The United States has issued a forceful condemnation of a surge in violent attacks on Christians in Nigeria and across sub-Saharan Africa, describing the atrocities as “acts of horror” and pledging to work with global partners to halt the crisis.
The statement, delivered by both the White House and the State Department, follows a string of brutal incidents that have shocked the international community. In one of the deadliest, Islamist Fulani militants stormed the village of Bindi Ta-hoss in Nigeria, killing 27 Christians. Witnesses say many victims — including women and children — were burned alive after seeking shelter in a church.
“I lost my wife and second daughter in the attack,” survivor Solomon Sunday told reporters, his voice breaking. “They were burned alive.”
Just days later, on July 27, another massacre unfolded hundreds of miles away in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where 49 Christians were hacked to death with machetes during prayers. Authorities blame the attack on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an ISIS-linked group active in the region.
‘People Are Being Killed Like Chickens’
In a sharply worded statement, the White House said: “The Trump administration condemns in the strongest terms this horrific violence against Christians. Religious freedom is both a moral duty and a U.S. foreign policy priority.”
Local leaders say the attacks are part of a sustained campaign by Islamist extremists - including Boko Haram and ISIS West Africa - to kill, displace, and seize land from Christian communities.
“People are being killed like chickens, and nothing is being done,” said youth leader D’Young Mangut from Plateau State, where over 64 communities have reportedly been taken over by armed Fulani militants.
Scale of the Crisis
The Christian advocacy group Open Doors reports that more Christians are killed for their faith in Nigeria than in the rest of the world combined. Over the past decade, jihadist violence across sub-Saharan Africa has claimed around 150,000 lives and displaced more than 16 million Christians.
In Plateau State alone, religious leaders warn the situation is becoming unmanageable. Bishop Wilfred Anagbe, who lost 20 parishioners in a recent attack, accused militants of trying to “turn parts of Nigeria into an Islamic State.”
Families of the victims say they are weary of official sympathy without action. “We are tired of condolences,” one bereaved father told local journalists. “We need real protection.”
Advocates and church leaders are urging African governments to move beyond statements of concern. They are calling for:
Stronger security presence in vulnerable rural areas.
Restoration of seized communities to displaced families.
Justice for victims through the prosecution of perpetrators.
“For too long, nobody has been talking about the horrific wholesale slaughter of Christians,” said Henrietta Blyth, CEO of Open Doors UK and Ireland. “The Western world needs to wake up and be outraged.”
The Trump administration has not yet specified what “strong action” might entail, but officials say discussions are underway with regional and international partners to address the violence.
For those in Nigeria’s hardest-hit communities, the hope is that such words will soon be matched by deeds, and that their villages will no longer be left to face the attackers alone.
Whether the renewed attention from Washington can bring lasting change remains to be seen.
For many in Nigeria’s embattled Christian communities, the hope is that the United States’ vow of “strong action” will not fade into the background , and that the world will finally see their suffering not as a distant tragedy, but as an urgent crisis demanding intervention.
Leave a Reply