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Persecution Watch: Praying for Believers in Niger
(Voice of the Persecuted) You are invited to join us on Thursday, December 22, 2022 in a prayer conference call for the persecuted church hosted by Persecution Watch.
NIGER: Population: 25 million, Christians about 64,700
Niger is a republic headed by Mohamed Bazoum is a Nigerien politician who is the current president of the Republic of Niger. He has been in office since 2 April 2021. Once a country known for cross-religious harmony, Niger has re-entered the top 50 of the World Watch List, reflecting how pressure is increasing on Christians in this Muslim-majority nation. Most of the population regard Islam as part of their ethnicity: if you are a Nigerien, you are a Muslim. Believers from Muslim backgrounds are therefore the most vulnerable to persecution, and often come under intense pressure from their families and communities to renounce their faith.
Historical Christian communities are generally allowed to practice their faith in private, but in regions under Islamist control, Christians must gather with caution because of an increased threat of violence from militant groups like Boko Haram. In regions near the border with Nigeria, churches have been burned and pastors forced to flee their homes. Meanwhile, the local authorities have occasionally stopped believers from meeting, and the registration process for churches is long and difficult.
Niger is a highly patriarchal society, and this makes Christian women vulnerable to persecution for their gender and faith. In certain areas of the country, women are highly at risk of abduction, rape and sexual abuse by extremist groups and others. Families do not report instances of rape because it will impact the victim’s marriage prospects and bring shame to them. Last year, tragically, a Christian girl was raped by a policeman, further highlighting why Christian families might be reluctant to report crimes.
A lot has changed – and it’s highly disturbing. Persecution is getting much worse in Niger, with the country jumping 21 places to re-enter the World Watch List top 50. This is down to a dramatic rise in violence against Christians. In the past five years, the Sahel region has seen a huge increase in violent Islamist attacks and the government of Niger has lost a lot of territory to the jihadists. Since 2020, the country has been experiencing a series of attacks by Islamic militants. The unpredictability of the situation makes Christians vulnerable, reflecting a trend of increasing violence facing Christians across sub-Saharan Africa.
- Pray for President Mohamed Bazoum to start protecting all citizens, especially the Christian minority citizens.
- Heavenly Father, we pray, strengthen, protect, and heal Christians in Niger affected by persecution. Use them in bold ways among their families and communities. Encourage those who especially need it today.
- Intervene to diminish the influence of militant Islamist groups so that Niger may once again be a place of cross-religious harmony and all Christians can feel safe to gather for worship, celebration, and fellowship. Amen.
- Pray for Church leaders which are especially targeted for persecution. Muslims consider them primarily responsible for leading people away from Islam.
- Pray for God’s protection for teenage girls and women who are vulnerable to rape, sexual abuse and forced marriages to Muslim men.
- Pray for those Christians who are caught under the rule of extremist groups for the Lord to give grace and defend them.
- Pray for the salvation of these militant groups as we know with God everything is possible.
- Pray for the restoration of peace in the communities, churches and lives of the people.
- Pray for oral bible teachers as many people don’t know how to read or write.
- Pray to the Lord He will give MBB who are the target of heavy persecution safe places to worship and have fellowship, be build up in faith
- Pray to the Lord for His believers in Niger as they seek to proclaim the gospel in a stifling and suspicious atmosphere. Grant them wisdom, discernment, and boldness.
- Pray that Christians who have lost loved ones will receive trauma counseling.
- Pray that the persecuted can forgive and love their persecutors.
- Pray for the believers to sense God’s presence and be anchored in God’s word.
- Pray for the NGOs in Niger to strengthen persecuted Christians through economic empowerment programs, leadership and discipleship training, persecution survival training and pastoral care for new believers.
- Pray that internally displaced Christian families will receive food, cooking supplies, and other items. In addition, they are also providing literacy education, so that families can enjoy reading the Bible in the regional Djerma language “Many of these people did not go to school, and so even though Djerma is their maternal language, they do not know how to read or write it,”
- Pray that the Lord will use His church in Niger in bold and powerful ways for His glory, and that His church will be a beacon of light in Niger.
