The head boy of a Christian school in northern Nigeria, who was freed by suspected Islamic gunmen for health reasons, was praised for showing bravery and leadership during more than 150 days of captivity in the bush.
Suspected Islamic gunmen in Nigeria freed 70 hostages, including 61 members of the Emanuel Baptist Church, in the country’s Kaduna State, but deadly clashes overshadowed their release, Christians confirmed Tuesday.
The Burmese Army (Tatmadaw) has burned down a Pentecostal church once attended by Myanmar’s ousted Vice President Henry Van Thio and his wife, Dr. Sui Hluan in the country’s Christian-majority Chin state, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
Three more Christian Aid Ministries hostages in Haiti were released Sunday by the Haitian 400 Mawozo gang, which had abducted 17 of the US organization’s missionaries (16 Americans and one Canadian) on October 16, the Washington Times reports. Few details on the new releases have been given for security reasons; two of the missionaries were previously freed on November 21.
Pakistani police say they have detained seven “prime actors” in the horrific killing of a Sri Lankan businessman lynched and burned by an angry Muslim mob over alleged “blasphemy” against Islam.
The Christian president of the Protestant Church of Algeria (EPA) was summoned to appear before a court on December 5, to face charges of “practicing non-Muslim rites without permission” and organizing an illegal assembly, Voice of the Martyrs Canada (VOMC) reports.
Two Christian sanitation workers in Sargodha, Pakistan died on October 3 after being ordered to enter a sewer without personal protective clothing to rescue another Christian worker, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. A Muslim emergency service team refused to assist in the incident because they believed touching a Christian makes them unclean.
The Burmese Army (Tatmadaw) is continuing to attack and loot churches in Myanmar’s Christian-majority Chin state as part of a violent campaign to impose Buddhism in the country, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
The senior pastor of Algeria’s largest Protestant church is among those facing a court on charges such as “practicing non-Muslim rites without permission,” sources said Thursday.
An evangelical pastor in Nepal received a two-year prison sentence for evangelism activities that violated the former Hindu kingdom’s anti-conversion laws, trial observers said Thursday.
Authorities in central India have reportedly forced churches to cancel Sunday services amid a Hindu crackdown on Christian conversations.
Christian aid workers said Wednesday that the church was burned down amid further shelling by Myanmar’s military in the west of the troubled Asian nation.
China’s ruling Communist Party is continuing its harassment of Christians by raiding house churches and detaining congregants: last month several believers from Shanghai and Sichuan were taken to police stations for questioning, and one woman was charged and detained, International Christian Concern (ICC reports).
An unnamed group has contacted Christians in Nigeria’s Zamfara state, telling them to close their churches or risk being subjected to “ferocious attacks,” International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. As Islamic militants continue to slaughter and terrorize thousands of Nigeria’s Christians, the country has been ranked number one in the world for believers murdered on account of their faith.
A court in Nepal has sentenced Christian pastor Keshav Acharya to two years imprisonment for violating a harsh law against proselytizing, International Christian Concern reports.
Ignoring calls to stop its attacks on houses of worship, the Burmese Army (Tatmadaw) in late November burned down a Baptist church and a Catholic church as part of an ongoing effort to destroy the Christian-majority town of Thantlang in Myanmar’s Chin state, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
Fulani jihadist herdsmen murdered 10 more Christians in Nigeria’s Plateau state at one o’clock in the morning on Friday, during an attack on Ta’agbe village, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. In its annual report this year, the US Commission on Religious Freedom (USCRF) warned that Nigeria is becoming a “killing field for Christians” at the hands of jihadist militants.
ixteen Christian leaders in India’s Karnataka state were themselves falsely accused of disturbing the peace after they attended a magistrate’s office on November 13 to support a fellow pastor whose church was attacked by Hindu radicals and who was then charged with disturbing the peace for holding worship services, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. Persecution against Christians in India has intensified since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2014.
Just days after the United States removed Nigeria’s designation as engaging in or tolerating violations of religious rights, several Christians were killed by Islamic fighters, Christians said.
Christians in Afghanistan have reportedly turned off their phones and moved to undisclosed locations amid an ongoing crackdown by the ruling Islamist Taliban group.