According to the report on Christian persecution published by Aid to the Church in Need, half of the world’s population suffers from religious persecution; aggression and violence against Christians are growing significantly.

ACN’s report highlights that sub-Saharan Africa is one of the regions where violence “exploded with unimaginable ferocity”. The report states:

“During the last two years, jihadist groups reinforced their presence in sub-Saharan Africa. There are more than twenty-five active terrorist groups, which carry out attacks in fourteen countries. These groups cooperate, and some of them are affiliated with IS or Al-Quaeda.”

Consequently, “the number of violent jihadist attacks is rising, and extremism is spreading from Mali to Mozambique in sub-Saharan Africa, to Comoros in the Indian Ocean, and the Philippines in the South China Sea.”

The report also mentions that jihadists use modern technology to radicalise, recruit new members,  and carry out their attacks.

Recently, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has also launched a report. This year, Nigeria is present on the list of countries in an extremely worrying situation for the second time. 

According to the commission, the countries that least respect religious liberty are Myanmar, China, Erythrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tadjikistan, Turkmenistan, India, Russia, Syria and Vietnam.

The report reads that in these countries disinformation, and discourses inciting violence and discrimination fuel religious persecution.

Source: Portes Ouvertes

You can read the two rapports here: Rapport AED, Rapport USCIRF