The United States government, under Donald Trump, has denounced the brutal attacks on Christians in Nigeria and other parts of sub-Saharan Africa.
The administration labelled the violence as horrific and pledged to collaborate with global partners to tackle the crisis.
The White House and the State Department have vowed to respond decisively.
The statement comes after a series of deadly attacks in recent weeks, including the massacre of 27 Christians in the Nigerian village of Bindi Ta-hoss by Islamist Fulani militants. Eyewitnesses recounted harrowing scenes, with many victims, including women and children, being burned alive while sheltering in a church.
“I lost my wife and second daughter in the attack,” survivor Solomon Sunday told reporters. “They were burned alive.”
In another incident on July 27, 49 Christians were slaughtered with machetes during prayers in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Authorities blamed Islamist militants from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a group linked to ISIS.
Across the region, Islamist extremist groups—including Boko Haram and ISIS West Africa—are accused of systematically targeting Christians for killings, displacement, and land seizures.
Human rights organisations warn that the violence amounts to an ongoing campaign of “ethno-religious cleansing.”
John Eibner, president of Christian Solidarity International, told Fox News Digital that in Nigeria’s Plateau State alone, more than 165 Christians have been killed in the past four months.
“Such grisly proceedings have become commonplace in central Nigeria,” Eibner said.
“It is part of a longstanding process of violent Islamisation and ethno-religious cleansing. Last Palm Sunday, 50 Christians were similarly slaughtered in nearby Bassa. Over 64 communities in Plateau have now been seized by armed Fulani militants.”
Eibner added that massacres of this kind are increasingly occurring in predominantly Christian regions such as Congo and Mozambique. “There is no simple solution,” he warned.
Local youth leader D’Young Mangut expressed frustration over the lack of action: “People are being killed like chickens, and nothing is being done.”
According to Open Doors, more Christians are killed for their faith in Nigeria than in the rest of the world combined.
Over the past decade, jihadist violence in sub-Saharan Africa has claimed an estimated 150,000 lives and displaced more than 16 million Christians.
Religious leaders say the attacks are part of a systematic attempt to establish an Islamic state in parts of Nigeria.
Bishop Wilfred Anagbe, who lost 20 parishioners in a recent assault, accused militants of pursuing an “unchecked and deliberate” campaign. Victims’ families, meanwhile, say they are “tired of condolences” and are demanding real security measures.