Again, we want to lift these persecuted witnesses to the Lord:
- Leah Sharibu, a prisoner of Boko Haram since 2018, pray for her release.
- Alice Loksha Ngaddah, kidnapped February 2019. She is a mother of two, working as a nurse for UNICEF. Pray for her release.
- Pray For Pastor Wang Yi to be released from prison.
- Pray for Anita to make an easy transition into her new culture and that the Lord will be gracious in bringing her family members to Canada.
- For the release of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani from Iran, and his family as their persecution continues. Pastor Nadarkhani is serving the second year of his six-year sentence, recently reduced from ten years.
- The Harvest: I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me” (Acts 26:18)
Andy, Persecution Watch Prayer Call Moderator
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What is Persecution Watch?
Persecution Watch is a U.S. national prayer conference call ministry that prays specifically for the global Persecuted Church. For over a decade, Blaine Scogin led this national network of believers who faithfully pray for the persecuted and the global harvest for the Kingdom of God. The group meets via a free call-in service every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday night at 9pm Eastern time in the United States (please check your time zone). Blaine also served as Prayer Director for Voice of the Persecuted, and the missions became one. Brother Blaine passed into glory on December 26, 2019. It was truly a blessing for all of us to serve alongside this dear man of God and he will be greatly missed. The prayer mission of Persecution Watch remains an important part of our mission. Voice of the Persecuted is committed to continue the prayer conference call for the persecuted along with the dedicated Persecution Watch prayer warrior team.
Prior to the passing of Brother Blaine, he confirmed the passing of the torch as prayer conference call leader to Nadia Dybvik. Nadia has a burdened heart for the persecuted and is a prayer warrior standing in the gap for them. She joined the Persecution Watch prayer team in 2013 and has been part of the core ever since. Before becoming the prayer call leader, she served in the role of prayer moderator since 2015. Blaine chose Nadia for her faithfulness to pray for the persecuted and her strong commitment to the Persecution Watch mission. We are blessed not only with her gift of prayer, but her genuine love for every brother and sister in Christ that comes on the call to pray. May the Lord continue to bless Nadia and the prayer team in the mission and their personal lives.
“Pray for us” is the number one request that we hear from the persecuted. As the members of the first century Church were moved by the Holy Spirit to pray, we too must continue to serve those suffering persecution by lifting them up to the Lord through prayer.
On occasion, persecuted brothers and sisters have been invited on the conference call to share the trials they are facing. The team serves to encourage them by washing their feet in Spirit led prayer. Time is often reserved for those on the call to ask questions. We believe this helps to gain a better understanding of the situation that persecuted Christians endure in their specific nations. Q&A also helps us to focus our prayers based on their current needs.
Persecution Watch also hosts callers who want to pray united from other nations. If your heart is perplexed by the sufferings of our persecuted brothers and sisters, you no longer need to pray alone.
We welcome all who desire to pray for the persecuted church and consider it a joy to pray together with you. If you are new to the call and cannot find your voice, listen in and pray silently or on mute. We are grateful and thank the Lord for bringing us all together to pray in agreement for our persecuted family in Christ. We can all be prayer warriors on this call!
God bless and protect you in your faithfulness to serve.
Lois Kanalos, Founder, Voice of the Persecuted, Nadia Dybvik, Persecution Watch Prayer Call Leader and the Persecution Watch Prayer Team
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Note to Voice of the Persecuted (VOP) readers: The Persecution Watch prayer team is also the prayer team of Voice of the Persecuted. SIGN UP today.
Couple Abducted from Wedding in Attacks in Northwest Nigeria that Kill 12 Christians
ECWA church elder Emmanuel Iliya Agiya, here with his wife, was kidnapped on April 22, 2020, in Kaduna state, Nigeria. (Morning Star News)
(Morning Star News) – Muslim Fulani herdsmen in northwest Nigeria killed 12 Christians and kidnapped a couple from their church wedding ceremony in attacks this month, sources said.
