Suicide bomber attack at church in Syria

 

A suicide bomber detonated himself during worship on Sunday inside Mar Elyas Greek Orthodox Church in the Dwelia neighborhood of Damascus, Syria.  

The attack resulted in the deaths of at least 20 people, according to initial reports. 

This marks the first known suicide bombing targeting a church in Syria. While no group has officially claimed responsibility, the Syrian Ministry of Interior stated that the attacker was believed to be a member of the Islamic State group.  

The assailant reportedly opened fire on worshippers before detonating an explosive belt, causing mass casualties and chaos inside the sanctuary. Local social media sources reported that children were among the victims. 

Father Youhanna Shehata, the parish priest of Mar Elyas, courageously assisted in carrying more than 20 bodies of the deceased following the blast. He estimated that 350 to 400 Christians were present in the church at the time of the attack. 

To read more news stories, visit the ICC Newsroom. For interviews, please email press@persecution.org.  

Escalating persecution in Africa

 

International Christian Concern (ICC) released a comprehensive report, “Troubling Trends: Escalating Persecution of Christians in Africa,” highlighting the alarming increase in violence and persecution against Christians across the continent. The report details a disturbing rise in targeted attacks, particularly in countries with large Christian populations, such as Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Kenya. It presents specific incidents from the first quarter of 2025, revealing a pattern of brutal killings, abductions, and displacement. Nigeria, in particular, continues to be identified as one of the most dangerous countries for Christians, with thousands murdered for their faith in recent years, and ongoing violence spreading from northern states into the Middle Belt and further south.

The report underscores the critical role of Islamic militant groups, including the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in the DRC and al-Shabab in Kenya, in perpetrating these atrocities. In the DRC, where 95% of the population is Christian, the ADF has been responsible for widespread terror, leading to numerous deaths and mass displacement, especially in the eastern provinces like North Kivu. Similarly, in Kenya, despite a Christian majority, radical groups and complicit government officials contribute to the increased persecution, particularly in the northeast and coastal areas.

The report expresses concern over the international community’s insufficient focus on these escalating crises, with neither the U.S. Dept. of State nor the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) yet identifying DRC as a Country of Particular Concern. This designation would enable specific sanctions and policy actions.

ICC is calling for urgent international attention and action to address these escalating trends. The report highlights ongoing efforts in the U.S. Congress, such as H.Res. 220, which seeks to reinstate Nigeria’s classification as a Country of Particular Concern. ICC urges U.S. citizens to contact their representatives and advocate for its passage.

To read the full report, click here.

 

To read more news stories, visit the ICC Newsroom. For interviews, please email press@persecution.org. 

Iranian refugees receive a six-month extension in Panama

 

Artemis Ghasemzadeh, a 27-year-old Iranian woman, and other Christian asylum seekers in Panama were given a six-month extension this week to find a new home. 

Ghasemzadeh is in a Panama City hotel with two Christian families from Iran. They were first given 30 days to stay in Panama, then a two-month reprieve until June 7, and now a six-month extension to find a haven. 

Ghasemzadeh’s journey began in late December 2024 when she and her older brother, Shahin, fled Iran and entered the United States illegally through Mexico. Refugees fleeing religious persecution have traditionally been granted asylum on American soil, but they faced more stringent border and refugee laws under the Trump administration. 

The siblings were detained for five days in San Diego and then separated: Ghasemzadeh was flown to Panama with other refugees, and Shahin to a Houston detention facility where he still awaits his immigration hearing. 

International Christian Concern (ICC), nonprofits, government agencies such as the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), and Christians globally have been following their case, praying and advocating for them since The New York Times broke their story in February. 

The Iranian believers will face extreme persecution if returned to Iran. ICC sent an emergency petition on Ghasemzadeh’s behalf, signed by 1,302 people, to 10 refugee-friendly Western countries, including Germany, Spain, France, and Italy. 

Their case also caught the attention of U.S. Rep. (D-Ariz) Yassamin Ansari, an Iranian American, who introduced the Artemis Act in Congress. The bill would stop the expedited removal of refugees fleeing countries known to persecute Christians and other religious minorities. Under the law, the refugees could claim asylum in a U.S. immigration court. 

Armenian, Assyrian, and Catholic communities exist in Iran. Yet, like other Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East and beyond, Iran has strict anti-conversion laws that are punishable by imprisonment or death. Ghasemzadeh and Christian converts worshipped as part of Iran's growing underground church community. 

“In Iran, being a Christian when you’re born is OK,” Ghasemzadeh told ICC in a previous interview. “There are even beautiful churches. But if you’re a Muslim and you convert to Christianity, it’s a problem. The police want to catch you because it’s not good for [the country].” 

