CENTRAL NIGERIA (BP) – At least 54 Christians were killed early Easter in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, many during worship, with dozens more abducted from Evangelical Church Winning All Souls and other sites, International Christian Concern (ICC) reported.
Murders and abductions in several communities in Benue, Kaduna and Nasarawa states were reported, but authorities had not released the total casualty count, ICC said April 6.
Violence against Christians in Nigeria was the most severe as security threats and wartime forced Christians in Syria and Israel to limit or abandon plans for public gatherings, according to several news reports.
ICC President Shawn Wright called “horrific” the Nigerian Easter violence that followed deadly attacks a week earlier on Palm Sunday.
“Dozens of our brothers and sisters were killed as they remembered Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and celebrated the hope that comes from His miraculous resurrection” Wright said in a press release. “As one Body of Christ, we pray for the survivors and families who are walking through unimaginable grief.”
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Unidentified gunmen are blamed for killing at least 17 early Easter morning in Benue; at least 12 during Easter services in Ariko and 15 others in villages in Kajuru, both in Kaduna; and 10 in Nasarawa State, persecution watchdog groups reported.
Attackers kidnapped dozens of others, and Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and community survivors questioned claims by the Nigerian military that the military freed 31 of those taken captive.
“Nobody has been rescued,” CAN leader John Hayab said April 6 after speaking with community members, BBC reported. “If they are rescued, where did they take them to?”
Attacks on Christians in Nigeria, usually orchestrated by jihadists, militant Fulani or bandits, frequently occur in areas with limited security infrastructure, ICC reported. Attacks at Easter and other Christian holidays have been consistent in recent years.
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The violence followed a call from the jihadist group ISIS for militants to attack churches and synagogues in the U.S. and Europe, the New York Post reported, quoting the ISIS propaganda publication al-Naba. The call for violence reportedly was in response to Israel’s closure in February of al-Aqsa mosque, considered the third-holiest site in Islam.
In Israel, public gatherings are limited to 50 each during the Passover week ending April 8. Only 50 were permitted to attend the priestly blessing at the wall April 6, the Jerusalem Post reported, contrasted with tens of thousands who usually visit the wall during Holy Week.
Israeli Christians planned to observe Seders at home April 1, Tel Aviv Messianic pastor Avi Mizrachi told Baptist Press in advance of the observance.
“We’re at war, and we have rockets every day, and missiles falling every day,” said Mizrachi, founding pastor of Adonai Roi Congregation and founder of the humanitarian outreach Dugit Ministries. “It’s a real challenge. We make plans, but we don’t own the time, because things can change every day.”
In Syria, Christians observed Easter indoors, suspending traditional street celebrations after dozens of armed men on motorcycles attacked the majority Christian town of Al-Suqaylabiyah in Hama on March 27, Euronews reported. Attackers shot guns, smashed cars and damaged shops while residents of the largely Greek Orthodox Christian community hid indoors, Euronews reported.
CSW-UK (formerly Christian Solidarity Worldwide) Founding President Mervyn Thomas urged Syrian authorities to increase security efforts.
“CSW condemns this latest outbreak of sectarian violence. We encourage the Syrian authorities to increase their efforts to combat extremism and hate speech, and hold all involved in the attacks on Suqaylabiyah, especially those within its ranks, to account,” Thomas said in a press release. “We also urge the international community to call on the Syrian government to fulfil its obligation to protect all citizens, and produce measurable improvements in human rights.”
The civic group Syrian Christians for Peace urged Syrian authorities to initiate national dialogue “to speed up the accountability and transitional justice process, and to criminalize sectarianism and hate speech.”