16.2 Million Christians Displaced by Islamic Jihadist Violence in Sub-Saharan Africa, “Our Hope is in God”
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Facing relentless violence against their communities by Islamic jihadist terror groups, 16.2 million Christians in sub-Saharan Africa have now been forced to flee their homes and live in poverty-stricken Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps, the Christian Post (CP) reports.
In its latest annual report, the Open Doors international Christian advocacy and persecution watchdog organization said sub-Saharan Africa is the “most violent place in the world for Christians” and that the killings of believers in the region have “outstripped” those of any other region in the last 50 years.
Highlighting the chronically dire situation facing Christians in Nigeria, Open Doors reported that: “recorded testimonies indicate that Boko Haram, Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) and militant Fulani groups have deliberately targeted Christians or Christian communities, their livelihood, faith leaders and places of worship.”
As a result, Open Doors says, vast numbers of Nigerian Christians are forced into Internally Displaced Persons camps: as of December 2023, Nigeria’s Borno state alone was hosting 1.7 million IDPs. “Of the 1.7 million in Borno, 74% were displaced before 2021, illustrating how many IDPs have been dealing with the harsh realities of displacement settings for many years,” Open Doors stated. “A further 68% of IDPs have been displaced two or more times.”
During an interview with Open Doors, Pastor Barnabas, who lives in an IDP camp in Nigeria’s Benue state said: “[Christian IDPs’] minds have been discouraged. And as a pastor in the camp, [who is also] displaced, I don’t have anything to give them.”
“We only pray together and share the Word of God together. Our eyes are on [God]. … Our hope is [in] Him. We put our confidence [in] Him. We believe He is great. He will do it, more than we have expected,” Pastor Barnabas said.
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