Armed gangs in the Nigerian state of Kaduna kidnapped several dozen worshipers during Sunday’s attacks on two Christian churches. According to the UN, there is a threat of further similar attacks in remote areas.
Armed gangs kidnapped 163 Christians on Sunday after attacking two churches during mass in the Nigerian state of Kaduna. TASR informs about it according to the report of the AFP agency.
Sunday’s attacks are the latest in a series of kidnappings targeting both Christians and Muslims in Nigeria. “The attackers came in large numbers, blocked the entrance to the churches and forced the worshipers to go out into the forest,” the Northern Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Reverend Joseph Hayab, said on Monday. Both churches are located in the village of Kurmin Wali in the predominantly Christian municipality of Kajuru.
According to a United Nations report obtained by AFP, there could be more similar attacks in remote parts of Kaduna state.
Violence in Nigeria
Nigeria is geographically divided between a predominantly Christian south and a Muslim north, and for many years has faced jihadist insurgencies in which both Christians and Muslims are killed, often indiscriminately.
The gangs, often referred to as bandits, steal cattle, raid villages, kidnap and kill residents, loot and burn houses, especially in northwestern Nigeria and the central part of its northern region.
Previous attacks
In November, armed gangs kidnapped more than 250 students and teachers from a Catholic school in Niger State. The captives were later released in two groups.
In the same month, US President Donald Trump ordered the US Department of Defense to prepare for a potential military operation in Nigeria in response to reports of persecution of Christians. The Department of Foreign Affairs subsequently announced that it would restrict visas for Nigerians and their family members involved in violence and mass killings. In late December, the US attacked militants it and the Nigerian government said had ties to the Islamic State (IS) in the northwestern state of Sokoto.
