Originally published in CBN News
French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting several African leaders in his country this week with the goal of boosting the fight against Islamic extremism on the continent.
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Macron said ISIS terrorists in Africa are the “priority enemy because it’s the most dangerous” threat.
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Presidents of Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, and Mauritania arrived in the French capital amid growing concern that radical Muslims are continuing to kill thousands of people, including Christians.
In Niger, Islamic extremists killed at least 89 people in one attack last week alone. That’s now the most deadly jihadist attack in years in Niger.
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And the African terror group known as Al Shabaab has reportedly killed 25 Christians in Kenya in the past five weeks. According to International Christian Concern, three Christian teachers were killed Monday by the Somali-based Al Shabaab terror organization.
In addition to groups that are affiliated with Al Qaeda, ISIS is also making in-roads across the continent.
President Macron is urging the United States to redouble efforts to fight the scourge of radical Islam in Africa.
“If the Americans were to decide to withdraw from Africa, it would be bad news for us. I confirm it. I hope I can convince President Trump that the fight against terrorism, in which he is deeply engaged, is also at stake in this region,” Macron said.
“If we lose one of these areas on military and diplomatic-political levels, we can worry: Worry about the proliferation of terrorism, and the fragility in terms of the sovereignty of several states,” he said.
Macron believes ISIS is the most dangerous terror group in Africa at the moment.
Persecution is happening as Christianity continues to expand on the continent. One place where Christians are suffering the most right now is Nigeria.
Violence against Christians escalated dramatically there in 2019 leading to the deaths of roughly 1,000 believers. Now Morning Star News reports another attack by Islamic herdsmen has left 13 people dead in the Christian village of Kulben on January 8th.
There’s increasing talk about the need to appoint a special US envoy to that country.
