Peshawar pushes for more jihad

 Gunmen targeted two priests traveling home from church in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar on January 30, killing one and injuring the other. Father William Siraj (75 years) died instantly from multiple gunshot wounds, while Father Naeem Patrick was treated for a gunshot wound to his hand.  

The memorial service for Father Siraj will be held today, January 31, at Peshawar’s All Saints Church, which was attacked in 2013 by militants who killed over 70 parishioners and wounded more than 100. According to public statements by the authorities, the identities of the assassins are unknown as they escaped on motorcycles, but an investigation is ongoing and the manhunt has expanded.

Jeff King, ICC’s president, said, “Our hearts are heavy with the news of yet another fatal attack against Pakistan’s Christian community. We are lifting them up in prayers today as they gather for the memorial service, and we also pray for a speedy recovery of Rev. Naeem Patrick. The congregation of All Saints Church has experienced so much loss through the years. We hope for a speedy investigation into this assassination, and urge for the due process of justice.”

Church leaders from across the world have expressed their sadness at the assassination and have urged the authorities to conduct a full investigation. Bishop Azad, a senior bishop in the Church of Pakistan, stated, “We strongly condemn the firing on clergy of the Diocese of Peshawar and instant killing of Pastor William Siraj and injuring of Rev. Patrick Naeem earlier today. We demand justice and protection of Christians from the government of Pakistan.”  

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, added that he “join(s) Bishop Azad in condemning this abhorrent act, and I pray for justice and safety for the Christian community in Pakistan. Please pray for the family of Pastor William Siraj, all who mourn him, and for Rev. Patrick Naeem. As we mark Candlemas today, we pray for the light of Christ’s justice, hope and peace for our brothers and sisters in the church of Pakistan.”

Christians are a minority in the Muslim-dominated country of Pakistan and are regularly subjected to targeted acts of violence. As ICC documented in its 2021 Persecutor of the Year report, “The persecution of Christians in Pakistan is severe and complex… In recent years, major terrorist attacks on Christian places of worship have not been reported. However, many Pakistani Christians fear the possibility of these attacks.” Sadly, the targeting of Christian clergymen only increases these types of fears.

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Wanted terrorist arrested in the DRC

 Rashid Mohamed Salim, one of Kenya’s most wanted terrorists, was cornered and captured by local youths on Saturday in a village in the DRC. Salim was handed over to the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) and arrested.

“This young man is a great terrorist. He is a very big player in the activities of slaughtering Christians in this part of Beni,” a source in Beni told ICC. We have been receiving pictures and short films of him cutting the throats of Christians and the police. It is said that he is the one who captures them or has them captured via his telephone by fellow rebels when he is in the process of acting and publishes them as propaganda. He is already an Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) commander.” 

Salim was put on the Kenyan Anti-Terror Police radar in November 2021 with the government offering a $100,000 reward for him and four others on terrorism charges. He was feared to be on his way back to Kenya from Cabo Delgado where he had joined Mozambique’s Islamic State group.

Since his arrest, videos have emerged of Salim explaining the motivations behind the ADF insurgency. Asked about a video that showed him beheading a FARDC officer, Salim said, “I was given a machete by the ADF rebels to behead the government’s soldier that we had captured. They told me to draw attention to all the people of the world that there was Islam in Congo, and they were invited to come and spread the Islamic religion so that Islam can rule the whole world. So, I killed the FARDC soldier in the name of Allah.” 

Asked where he acquired the new FARDC, Salim said, “I was given by the ADF rebels when they captured us. In the forest, we have a commander called Abdalla who looks like an East African, but he is most likely Ugandan for he speaks some Luganda.” 

University-educated Salim was radicalized as a teen at a popular Mosque in Mombasa, Kenya. He has been linked with recruiting youth into terror groups in East Africa, and for various terrorist activities. 

His arrest comes three days after the Kenyan government assured safety for locals and foreigners following security alerts by European and American embassies in Nairobi urging their nationals to avoid public places.  

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al-Shabaab has attacked the same village in Kenya seven times this month

On January 26, 2022, six gunmen suspected to be al-Shabaab terrorists ambushed a convoy of vehicles near Kenya’s Somali border, and began shooting. Six people were injured in the attack and three were able to escape due to security measures in place.

According to one of the survivors, the six fully armed terrorists emerged from the right side of the road, pointing guns at the approaching vehicles. He recalled, “It was 5:00 p.m., an hour before the dusk to dawn curfew imposed this month in Lamu, and we wanted to come out of Lamu County before 6:00 p.m. We were almost getting to the second [to] last security check when I saw a group of six men appearing from the roadside bushes. They started firing [at] our truck, but we managed to stop before getting too close to them, and we escaped through the passenger’s door and entered the forest on the left side of the road. I was with my co-driver. We abandoned the truck on the road.”

