48 Christians Massacred in Nigeria; Terrorists Break Through Doors, Burn Houses, Destroy Churches
Forty-eight Christians were massacred in nine days of violent attacks in Nigeria, with some of the survivors describing the terror they felt at the hands of Islamic Fulani herdsmen who broke through their doors and destroyed houses and churches.
“Every one of us ran to save his life,” church elder Dauda Samuel Kadiya of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in Zanwrua, told Morning Star News. “I was shot at, but the bullet only bruised my hand. You can see the wound yourself.”
The herdsmen slaughtered a total of 48 Christians in several attacks carried out in Plateau state between Oct. 8 and Oct. 17, survivors said, with believers fleeing villages and abandoning worship buildings.
“Some of the church buildings were destroyed by the attackers,” Kadiya added.
International Christian Concern (ICC), which reports on the persecution of believers around the world, pointed out that although such raids are not new for the area, the “ferocity and number of attacks in this short period have caused major problems for the beleaguered citizens.”
The Fulani raids in Plateau State have sparked outrage from Christian leaders, who have accused the army of failing to defend villagers on a number of occasions.
“The soldiers had told the women and children to go and hide in the primary (elementary) school class at night while the men in the village constituted a vigilante group and join[ed] the soldiers in patrolling the area. Sadly, the militia descended and the soldiers fled, leaving the defenseless villagers to be massacred by the terrorists,” the Rev. Andrew Okebe, the Zonal Coordinator of Christian Association of Nigeria, Miango District, said after one of the major attacks earlier this month.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari himself has lamented the growing number of casualties.
Reuters reported that Christians and other Nigerian civilians continue being terrorised not only by the Fulani but also by the Boko Haram terror group, whose eight-year insurgency has made it very difficult for hundreds of thousands of uprooted people to return home.
ISIS Slaughters 128 in Syrian Christian Town: ‘They Attacked us Like Animals, They Came to Kill Us’
Shocking details are emerging of a surprise ‘revenge’ attack by ISIS militants on what was once a predominantly Syrian Christian town.
“They attacked us like animals, they came to kill us,” a resident of Qaryatayn said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
On Sunday, Syrian government troops recaptured Qaryatayn from ISIS militants. But before retreating from the town, the terror group went on a killing spree slaughtering countless people.
“They killed children {and} women,” recounted one survivor. “They broke the arms of the women {and} burned them.”
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least 128 people were murdered in the rampage.
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