In Tegina Kabata village in Niger state’s Shiroro County, herdsmen attacked a church site where a wedding was taking place on April 12, abducting the couple and some church members, area resident Danjuma Iliya told Morning Star News.
“As the pastor was officiating during the wedding solemnization, the herdsmen stormed the church and took away everyone who was unable to escape from the church building, including the bride and groom,” Iliya said. “In that village, five Christians were killed in the series of attacks carried out by the herdsmen.”
Two other Christians were killed by herdsmen in Niger state’s Gidigori village, Kusherki District, in Rafi County, on April 20, area resident James Ayuba said. They were two of seven Christians killed in three herdsmen attacks over five days in Rafi County, he said.
Others were injured in herdsmen attacks in the county’s Madaka and Sabon Gari villages on April 20-21, he said.
Church Elder Abducted
Also in Niger state, five missionaries kidnapped on March 2 were released on April 22, sources said. In a short statement on April 22 that gave no details, leaders of Calvary Ministries (CAPRO) expressed joy that their missionaries had just been released
“Please rejoice with us as the remaining five of our missionaries kidnapped in Kamuku Field, Niger state 52 days ago are now safely back to freedom,” the statement read.
The missionaries were abducted when armed Muslim Fulani herdsmen on March 2 raided a school in Maruba, Shiroro County, run by CAPRO.
The announcement came the same day that a church elder in north-central Nigeria’s Kaduna state had been kidnapped. Armed Fulani herdsmen abducted Emmanuel Iliya Agiya, elder and treasurer of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in Atang village, Jema’a County on April 22, area resident Aku Joshua Shai told Morning Star News by phone.
After shooting into the air to send villagers scampering into the bushes, the herdsmen broke into Iliya’s house that night and took him away at gunpoint, he said.
“The armed herdsmen first tried to forcefully gain entry into the house of the brother of the victim but were unsuccessful,” Shai said. “They then proceeded to the next house, the victim’s house, dragged him out, and then took him away at gunpoint.”
Iliya is son of community leader Chief Iliya Agiya, Shai added.
Christian Killed
Also in Kaduna state’s Jema’a County, armed Fulani herdsmen on April 14 attacked Zakkan village, killing one Christian and wounding two others, Shai said.
Abel Danjuma, 40, was killed, and his two brothers, 45-year-old Henry Tuta, 50-year-old Chairman Tuta were injured. Henry Tuta was treated and discharged from Kafanchan General Hospital, while Chairman Tuta’s serious injuries required that he be transferred to Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Shai said.
“The three victims are members of the Catholic Church at Zakkan village,” he said. “The herdsmen, too, blocked the Abuja-Jos route at Zakkan village and kidnapped two young girls who were traveling from Abuja to Taraba state. The girls were later rescued and set free by Christians from Zakkan village who went in pursuit of the herdsmen and rescued the girls.”
On Jan. 30 Christian Solidarity International (CSI) issued a genocide warning for Nigeria, calling on the Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council to take action. CSI issued the call in response to “a rising tide of violence directed against Nigerian Christians and others classified as ‘infidels’ by Islamist militants in the country’s north and middle belt regions.’”
Nigeria ranked 12th on Open Doors’ 2020 World Watch List of countries where Christians suffer the most persecution but second in the number of Christians killed for their faith, behind Pakistan.
NIGER – Priest wounded in Catholic parish attacked, Sahel Christian communities increasingly at risk
Niger: On May 13, unidentified people attacked the parish of Dolbel, belonging to the diocese of Niamey, which is located about 200 km from Niamey, in the Songhay-Zerma area.
The parish priest, Fr. Nicaise Avlouké, was wounded in one hand and leg, and is a guest in the military camp. Missionary sources told Agenzia Fides,
“There have long been ‘rumors’ of possible attacks on the parish and priests in particular. This last fact only confirms the deterioration of the security situation in the border area with Burkina Faso.”
The defense forces appear little prepared for this new stage of Sahelian terrorism”. In Niger there is still no news of Fr. Pier Luigi Maccalli, the SMA missionary abducted in Niger on the night between 17 and 18 September 2018.
