The persecution of Christians around the world is expected to increase in 2019, with a watchdog group sharing particular concern for believers in Nigeria, China, and India.
Ladi Yakubu does not know how her family will eat after Muslim Fulani herdsmen destroyed crops on their farm in Kaduna state, Nigeria on Nov. 26 and shot and killed her husband.
The official notice that a village pastor in Algeria received on Sunday (Dec. 30) confirmed what he had heard – his church had been ordered to close.
Unidentified men last week stoned a house full of worshippers for an hour in a predominantly Buddhist village in Burma (Myanmar), injuring six people, sources said.
Christians in eastern Uganda are among those in their faith who face the most serious dangers in the world, according to World Watch Monitor, a group that tracks persecutions of Christians. The charity counted at least two incidents of Muslims killing Christians as well as vandalism of at least two churches.
Arrests of Christians in Iran usually spike as Christmas approaches, but this year has been especially severe, sources said.
In China, Rongguilli Church, Early Rain Covenant Church, and Zion Church have all been victims in recent months of President Xi Jinping’s attempts to control the spread of underground Christianity.
Two Christian brothers have reportedly been sentenced to death in Pakistan after one of them was accused of posting content deemed disrespectful of Islam on their website.
Over the past year, the United States has taken steps to aid Christians driven from their homes in Iraq after ISIS swept through the region. Nevertheless, much remains to be done to rebuild the communities of Christians, Yazidis, and other religious minorities.
Iranian authorities have reportedly arrested over 100 Christians in the past few days, as they seek to crack down on conversions and what they claim is proselytizing by evangelicals.
About 100 worshippers at an unofficial church in southwestern China were snatched from their homes or from the streets in coordinated raids which began on Sunday evening.
Government restrictions on religious conversion in India’s Jharkhand State are the most recent attempt by the historically Hindu nation to retain political sway over its tribal peoples.
Christian leaders meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, Nigeria this month delivered a sharp rebuke, saying the military is complicit in attacks on Christians.
A new decision by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will prevent Christian refugees from Burma’s Chin State from extending their refugee status beyond December 31st, 2019.
A group of 181 Christian refugees fleeing religious persecution in Vietnam has been detained in Thailand for the last two months.
The 79 school children kidnapped by unidentified gunmen from a school in Cameroon have been released, but two of the three staff members abducted are still being held, said a church official.
North Korea’s Christians are so hungry for a Bible that they’re willing to risk 15 years in a labor camp or even death to acquire a copy of God’s Word.
Egypt said Sunday that security forces have killed 19 militants in a shootout, including the gunmen suspected of killing seven Christians in an attack on pilgrims traveling to a remote desert monastery.
More than 20 Christians were arrested on October 20 as they were evangelizing on the streets. During the ordeal, the members of the Church were not discouraged but continued to evangelize and share the love of Christ.
After torturing them and threatening to charge them with serious crimes, authorities in Sudan have released 13 Christians arrested in the Darfur Region, sources said.