{"id":1229905,"date":"2022-01-21T12:40:29","date_gmt":"2022-01-21T17:40:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1229905"},"modified":"2022-01-21T12:40:55","modified_gmt":"2022-01-21T17:40:55","slug":"exclusive-aid-group-nigeria-the-worlds-epicenter-of-jihadi-violence-army-sending-unarmed-soldiers-to-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-aid-group-nigeria-the-worlds-epicenter-of-jihadi-violence-army-sending-unarmed-soldiers-to-fight\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive \u2013 Aid Group: Nigeria the World&#039;s &#039;Epicenter of Jihadi Violence,&#039; Army Sending Unarmed Soldiers to Fight"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fexclusive-aid-group-nigeria-the-worlds-epicenter-of-jihadi-violence-army-sending-unarmed-soldiers-to-fight%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1229905&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"subheading\">Islamist violence against Christians in Nigeria \u2013 a country estimated to be about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/reports\/2018-report-on-international-religious-freedom\/nigeria\/\">half<\/a> Christian \u2013 has reached catastrophic levels and places the country at risk of being home to a new Islamic State-style caliphate, David Curry, the CEO of the Christian Aid group Open Doors, told Breitbart News in an interview this week.<\/p>\n<p>Open Doors released its annual World Watch List, an in-depth ranking of the most dangerous places in the world to be a Christian, on Wednesday. Nigeria earned the list\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opendoorsusa.org\/christian-persecution\/world-watch-list\/nigeria\/\">number seven<\/a> ranking, up two spots from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/faith\/2021\/12\/23\/christian-persecution-increased-worldwide-in-2021\/\">year before<\/a>. Open Doors classifies persecution in Nigeria as \u201cextreme.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>The increase in Christian persecution in Nigeria is particularly notable this year given the decision by the administration of President Joe Biden to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/africa\/2021\/11\/19\/baffling-error-joe-biden-removes-nigeria-from-religious-oppressor-list-despite-christian-persecution\/\">remove<\/a> the country from the State Department\u2019s list of&nbsp;Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) for religious freedom in November. Supporters of the move make the case that the violence against Christians in the country occurs at the hands of two major jihadist groups, the Islamic State affiliate Boko Haram and Fulani Muslim terrorists, and not directly from the Nigerian government. In conversation on Wednesday, however, Curry observed that the Nigerian government has done \u201calmost nothing\u201d to protect Christians in the country.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNorthern Nigeria is really the epicenter of jihadi violence right now,\u201d Curry told Breitbart News. \u201cThere\u2019s a band across the African continent, it\u2019s called the Sahel region. It includes northern Nigeria but it goes over into Cameroon, Chad, Burkina Faso, Niger. All of these countries are seeing a giant jump [in anti-Christian violence] because of Boko Haram, which is an ISIS-affiliated group, and the Fulani.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_19578234\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Christians-Massacred-in-Nigeria-Buried-in-Mass-Grave.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-19578234\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Christians-Massacred-in-Nigeria-Buried-in-Mass-Grave.jpg\" alt=\"Bodies of Christian massacred by the \u2018mainly Muslim\u2019 Fulani lie in a mass grave after 500 Christians were slaughtered in a 3-hour orgy of violence against Christian villages in northern Nigeria in 2010.\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bodies of Christian massacred by the \u2018mainly Muslim\u2019 Fulani lie in a mass grave after 500 Christians were slaughtered in a 3-hour orgy of violence against Christian villages in northern Nigeria in 2010.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Curry\u2019s assessment echoes what President Muhammadu Buhari has himself said of the country.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfrica is the new frontline of global militancy,\u201d Buhari <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/5e50eed6-1ca6-4a28-8341-52157b2f946e\">wrote<\/a> in a column for the&nbsp;<em>Financial Times<\/em> last year, proposing that the solution to the problem should come at the hands of the West.<\/p>\n<p>Curry explained that the major increase in jihadist violence against Christians in the country began in 2014 \u2013 the year Boko Haram made international headlines by abducting nearly 300 girls from a secondary school in Chibok, a town in northern Nigeria\u2019s Borno state. As of the seventh anniversary of the kidnappings last year, over 100 of the victims <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/africa\/2021\/04\/14\/100-chibok-girls-still-missing-7-years-after-boko-haram-kidnapping\/\">remain<\/a> missing.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, Boko Haram was a local jihadist group known for attacking schools and opposing the secular education of girls in particular. Boko Haram has since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/national-security\/2015\/04\/27\/islamic-state-in-west-africa-boko-haram-rebrands\/\">adopted<\/a> the formal name \u201cIslamic State West Africa Province\u201d (ISWAP) and pledged allegiance to ISIS. The Nigerian government has used the name change to falsely <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/africa\/2021\/05\/24\/nigeria-fields-rumors-but-no-proof-that-islamic-state-killed-boko-haram-leader\/\">claim<\/a> victory over \u201cBoko Haram\u201d and blame all subsequent Boko Haram attacks on \u201cISWAP.