US missionary, captive for 20 months, is alive, reports Niger’s president
For 20 months, there has been no news of Jeff Woodke (Photo: Facebook/Blaise Gaitou)
(World Watch Monitor) A US missionary kidnapped in Niger in October 2016 is alive, according to the West African nation’s president.
Jeff Woodke, who worked for Jeunesse en Mission Entraide et Developpement (JEMED), a branch of the US-based Youth With a Mission, was abducted by unknown assailants late in the evening of Friday 14 October, 2016, from the town of Abalak in northern Niger.
For 20 months, there has been no news of Woodke, but on Monday, 4 June, President Mahamadou Issoufou told TV channel France24 that both he and a German aid worker kidnapped in April this year are alive.
“We have some news; we know they’re alive,” the president said. “We continue to create the conditions for their release. Perhaps the contacts that are underway will help to achieve that goal.”
It is the first proof of life since the kidnapping of the two Western citizens in the Sahel country.
Little had been known, or at least divulged, about Woodke’s condition or location, other than that his captors were tracked to neighbouring Mali by Nigerien authorities. No group has publicly claimed responsibility.
Last July, a coalition of jihadist groups active in the Sahel region (Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen, also known as the Group to Support Islam and Muslims), affiliated to Al-Qaeda, released a video showing six foreign hostages, including three missionaries, but not Jeff Woodke.
The three missionaries in the video were: Colombian nun Gloria Argoti, kidnapped on 7 February from her convent in Karangasso, southern Mali; Australian surgeon Ken Elliott, kidnapped in January 2016 from Djibo in northern Burkina Faso, near the Mali border; and Swiss missionary Béatrice Stockly, kidnapped in Mali’s northern town of Timbuktu, also in January 2016.
All are still captive.
Jeff Woodke’s wife, Els, issued a video pleading for his safe return when there was no sign of him in that video, believing that he could also be held by those who issued it.
“I am sure that the families of the captives were very encouraged by this message and appreciated the mercy shown by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen in sending this news and instructions about their loved ones,” said Mrs Woodke in her video.
“But my husband Jeff is not mentioned, so I did not receive the benefit of the reassurance and directions of how to proceed that the other families did. This has been very hard for me, for Jeff’s sons and his father to understand.”
The German Joerg Lange, employed by the aid group Help, was kidnapped by armed men on 11 April, in Niger’s western town of Ayorou, which shares a border with troubled northern Mali.
No group has claimed responsibility for his abduction, but a security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that his kidnappers had “already taken him to northern Mali”.
On Monday, President Issoufou said he did not know exactly where the pair were being detained, but that “it is more likely that they are in Mali”.
Ramadan Challenge: Day 6 – Niger
The door is open. Hearts are open. For now.
97% of Niger is Muslim, yet many are ready and willing to hear about Jesus! In fact, many previously unreached peoples now have their first believers in Christ! But folk Islam holds many captive to demonic oppression. And strict interpretations of Islam are on the rise.
Who knows how long the door will remain open? Now is the time for the Gospel to take root across this land!
SUMMARY
The landlocked North African nation of Niger, a country of sand dunes and desert plains, still has the fresh flavor of freedom on its lips. Under military rule for thirty-one years, violent coups and bloody political infighting have finally unfolded into a fledgling democracy. One of the richest sources of uranium in the world, Niger has instead focused on developing agriculture and raising livestock. Future economic growth is hoped to be found in the mining of gold, coal, and recently discovered oil.
One of the poorest countries in the world, the agricultural economy is frequently destroyed by drought, making it insufficient to support the growing population. Slavery is still practiced in isolated areas of the country. Nigerian children are trafficked for labor in gold mines, sexual exploitation, and begging. Women are abducted and sold into domestic servitude or prostitution, and young boys are kidnapped for work in stone quarries. A land dispute between Libya remains unresolved and often triggers acts of violence.