Thankfully, the road had recently been tarred and bushes along it cleared due to the recent surge in attacks this month, in an effort to help citizens escape. The Somali-based al-Shabaab group has made Lamu’s Boni Forest its hideout, and has easily been able to stage attacks across the Kenyan border.

One of the vehicles attacked in the recent incident was carrying a group of government court officers. All six occupants were shot and evacuated by a multi-agency team to the nearest hospital for treatment.

This is the seventh terrorist attack in Lamu since the new year. Just three days prior, a group of suspected al-Shabaab militants detonated explosives at a Chinese company yard. A church leader in Lamu expressed his concerns about the safety of Christians and the impact the attacks are having on the church.

“This January has been characterized by a series of terrorist attacks, right after we celebrated the New Year, where over 15 people have been killed and several houses torched. Christians have been living in camps since the third of January because the villages are not safe. They go to the farms during the day and return to the camps in the evening where they eat together and sleep while security officers guard them. This is unacceptable.”

He continued, “The body of Christ is hurting here in Lamu. Christians are not safe because, historically, Lamu is known to be an area dominated by Muslims, but many ethnic groups have come and settled here legally. A big percentage of the settlers in Lamu are Christian farmers and this has led to an exponential group of Christianity which poses a threat to the Muslim community. We need protection from the government, including us who are involved in Muslim evangelism.”

Despite the ongoing persecution the church is currently facing, the church leader expressed confidence in the gospel of Christ. “The enemy of the cross might look like he is winning, but the truth is this period of persecution is producing bolder and courageous believers, sharpened on all ends, and sent to carry out a great and effective outreach among the Muslim communities and planting more sound churches in Lamu for the glory of God.”

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DRC under siege

 On January 24 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), one person was fatally shot by police and several others were arrested in Beni town while protesting the “state of siege” declared by President Felix Tshisekedi in May 2021.

A local source informed ICC that chanting erupted in the streets as early as 4:00 a.m., with protesters claiming that the siege has done nothing to solve insecurity in the region.

“The protesters started grouping and chanting early this morning and took to the streets at 6:00 a.m., defying the crackling of bullets to disperse them,” said the source. “They were demanding the lifting of the siege that lasted eight months without any fruitful outcome. The police engaged them in running battles until late in the evening where one person is believed to have been killed by police. Shops, banks, schools, and hotels remained closed as crowds drawn from different pressure groups called for an end to the state of siege that has failed to solve the conflict situation in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.”

The protests come two months after Uganda deployed troops to the DRC in an effort to defeat the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) terrorist group, an affiliate of ISIS known to terrorize the primarily Christian nation.

The source continued, “The people here are disappointed by the fact that the government is using the state of siege to force the population to sleep at 7:00 p.m. and extort money from those caught after curfew, yet the (extremist) Muslim rebels continue to invade, kill, loot, and destroy property. The president has his military men, from the governor, mayor, and the local administrators, but we are still being oppressed under the imposed siege.”

Over Christmas, six people were killed in a bomb blast at the Ishango restaurant in Beni town. The local population, which is primarily Christian, is asking for heightened security measures that would allow them to return to normalcy and bring back the region’s economic vibrancy. A church leader in Beni told ICC:

“The president’s state of siege was a good thing in fighting terrorism in these two provinces, but a keen end-to-end follow-up has been lacking and that’s why the population is coming out to pressure the government to reconsider these measures. Several groups wrote to the military mayor of the city of Beni on January 19, notifying him that if the siege continued, there shall be demonstrations today. He never bothered to take any action. The church also sees this as harassment by the government.”

The extent of damage and loss of lives following the protests are not yet known. ICC will continue to monitor the situation and provide any necessary updates.

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Nigeria, defend yourself against Fulani militants

 Fulani militants killed 18 Christians in Ancha village on Tuesday evening, January 11, marking the second attack on the Christian community in Nigeria this week.

“A loud voice shouted, ‘Allahu Akubar’ (Allah is the greatest) at midnight,” an eyewitness told International Christian Concern (ICC). “The community has now been attacked seven times by Muslim militants.”

Those killed included the church secretary of the local Baptist church. More than 100 homes were burned down, and food stores and crops were destroyed. Six people are currently in the hospital receiving medical treatment for bullet wounds.