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the years after the Chibok kidnappings, groups of Fulani herdsman terrorists have increased attacks on Christian communities in northern Nigeria, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/faith\/2021\/09\/22\/suspected-muslim-fulani-raiders-kill-12-christians-in-nigeria\/\">raiding<\/a> known Christian communities and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/africa\/2021\/12\/22\/nigeria-fulani-jihadists-kill-45-christian-farmers-in-barbaric-attack\/\">massacring<\/a> their populations.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWhile all citizens of northern Nigeria are subject to threats and violence, Christians are often specifically targeted because of their faith \u2014 ISWAP and Boko Haram want to eliminate the Christian presence in Nigeria, and Muslim Fulani militants attack Christian villages specifically,\u201d Open Doors\u2019 World Watch List details. \u201cIn addition to the violence risks, Christians in some of Nigeria\u2019s northern states also live under Shariah law, where they face discrimination and treatment as second-class citizens. Christians who convert from Islam also face rejection from their families, often pressured to recant their faith in Jesus; sometimes, they are even violently attacked.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe government, which is run by President Buhari who is himself historically from the Fulani tribe, have done almost nothing as nearly 5,000 people were killed for their faith this year alone, and millions of others displaced,\u201d Curry explained. \u201cYou have thousands of kids who are kidnapped, young girls, out of school. Over a thousand kids this year alone. So you can imagine if we had 1000 young girls kidnapped out of American schools, people would be going nuts.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>Curry lamented that Buhari has offered no meaningful defense support to affected communities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re sending the Nigerian military into the north of the country without weapons, without bullets, without the sorts of things that a civil society needs to protect against major armed Islamic terrorists,\u201d Curry asserted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn many cases, they\u2019re unarmed or they send them with guns without the bullets to fight them. And these terrorists have weapons, they\u2019ve been funded,\u201d Curry said. The result, he concluded, is that the soldiers simply refuse to fight, giving the terrorists freedom to attack.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThat is how this has continued to grow and it will, if left unchecked, continue to become a caliphate much like ISIS had in Iraq and Syria a few years ago,\u201d he predicted.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_19578314\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Catholic-Priests-Carry-Coffins-in-Nigeria.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-19578314\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Catholic-Priests-Carry-Coffins-in-Nigeria.jpg\" alt=\"Clergymen carry coffins containing the bodies of priests and worshippers allegedly killed by Fulani herdsmen in north-central Nigeria on May 22, 2018.\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Clergymen carry coffins containing the bodies of priests and worshippers allegedly killed by Fulani herdsmen in north-central Nigeria on May 22, 2018.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Curry described the State Department\u2019s decision to delist Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern in light of the escalating violence as \u201cpuzzling.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was a major mistake, it seems almost on its face entirely political, and it\u2019s puzzling to everybody in the human rights world because the continued situation is that it\u2019s getting worse,\u201d Curry said. \u201cMore people are killed there than any other region that we can document, so you have to wonder what is going on there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Open Doors found this year that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/faith\/2022\/01\/20\/watch-list-2022-over-360-million-christians-face-high-levels-of-persecution\/\">over 360 million<\/a> Christians live in countries where they face high levels of persecution specifically for their faith, about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/faith\/2021\/12\/23\/christian-persecution-increased-worldwide-in-2021\/\">20 million<\/a> more than the year before. The group documented the killing of 6,000 Christians because of their&nbsp; faith this year, a slightly higher number of Christians detained for their faith, and 3,829 Christians abducted.<\/p>\n<p><em>Follow Frances Martel on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/francesimartel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/francesimartel\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642505258913000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0__vJfgnkVvABX5lFlOsWH\">Facebook<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/francesmartel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/twitter.com\/francesmartel&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1642505258914000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2a4CpGkSU9bSEOSqqxDhjq\">Twitter.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Islamist violence against Christians in Nigeria \u2013 a country estimated to be about half Christian \u2013 has reached catastrophic levels and places the country at risk of being home to &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1229905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1229905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1229905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1229905\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1229905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1229905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1229905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}