Nigeria Abuja, Fulani herdsmen, Kaduna, Kafanchan, Lagos, Middle Belt, West Africa

In the village of Goska, houses were destroyed, churches burnt and shops vandalised in a December attack.World Watch Monitor UPDATE (27 Feb): Two German archaeologists kidnapped in Nigeria’s north-western state of Kaduna were freed on Saturday (25 Feb). Peter Breunig and Johannes Buringer were taken by gunmen on 22 . . . Read More

Four months on, no word on US missionary kidnapped in Niger

February 27, 2017 Niger Abalak, Ansar Dine, Jeff Woodke, MUJAO, Niamey, Tuareg

Jeff Woodke is known in Abalak for his devotion to Niger and its nomadic populations.Jeff Woodke / Facebook UPDATE (27 Feb 2017) It’s been more than four months since a pioneering American missionary was kidnapped in Niger. Jeff Woodke, who worked for Jeunesse en Mission Entraide et Developpement, was . . . Read More

UPDATE: Czech aid worker freed to fly to Prague after his Foreign Minister visits Sudan

February 26, 2017 Sudan Abdulmonem Abdumawla, Hassan Taour, Khartoum, Kuwa Shamal, Petr Jašek

UPDATE (26 Feb) A Czech aid worker, Petr Jašek, 52, detained in Sudan since December 2015, has been pardoned and freed by President Omar Bashir – after the Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaorálek visited Sudan this weekend to seek his release. He has flown back to Prague with the Foreign Minister today (Sunday . . . Read More

At least 26 killed, despite increased Nigerian Army presence in S. Kaduna

February 22, 2017 Nigeria Abuja, Fulani herdsmen, Jama'atu Nasril Islam, Kaduna, Kafanchan, Lagos, Nigeria

UPDATE (22 Feb): Heavily-armed Fulani herdsmen carried out raids on communities in Kaduna State, central Nigeria, on 19 and 20 February, destroying homes and claiming at least 26 lives, including two policemen. According to CSW, hundreds of militiamen reportedly descended on Bakin Kogi in the Kaninkon Chiefdom of Jema’a Local Government . . . Read More

CAR: Special Criminal Court prosecutor appointed as killing continues

February 21, 2017 Central African Republic Anti-balaka, Bambari, Catherine Samba-Panza, Nicolas Guérékoyamé-Gbangou, PK5, Seleka

The three top faith leaders of the Central African Republic (CAR), who’ve won international recognition for efforts to end conflict in their country, have welcomed the appointment of a prosecutor for a Special Criminal Court. CAR has been beset by religious and ethnic conflict between mainly Muslim Séléka rebels and . . . Read More

Islamic State threatens to wipe out Egypt’s Copts

February 20, 2017 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Cairo, Copts

UPDATE: (20 Feb) The Islamic State has released a propaganda video, vowing to wipe out Egypt’s Coptic Christians and “liberate Cairo”. The video also purports to show the last statement of the suicide bomber responsible for the 11 December attack on a church in Cairo, which killed at least 28 . . . Read More

The Christian migrants building Qatar’s football stadiums

February 20, 2017 Qatar Arabian Peninsula, Doha, Football, Migrants, Qatar

The football stadiums being built for the 2022 FIFA World Cup are said to be costing Qatar $500m a week.World Watch Monitor Ten white plastic chairs are arranged in a circle on the roof terrace of a four-storey apartment block housing hundreds of Asian labourers. This is a part . . . Read More

How easy is it to live as a Christian in the Arabian Peninsula?

February 20, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Aden, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tom Uzhunnalil, United Arab Emirates, Yemen

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat, Oman.World Watch Monitor There are currently hundreds of thousands of Christians living and worshipping in the Arabian Peninsula. Millions of labourers from predominantly poor Asian and African countries – many of them Christians – work long-term in the region. Most of the migrants . . . Read More

Hope for victims of the Nigerian conflict claiming more lives than Boko Haram

February 17, 2017 Nigeria Bayelsa, Fulani herdsmen, Kaduna, Kafanchan, Middle Belt

In the village of Goska, houses were destroyed, churches burnt and shops vandalised in a December attack.World Watch Monitor The two Nigerian villages are barely five minutes’ drive apart. In one, Goska, houses were destroyed, churches burnt, shops vandalised, carcasses of animals littered the streets and most of the . . . Read More

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