Over the past 15 years I have been sharing the God stories of Africa, I don’t think a week has gone by when the Christian news sources I monitor have not documented violence against Christians somewhere in Africa.
This week is no different with accounts of relentless jihadist terror that continues to sow death, destruction and fear among Christian communities across Africa – and which cries out for the prayers of believers everywhere and for global attention and assistance.
In Democratic Republic of Congo Islamic State Central Africa Province claimed responsibility for attacks in villages in the east of the country where 18 Christians were reported to have been beheaded in recent weeks.
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Closer to home, in Mozambique, four Christians have been killed, including two who were beheaded, in the norther province of Cabo Delgado, prompting many villagers to flee.
Meanwhile in Nigeria – designated by persecution watchdog Open Doors as the most dangerous place to be a Christian – masked gunmen believed to be radical Islamists stormed a Catholic school in the north-west last Friday, abducting more than 300 students and staff. About 50 girls reportedly escaped.
The abductions came less than a week after 25 students were abducted from a government-run secondary school for girls in northwestern Nigeria. And gunmen in central Nigeria attacked a church during a worship service, killing two and abducting 38.
Such acts of terror are not restricted to the nations of DRC, Mozambique and Nigeria – they are just among the latest reports of extremist violence on the African continent.
CBN News says that violent attacks began in Cabo Delgado Province in the north of Mozambique in 2017. Over the last eight years, the armed insurgency has caused thousands of deaths and triggered a humanitarian crisis affecting over one million internally displaced persons.
According to a recent United Nations report, in just one week, nearly 128,000 people fled from villages in Nampula province of northern Mozambique, following new attacks by extremist groups.
According to CBN, Bishop Alberto Vera, of Nampula, said that since November 10 several settlements in the area have been attacked, thousands of people have fled, and hundreds of homes have been set on fire
Asking for prayers, Bishop Vera said: “Pray a lot for us, because this is an incomprehensible, intolerable reality.”
“We ask God to help us and grant us peace. We also ask the Mozambican government for the means to fight terrorists not only militarily, but also with dialogue and with international means.”
Despite the escalating violence in northern Mozambique, ministry leaders serving in the area remain committed to pursuing peace and supporting affected communities.
“For more than seven years, the region has faced recurring waves of violence, and we are still praying and believing for lasting peace,” wrote Iris Global ministry in October.
Referring to attacks in the north of the country in October in which more than 30 Christians were beheaded and churches were burned down by Islamic State terrorists, Will Hart, the CEO of Iris Global, told CBN that last month’s attack is just one story of hundreds of people’s lived experiences “every single day”.
“But love looks like something in the midst of the chaos,” he shared, adding that while the focus of these attacks has specifically targeted Christians, they are still on the mission to share hope with the hopeless.
“We are feeding as many people as we can,” Hart explained. “We are also giving out the Word and Truth, which is Christ and [sharing] what it looks like to forgive those who persecute you…and we do that through solar Bibles. We are continuing to plant churches, and we are continuing to serve the broken, the poor, the sick, and the needy there.”
Hart implored believers who are watching the persecution at a distance to know “that the only answer we have is Christ,” and to get involved with spreading the love of Jesus.
“I want to encourage you to pray for peace, to pray for this to stop and secondly, pray for all of our brothers and sisters who are living in the midst of this chaos,” he said.
In Nigeria jihadists have killed 185 009 people – mainly Christians but also “liberal” Muslims – since 2009, according to Intersociety, a human rights organisation in Nigeria. Over 7 000 Christians have been massacred in the nation in the first 220 days of this year alone,.
The grave situation in Nigeria, which Christian groups says targets Christians specifically – a claim the Nigerian government denies – has been getting more world attention since US President Donald Trump recently designated Nigeria “a country of particular concern” and warned of possible military action and cutting off of federal aid. Rapper Nicki Minaj has also added her prominent voice to calls for the world to pay attention to the plight of Christians in Nigeria. In an X post on Sunday she said: “Dear God, release your immediate intervention in this matter. Rescue the hostages & may the peace that surpasses all understanding fall upon their families right now. Lord, we know your power. With faith & thanksgiving in advance, we claim the victory. In the mighty name of JESUS.”
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