“My life is now at risk,” eyewitness John Rivi Bulus told ICC through tears, “The Fulani are now after my life; all my family members have now been killed by the Fulani militants…I am left alone.”

“There is a plan for jihad in Nigeria, but the Nigerian government continues to remain silent,” said an Irigwe youth leader. “We are pleading with Christians in the Diaspora to come to our assistance.”

ICC’s contact in Nigeria is currently at the devastated village and has reported that the situation is “very bad,” and that further details would be available soon.

“We will continue to monitor this tragic situation and send out information as it is received,” said ICC President Jeff King. “Right now, our Christian brothers and sisters in Nigeria are in need of our prayers.” 

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Fulani people suck

 Fulani militants killed 28-year-old Stephen Monday and injured his wife, Ejoma, while the couple was walking to their farmland on January 10. 

“Fulani militants attacked and ambushed two people on their way to farm at Ancha village,” reported an ICC correspondent in Nigeria. “One was killed while the other sustained a gunshot injury in her mouth and has been taken to the hospital for treatment.” 

A Christian leader in Ancha old ICC that citizens are expecting more attacks through the night, as gunshots continue in the distance.  

“Fulani (militants) are shooting guns around the mountain of the community, destroying our food crops,” he said. “They will continue to attack and destroy our crops in 2022.” 

ICC spoke to another Christian leader in the area, whose name we withheld for security reasons. He said that Christians continue to suffer constant attacks as the government turns a blind eye. 

“These continuous, tragic reports out of Nigeria are one reason we named Nigeria the worst persecuting country in our 2021 Persecutor of the Year Awards,” said ICC President Jeff King. “It starts at the top with President Buhari who along with his government and military leaders is complicit in turning a blind eye to crimes against Christians.” 

“This is not the first time Fulani militants killed our farmers,” said the source. “There are always deliberate acts by the government of President Buhari allowing his tribesmen to Kill Christian farmers, leading to hunger in Christian communities.” 

On Friday, January 7, just six miles from yesterday’s attack, 49-year-old Timeh Evi was ambushed and killed by Fulani militants while working on his farm in Nzhwerenvi village. 

“Till now, his dead body has not been recovered as the attackers either made away with the body or dumped it somewhere,” a community member told ICC. “Only traces of his blood have been found on the farm. His motorcycle and water pump machine were stolen.”  

For decades, Fulani militants have attacked Christian farming villages in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region—where the Muslim north meets the Christian south—displacing millions of Christians and leaving them without reliable access to food.   

The numbers are staggering. Depending on the source, an estimated 100 thousand Christians have been killed over the past 20 years, while over two million have been displaced.  

Many say that this is a conflict over land, as the arid zones in Nigeria have been increasingly moving southward. But to leave the narrative at that is simply irresponsible. While farmer-herder conflicts over land have existed throughout centuries, a more sinister element has emerged within the last few decades, fueled by a jihadist agenda.  

This is what the Nigerian government refuses to acknowledge and what Christians in Nigeria have spent years trying to communicate to the international community. 

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New Year's Resolution for Nigeria: Stop the Fulani

 Five people in Nigeria were brutally attacked by Fulani militants on Friday, December 31, while on their way home from an annual prayer meeting held for the Christian communities of Irigwe chiefdom.

An International Christian Concern (ICC) correspondent who was at the event spoke to the National Publicity Secretary of the Irigwe Christians, who said, “One was killed and burnt beyond recognition, while four others sustained varying degrees of injuries.”

The deceased victim was identified as 38-year-old Adamu Sunday. Those injured are Bitrus Sunday, 31, Mr. Bitrus Doro, 41, Sunday Musa, 43, and Sunday Alex, age unknown.

One of the survivors told ICC that during the attack, a Fulani militant warned that it was “the first attack for the new year,” and that more would be coming in 2022.

The unnamed survivor added, “It was God that saved my life; I don’t know how I escaped; it was God that saved me.”

The youth leader of the Irigwe tribesmen told ICC that authorities ignored threats from the militants prior to the bloodshed. “This was the second time [the] Fulani promised an attack on one of the communities, and the government of Nigeria doesn’t want to protect them because they are Christians,” he said.

“Attacks of this nature have been ongoing for the past 20 years and the silence is deafening,” said ICC President Jeff King. “While the government claims to be doing its best to curb the violence, the reality paints a different picture of a Muslim-led government allowing anti-Christian violence to continue without consequence.”

Please continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Nigeria. We also encourage you to contact the Nigerian embassy in your country today, calling on them to address the persecution of Christians.

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