<\/p>\n
International communities like Nigeria and Syria are experiencing seasons of bloodshed. Islamist militants are attacking churches, villages, and Christian neighborhoods while governments do little to stop them.<\/p>\n
Ancient Christian communities that have survived for centuries now face extinction.<\/p>\n
In parts of Nigeria, being a Christian can be a death sentence. During Easter week, Islamist gunmen unleashed a wave of terror on Christian communities, slaughtering more than 60 believers in villages, businesses, and churches\u2014turning sacred days of celebration into unimaginable horror.<\/p>\n
On Palm Sunday alone, armed militants stormed Angwan Rukuba, a predominantly Christian neighborhood in the city of Jos. That night, they fired on villagers, killing at least a dozen innocent people.<\/p>\n
Todd Nettleton, Vice President of Voice of the Martyrs, is closely monitoring this escalating violence.<\/p>\n
“The gunmen were shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ as they were firing on the Christians. So, that is not just a criminal activity with a clear religious motivation…the fact that it took place in what I’m told is a 100% Christian area of the city, is also a sign of Christians being targeted,” he insisted. “I don’t know about the word genocide, but it is clear that Christians are being targeted.”<\/p>\n
Witnesses say Fulani gunmen carried out the Jos attack.<\/p>\n
People worldwide know about Boko Haram, and many believe the Fulani attacks aren’t religious but a result of tribal disputes. Judd Saul, founder of Equipping the Persecuted, disagrees with that view.<\/p>\n
“If they really believe that, yeah. I don’t know what to say. They’ve fallen for a complete lie because I’ve been, I’ve been working in Nigeria since 2011, and the Fulani will tell you to your face that they want to get rid of Christianity,” he explained.<\/p>\n
Saul warns that the Fulani militants are driving to establish an Islamic caliphate in Nigeria with next to no government intervention.<\/p>\n
This past Christmas, President Donald Trump took decisive action, ordering missile strikes on ISIS terrorist camps in northwest Nigeria.<\/p>\n
In February, Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, told CBN’s John Jessup that Nigerians welcomed the U.S. support.<\/p>\n
“We thank President Trump for what he did for us in Sokoto State. You know, and I think it’s really helped. Even the current president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN)\u00a0said this is the first Christmas that no one was attacked,” First Lady Tinubu explained.<\/p>\n
Then Easter week turned deadly.<\/p>\n
On Easter eve, armed Fulani jihadists stormed the Christian community of Mbalom in Benue State. They burned homes, chased down fleeing families, and massacred at least 17 believers \u2014 including worshippers preparing for Easter services. Similar attacks swept through Kaduna and other areas.<\/p>\n
Saul’s organization had issued an alert just three weeks earlier, warning that Fulani militants would unleash violence during Easter week.<\/p>\n
“We’ve been issuing terror alerts for the last two years with 93% accuracy. We’ve issued over 150 of them, and in virtually all cases where we’ve issued terror alerts, the Nigerian government did nothing,” Saul insisted. “The attacks happened, and then the Nigerian government intervened after the attacks happened and ended up punishing Christians. We’ve seen very few terrorists ever brought to justice.”<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in Syria, on the eve of Palm Sunday, a violent mob of young Muslim men on motorcycles stormed the predominantly Christian town of Suqaylabiyah in Hama province. They rampaged through the streets \u2014 looting stores, smashing vehicles, destroying church property, and even toppling a revered statue of the Virgin Mary \u2014 leaving fear and devastation in their wake.<\/p>\n
\u00a0“The security forces, who are essentially government officials, showed up and, instead of de-escalating and instead of helping protect the Christian women who were being harassed, they arrested the men who were defending the women and defending the town from outside incursion,” explained Young Voices NYC Debate Host, Hekmat Matthew Aboukhater.<\/p>\n
Aboukhater is a former Christian resident of Aleppo, Syria, who warns that Christians are leaving the country because they do not trust Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government to protect them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“The government, unfortunately, whether intentionally or because they are simply unwilling to control the pogroms that ensued, unable to stem the tide of violence, and we saw that with the Druze in this past summer, and we saw it with the Alawite coast, last March,” he said.<\/p>\n
Since last year, Syria has seen horrific violence against its religious minorities, including:<\/p>\n
Fifteen years ago, before the civil war, nearly 2.5 million Christians lived in Syria \u2014 one in every ten people. Today, that number has plummeted to roughly 300,000, just 1-2% of the population.<\/p>\n
Aboukhater warns that Syria’s Christian community may soon disappear entirely.<\/p>\n
“We need to be honest about what’s happening to this Christian community in the birthplace of Christianity, where Saul walked on the road to Damascus…Sharia is now officially the source of jurisprudence in the country,” he said. “Everyone that I know from my Syrian Christian community that has remained in Syria is now trying to find ways out into the West, whether that be to the U.S., to Canada, to France, etc.”<\/p>\n
Whether in Nigeria, Syria, or anywhere else, Todd Nettleton urges believers worldwide to raise awareness and fervently pray for persecuted Christians.<\/p>\n
“Let’s pray for God’s protection. But let’s also pray that they experience the presence of Christ. I pray that for myself. I pray that for my own church,” he explained. “Let’s pray for opportunities for our brothers and sisters to share the gospel, even sometimes with their persecutors.”<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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