To read more news stories, visit the ICC Newsroom. For interviews, please email press@persecution.org. 

Islamic extremism permeates throughout Nigeria's security forces

 

It seems the frequency of jihadist attacks in Nigeria is matched only by the infrequency of successful prosecutions against the perpetrators. And even when these attacks take place near military bases, the response times are disturbingly slow.

Many Nigerian Christians feel this chronic cycle of violence and impunity is all by design, and that their country has people in high places who have a vested interest in letting the cycle continue. 

Emeka Umeagbalasi, a criminologist who established the Nigerian human rights organization Intersociety, did not hesitate to place blame. 

“The Nigerian security forces, especially the military and police crack squads (special operations units), are the greatest problem facing the country's Christians,” he said.   

Umeagbalasi said that the last 10 years have seen a large rise in Islamic radicalization within Nigeria's military and “jihadists conscripted through the back door into the country's security forces.”   

Other concerned Nigerians have spoken out about federal government efforts to “reintegrate” self-described “repentant” jihadists. There are concerns that these allegedly former jihadists are finding their way into the nation's security agencies.  

Umeagbalasi said that such problems became widespread during the presidency of Muhammadu Buhari, who held Nigeria's top office from May 29, 2015, to May 29, 2023.  

Buhari, the son of a Fulani chieftain, is a retired army major general who also served as head of state in the mid-1980s when Nigeria was under a military dictatorship. 

Umeagbalasi said that Buhari's recent presidential tenure saw increased Fulani jihadist access to state armories. He added that many attackers in Nigeria derive significant benefits from “international jihadist support funds.” 

Since the 1980s, Fulanis who have obtained wealth in the cattle industry have been supplying their fellow tribesmen with numerous AK-47 assault rifles. 

Nigerian civilians are technically permitted to own certain types of firearms, but the requirements are stringent and subject to the discretion of officials.  

Umeagbalasi said the laws are “observed lopsidedly” in a way that discriminates against Christians and empowers their attackers. He added that the Nigerian military has raided Christian homes across much of the country and “seized most, if not all,” of their weapons, thereby depriving them of any real chance at self-defense.  

Christians in Nigeria are almost always woefully outgunned by their attackers, wherever those attackers may come from.  

Although “Boko Haram” is a name that tends to evoke more terror, Fulani jihadists are responsible for most of the current religious violence.  

Umeagbalasi attributed at least 60% of the attacks on Nigerian Christians to either extremist Fulani herdsmen or jihadist Fulani bandits. He explained that Fulani jihadists will routinely decimate entire Christian communities and leave nearby Muslim communities unscathed. 

He added that not even 1% of Fulani jihadists have been arrested. And far fewer have ever been convicted.   

With virtually no deterrents, these jihadists partake in a buffet of criminality. They can loot and kidnap for profit. Or they can indulge themselves through sexual attacks. If feeling inclined to proselytize, they can undertake forcible conversions, beheading those who refuse.  

Umeagbalasi would like to see the U.S. Department of State acknowledge Nigeria's ongoing lethal jihadist Fulani problem by designating both “Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen” and “Jihadist Fulani Bandits” as Entities of Particular Concern. 

It's worth mentioning that Nigeria — home to the majority of Christians killed for their faith each year worldwide — has had a curious relationship with the U.S. State Department’s list of “Countries of Particular Concern” (CPC) for violating religious freedom.  

Nigeria made the CPC list for the first time at the end of 2020. The following year, it was removed from the list — even though the situation there did not improve. 

Those concerned with religious freedom in Nigeria were aghast when, in 2023, a State Department official said that, “after careful review, Nigeria would remain excluded from the list of religious freedom violators." 

As of May 31, 2025, Nigeria has yet to reappear on the list, which was last updated at the end of 2023.  

Meanwhile, some prominent Christians in Nigeria have spoken publicly about how the ongoing massacres are not just about killing Christians but also about forcing the surviving Christians to flee their land forever.   

Wilfred Anagbe, the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi in Nigeria's Middle Belt region, said, “The quest to Islamise the land is high on the agenda of some of the most powerful and influential Muslims in Nigeria.”    

Many Nigerian Christians suspect that the goal is to bring radical Islam to as much of Nigeria as possible, eventually taking over the oil-rich southern region, which is predominantly Christian. 

Recent years have even seen jihadists making headway in southern Nigeria. Regional authorities there have been rendered ineffective in addressing issues at the national level.  

And so, Nigeria's Christians — who comprise almost half of the population — have a far more troubled situation than they do in most countries where Christians are only a tiny minority.  

Umeagbalasi described it as “a sorry state of utter vulnerability.” 

To read more news stories, visit the ICC Newsroom. For interviews, please email press@persecution.org.