Less than one percent of the population claims the Christian faith. Ninety-seven percent of the nation is Muslim, with 76% of the people listed as unreached ethnic groups. Christianity is slowly growing through humanitarian efforts such as well-digging, agricultural development, and education. The number of Evangelicals triples every year, though that is not keeping up with population growth. The cultural pressure to maintain the Islamic faith continues to hinder outreach efforts, though indigenous pastors, many of whom have converted to Christianity from Islam themselves, are stepping up as leaders in the fledgling church. Niger still has the taste of political freedom on their tongue. May spiritual freedom in Christ soon quench their eternal thirst with His bottomless well of compassion.
PRAYER POINTS
• Pray for focused efforts to evangelize those under the age of 15, half of the overall population.
• Pray for speed and accuracy for the workers translating the Scriptures for many barely reached people groups.
• Pray for a visible Christian presence in society and peace among struggling believers who feel isolated.
Blaine Scogin, Prayer Director of Persecution Watch and Voice of the Persecuted
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Rising Islamist militancy across Sahel belt threatens African Christianity
As the world focuses on potential military advances against the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, it risks overlooking another vast region where militant Islam is a growing threat to the Church – in the continent where the Church is growing fastest: Africa.
Amongst other factors, the chaos in Libya since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi – characterised by easy access to weapons of all sorts combined with the increasing presence of jihadists – has had a spill-over effect into Africa’s vast Sahel region. This spans the African continent from Senegal in the west to western Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia in the east. (The ‘Sahel’ describes the ecological and geographic region between the Sahara Desert and the humid and fertile savannah belt north of Africa’s tropical rainforest).
The most dramatic example of this Islamist militancy is in northern Mali, where Islamist militants and foreign fighters made common cause with Tuareg rebels to take over a large portion of the country in 2012. For most of the year, until the French military were forced to intervene, armed Islamist groups ruled the region, banning the practice of other religions and desecrating and looting churches and other places of worship.
In addition to the main group involved then, the jihadist Ansar Dine, other militant groups active in the Sahel region include Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Boko Haram and Islamic State (IS).
A new report from Open Doors International, a charity providing support to the global Church under pressure, shows that the rise of Islamist militancy in the region is undermining freedom of religion. According to the report, puritanical and militant versions of Islam (particularly Salafism/Wahhabism) are increasingly taking root – in a manner that reflects recent developments in the rest of the world – as a result of Islamist missionaries and NGOs from the Middle East, funded by (until recently) oil-rich Gulf States like Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Fertile ground
The Sahel, which encompasses parts of Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia, has been predominantly Muslim for centuries. Due to a mix of environmental, demographic, economic and political factors, all the states that exist in this region are very fragile.
Troops from Mali and Niger, supported by their French counterparts, conduct regular joint operations to hunt for militants in the western part of the region.
The report indicates that the Islamist groups in the region are very hostile to Christianity and show this through violent acts. Northern Mali has witnessed violent attacks against Christians and churches – notably in 2012, during jihadist occupation. There have also been a series of abductions by jihadist groups, which kidnap Christian workers not only to finance operations through demanding ransoms, but also to deter Christians from working in the region. The Swiss missionary, Beatrice Stockly, kidnapped in Timbuktu in January, is still being held hostage by AQIM.
In neighbouring Niger, Islamists burned down more than 70 churches, as well as Christian homes, schools and orphanages, in a series of arson attacks in January 2015.
Rampant radicalization
Islamist groups in the Sahel, like others elsewhere, don’t tolerate other Muslims who adhere to a version of Islam different from their own. Violence and terror is their preferred modus operandi. The report suggests that any further increase in their numbers and influence would add to the difficulties Christians are facing.
Even if these groups do not succeed in imposing Sharia and establishing Islamic “caliphates” at a national level, they will still contribute to the overall radicalisation of the population and the spread of an extremist and intolerant version of Islam, says the report. It says this has created an environment in which any Christian outreach ministry – not to mention the very existence of the Church itself – faces violent resistance.
The radical militancy of jihadist groups in the Sahel is also spilling over further south and giving rise to terrorist attacks in predominantly Christian parts of West Africa, notes the report. The attack on the Grand-Bassam resort in Ivory Coast (March 2016) has highlighted the vulnerability of these countries.
