Exact casualty figures are as yet unknown, since many people are reported to still be in hiding in the bush. However, unconfirmed reports indicate that at least 28 people may have been killed and several others were injured.
Suspected Boko Haram gunmen attacked villages and a town in the Madagali and Michika Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Adamawa State in north east Nigeria on 26 February.
Exact casualty figures are as yet unknown, since many people are reported to still be in hiding in the bush. However, unconfirmed reports indicate that at least 28 people may have been killed and several others were injured.
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Last week at least 200 people were killed in Borno and Adamawa States in the north east of Nigeria in a series of terrorist attacks on rural areas. At least 121 people are now known to have died and several others were injured when Boko Haram gunmen attacked Izghe Village in the Gwoza Local government Area (LGA) of Borno State on 15 February. According to survivors, gunmen dressed in military fatigues and chanting Allahu Akbar (God is great) arrived at the largely Christian community at night in seven pick-up trucks and on motorcycles. They ordered villagers to gather together and then opened fire, chasing and killing any who attempted to escape and slitting the throats of several victims. The gunmen subsequently set fire to houses, looted food stores and stole approximately ten vehicles. Solar-powered audio Bibles, helped the Boko Haram come to Christ. The rebel terrorist group known as Boko Haram has done it again. This time they killed more than 70. Reports indicate 52 people were killed in a Kawuri village in Borno state. Twenty-two more died in an attack on a church service in Waga Chakawa village in Adamawa state. World Mission supports partners working there on the ground with unreached people groups. The organization’s executive director, Greg Kelley says, “The people that we work with in northern Nigeria are stationed in the vicinity of where Boko Haram is, so it’s made it very difficult for our partners to operate. They literally have one eye open at night because people are being killed and kidnapped.” A family of seven was murdered when armed Fulani tribesmen attacked a village in southern Kaduna State on 30 January. According to reports received by Christian Solidarity Worldwide-Nigeria (CSW-N), Manyekrun Village in the Sabon Garin Manchok District of Kaura Local Government Area (LGA) was attacked at around 11pm last night. The assailants murdered Mr Abin Kaawai, his wife Ruth Abin, and their children, Indip, Emma, Cletus, Bitrus and Dauda. CSW-N also reported that the area is extremely tense following the murders, as angry young men set fire to the homes of some local Fulanis. At least 138 people are now known to have died on 26 January in attacks by members of the Islamist terror group Boko Haram on villages in Adamawa and Borno States in north east Nigeria. Around 53 people are reported to have died and dozens were wounded in Adamawa State when militants armed with AK-47s and improvised explosive devices (IED’s) attacked a Catholic church in Wada Chakawa in Madagali Local Government Area (LGA) just as a busy Sunday service was ending. After killing a police inspector and sergeant who were guarding the church, the gunmen barred the doors, shooting anyone attempting to escape through windows. They cut the throats of several victims before burning houses and holding residents hostage for four hours. According to the chairman of Madagali LGA, the assailants went on to invade a border village before retreating into neighbouring Cameroon. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) welcomes yesterday’s decision by the US State Department to formally designate Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, and its off-shoot organisation Ansaru, as a “foreign terrorist organisation” (FTO). The designation directs US law enforcement and regulatory agencies to block business and financial transactions with Boko Haram, and to investigate and prosecute suspects associated with the organizations. A State Department statement said, “These designations are an important and appropriate step, but only one tool in what must be a comprehensive approach by the Nigerian government to counter these groups through a combination of law enforcement, political, and development efforts, as well as military engagement, to help root out violent extremism while also addressing the legitimate concerns of the people of northern Nigeria.” Islamist sect Boko Haram has attacked a college, Christian settlement and a number of villages in the last fortnight, in an apparent escalation of attacks on civilian targets in the run-up to Nigeria’s Independence Day on 1 October. Over 40 students reportedly died when suspected Boko Haram gunmen attacked male hostels at the College of Agriculture in Gujba, a rural area approximately 50 km south of the Yobe State capital, Damaturu in north eastern Nigeria, during the early hours of 30 September. Survivors report that the gunmen, some of whom were dressed in military fatigues, killed several students in their beds, while others were forced outside, divided into groups, and then executed group by group. Those attempting to flee were also shot, and several classrooms were set ablaze. The overwhelming majority of victims were Muslims. "There is no war in the North. What we have is genocide against people of the Christian faith," said Rev. Musa Asake to Morning Star News (MSN). As reported by Worthy News, Asake added that Islamic terrorism and lack of state protection has led to “outright genocide” of Christians in northern Nigeria. He continued, "There is no prosecution of those who kill and this has encouraged these Boko Haram members to continue to bomb Christian areas while Fulani herdsmen continue to attack and kill Christians in rural areas of northern part of this country with impunity … Christians in the North are under an unprecedented siege by various groups of well-armed, roundly trained and heavily funded Muslim groups bent on expressing their hate against Christians and the Christian faith through mindless, mass murder of men, women and children." More than 10 years after they started a ministry to help transform their home country of Nigeria for the better, 'Segun and Titi Olude continue to be astounded by the ways God works in their lives. The Oludes visited the western states of the West Africa nation for five weeks this past spring as part of Promisedland Ministries, an organization they founded in 2002 in an effort to encourage Nigerian-Canadians to make a difference in their home country, as well as to educate Nigerian pastors and community leaders in faith-based community development. Kingstone Media CEO Art Ayris calls it his "Columbus and the New World moment" -- the first week Kingstone Christian comics launched a mobile sales app -- and he saw six downloads from . . . Saudi Arabia. (See a complete list of 93 new nations touched by Kingstone Comics: on.fb.me/15qV3j2) It's just one more example of how a Florida pastor's passion to reach new audiences with the Gospel through comics and graphic novels has exploded into worldwide demand, taking the Christian message to multitudes of people around the globe, often in hard-to-reach nations. |
Walter Blackwood
Associate Pastor with The Bridge Community of Faith in Kelowna BC Canada. Archives
May 2017
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