Members of the al-Qaeda-related Ansaru group attacked the Health Care Centre on the morning of the 9th of September. Several patients and healthcare professionals suffered injuries. The terrorists also abducted two female nurses and numerous patients. The perpetrators originally had intended to target the local school, but when they found it empty, they changed tactics and raided the hospital instead. 

The Ansaru terrorist group is responsible for kidnapping Western citizens and murdering Christian hostages. The U.S. Department of State has labelled them a foreign terrorist organization. They have formed an alliance with Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province to terrorize Christians in Kaduna and Niger states. They force Christian farmers into slave labour, stealing their produce, coercing them to sell their goods and give all the profits to the terrorist organization. They also targeted Nigeria’s Department of State Services, trying to assassinate government personnel, but the Nigerian Air Force and security services deflected the attack. 

The Stefanos Foundation – supporting vulnerable minorities in Nigeria – has urged the government to provide suitable protection: “The cries of the locals in the Shiroro area must be heard, and the poor farmers liberated from the clutches of these terrorists”.

Islamists have destroyed churches permanently because the leaders and the congregation are afraid to return home and rebuild them. The terror groups use aggressive means to identify and eliminate the leaders of Christian communities.

Massacre survivors reported that Muslim residents had been warned before the attacks so they could leave on time. After the attacks, Muslims could move into the Christians’ abandoned houses. Although some Muslim neighbours protected Christians, many others deliberately betrayed and reported them to extremist groups.

Many Christians refuse to enter refugee centres with a Muslim majority because they are afraid of harassment and violence.

Source: https://www.persecution.org/