In the long-term, unless these groups are defeated, it is very likely that they will intensify their campaign of terrorism and violence in southern Nigeria and other West African countries which have thus far been relatively spared from terrorist activism, warns the report.
It concludes that the situation for Christians in the Sahel is precarious. It says the region is becoming a new major hotspot for Islamist groups, many of which have allied themselves to international terror franchises like IS and al-Qaeda. It is very important that the countries in the region strengthen their cooperation against these militant groups, says the report, adding that countries outside the region capable of providing assistance should also help.
In addition to robust and decisive military action, the report says it is also important not to adopt a purely one-dimensional approach. The socio-economic and political realities in the region, of which the militant groups take advantage, also need to be transformed, it says. It is only when these underlying realities are changed that Christians and non-Christians will be able to enjoy security and freedom in the region.
Africa: Expanding Attacks Boko Haram Terrorizes the Region
(Voice of the Persecuted) On Monday(July 27) the Boko Haram stormed into the Christian villages of Dille and Mwuthamam
More than 130 people were killed by female suicide bombers across Nigeria and Cameroon. It is believed that Islamic militants, Boko Haram carried out the attacks. The group has used women and young girls as suicide bombers in their latest series of attacks that have rocked the region. Many fear these females may have been those abducted by the militants and forced to strap on bombs in the militant group’s murderous onslaught.
On Sunday(July 26), a female suicide bomber detonated herself at the entrance of a market in Damaturu, Nigeria, killing 15 people and injuring 47, many in critical condition. Witnesses say the 40 year old woman was well known and that she was mentally unstable.
In the fifth suicide attack to blast Cameroon in two weeks, a child bomber blew herself up on Saturday night(July 25) in a bar located in the town of Maroua, killing 20 and injuring at least 79. Only a week ago, Maroua had suffered an attack when two girls blew themselves up at a busy market—13 people were killed and at least 30 injured. The Cameroon army is part of the coalition battling the ravenous group. The town is the army’s headquarters for operations against the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram. Cameroon has taken extensive security measures by banning motorbikes after dark and prohibited the full Islamic veil in Maroua.
During its six-year insurrection, Boko Haram has frequently used women and young girls as suicide bombers. Often the explosives are concealed under traditional religious garments.
On Friday (July 24) the group targeted Maikadiri village. Witnesses said at least 14 people died and 500 cows were slaughtered.
On Monday (July 27) Boko Haram militants choosing not to attract the attention of soldiers with gunfire, slit the throats of sixteen Christian fishermen on the shores of Lake Chad in the Nigerian state of Borno. This form of execution has been common in their 6 year terror campaign to install strict Islamic law in the region, particularly, Nigeria. All of the victims in this incident were Chadian citizens.
Bishop Rosario Pio Ramolo, of the Diocese of Goré, said, “Attacks have multiplied in Chad, causing the more than seventy deaths and two hundred wounded.” “The Chadian President Idriss Deby has declared open war against the Islamists and these acts represent an attempt at revenge. Before now the extremists had not acted in Chad, despite being on the border with Nigeria.”
Authorities also fear that Islamists have infiltrated among Central African refugees or among Chadians repatriated from the Central African Republic. Clothing covering all or part of the face, such as the burqa or hijab, the Islamic veil, has been prohibited.
The mayor of N’Djamena also illegallized begging for security reasons. (source)
On Wednesday (July 29) Authorities in the border region of Diffa, in southeast Niger, banned the full Islamic veil Wednesday, following attacks in the province. They have also imposed a night-time curfew and extended a February ban on motorcycles, which are often used in raids by Boko Haram militants.
On Sunday (Aug. 2) Boko Haram fighters killed 13 people, injured 27 and set homes ablaze in an attack on Malari village in northeast Nigeria’s Borno state. Witnesses claim the militants accused them of conspiring with the military and notifying them of their camp locations. In a air/ground offense, the Nigerian military reported killing “a large number” of militants in repelling an attack on Bitta village near the Sambisa forest reserve.
During the raids, Nigeria’s military says it had rescued 178 people held by the Boko Haram in Borno state. In a statement on Sunday by Army spokesman Colonel Tukur Gusau, “101 of the those freed were children, 67 were women and 10 were men.” Last week, over 70 Boko Haram captives had also been rescued by the military.
Please remember to pray daily for those facing this horrific evil. May God fill them with supernatural peace and endurance as they press into Jesus, our eternal Savior.
Project 13:3 Nigeria, Voice of the Persecuted’s aid relief mission is working in one of the hardest hit areas in Nigeria. We’re covering Christians who have suffered great loss and incredible heartbreak. In a primitive refugee camp for the internally displaced, we help to supply the needs of over a hundred people, including widows and orphans. Help us to show the love of Christ for these suffering brethren—their emotional, physical and spiritual needs are so great.
If you would like to send an encouraging letter, please do so in the notes portion when donating. It truly uplifts them to hear from their family in Christ and know you are praying for them!
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Boko Haram intensifies terror attacks
Nigeria: On July 10, a Boko Haram militant dressed as a woman was apprehended. He later confessed to being a member of the Islamist terrorist group. And told authorities that he intended to meet 29 other members who were present in Yola.
Monday, the Borno state police commissioner confirmed attacks by Boko Haram near Monguno.
“Boko Haram terrorists had on Friday night attacked Misala and Kalwa, which are two neighboring villages. The two villages are located not more than 17km from Monguno town on the way to Marte.
Through the night, they set houses ablaze. And later 43 persons were found dead either killed by gunshots or slaughtered like animals. They continued their attacks on other villages around the area, and set the homes ablaze. These villages had already been abandoned, so there were no fatalities. A security member said many villages in the Monguno local government areas are being attacked almost daily.
Chad: On July 11, a suicide bomber dressed as a woman (in a full-face veil) attacked a busy market in N’Djamena, the capital of Chad killing 15 people and injuring nearly 100. Military police tried to stop him, but was heard saying, “Allahu Akbar,” God is great in Arabic, before detonating himself.
A month ago, N’Djamena was the scene of a deadly attack that killed nearly 40 people. After that attack, Chad put a ban on women wearing the burqa attempting to prevent suicide attacks. In June, 2 more suicide bombings in N’Djamena killed 11 people.
The Chadian authorities have now stepped up their security measures and warned anyone found wearing the Muslim full-face veil would be arrested. With the latest attack, Chad plans to strictly enforce the ban. Paul Manga, national police spokesman was quoted as saying, “It now must be respected more than ever by the entire population.” And “Anyone who does not obey the law will be automatically arrested and brought to justice.”
Chad has been a major participant in the 4 nation coalition offensive (including Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon) to fight against Boko Haram. The Islamic terror group has publicly threatened the Chadian President with retaliation.
A deadly attack was thwarted when explosives were found at the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in the city of Jos on Sunday, July 12. Sources say the bombs were later defused by the Explosives Ordinance Division of the Nigerian Police Force. Jos is an area which has suffered at hands the militants during it’s 6 year long brutal campaign.
A spokesman for the state police in Plateau said, “It was averted because the bomb was detected by the church’s security personnel. There were no casualties.”
Cameroon: The Cameroonian military reported that at least 12 civilians and a Chadian soldier were killed in two suicide attacks by suspected Boko Haram militants in the town of Fotokol of northern Cameroon, in the evening on Sunday, July 12. An officer said the attacks were targeting a special forces camp located in the town.
Niger: The militants who intended free its members from the prison in the town of Diffa, were repelled according to the country’s military. Three Boko Haram members were killed, along with one soldier in the gun battle. The prison had been attack early this year in February by the Islamic militants.
Trying to instill fear, Boko Haram recently released a video showing gruesome execution similar to the ones seen in the ISIS videos.
On Monday, Nigeria’s new President Muhammadu Buhari fired the security chiefs of the army, navy and air force as the country endures the worst period of violence by Islamist insurgents since he came to power six weeks ago.Replacements have been chosen but have not been announced.
View the Fox News interview with Former Ambassador John Campbell and Emmanuel Ogebe, a international human rights lawyer debate the extremist group’s capabilities.
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