Tag: Boko Haram

UNHCR to Cameroon: Stop deporting Nigerian refugees

April 26, 2018 Cameroon Boko Haram, Cameroon, Far North, Nigeria, Refugees, UN

Refugees and IDPs, uprooted by Boko Haram related violence in Northeastern Nigeria and Far North Cameroon, are waiting for relief aid to be distributed. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The UN refugee agency has repeated its call to Cameroon to stop forcing Nigerian refugees to return to unsafe Borno State in neighbouring Nigeria. Since the beginning of this year Cameroon has deported 385 Nigerians, the majority of them this month, says the UNHCR according to international broadcaster VOA. They . . . Read More

Commonwealth worst offenders urged to face up to poor levels of religious freedom

April 13, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Al-Shabaab, Asia Bibi, Bangladesh, Boko Haram, Brunei, Commonwealth, Delta State, Islamic extremism, Justin Welby, Kenya, Leah Sharibu, London, Lord Alton, Malaysia, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria, Pakistan, Religious freedom, Sri Lanka

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari received Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, at Nigeria's High Commission in London on 11 April 2018. (Photo: Facebook)

A charity that supports persecuted Christians has urged Commonwealth heads of government meeting in England next week to address poor levels of religious liberty in their countries. The charity Open Doors warned that unless representatives of the 53 Commonwealth nations “explicitly include[ed] the right to freedom of religion or belief . . . Read More

Chibok abductions: ‘We are bitter, 112 girls are still in the hands of Boko Haram’

April 13, 2018 Nigeria Boko Haram, Chibok girls, Christian Association of Nigeria, Nigeria

Saturday 14 April will mark the fourth anniversary of the abduction of 276 girls from a secondary boarding school in Nigeria’s north-eastern town of Chibok. At least 165 of them were believed to be Christian, according to a list of names and a statement released by the Christian Association of . . . Read More

Kidnapped Leah sends message home

April 6, 2018 Nigeria Boko Haram, Children, Dapchi, Leah Sharibu, Nigeria

Leah Sharibu, 14, was abducted by Boko Haram on 19 February 2018. (Photo from family)

Leah Sharibu, the Nigerian Christian girl still being held captive by Boko Haram, reportedly asked her released friends to pass her mother a message, which read: “My mother you should not be disturbed. I know it is not easy missing me, but I want to assure you that I am . . . Read More

Nigerian Christian schoolgirl ‘escaped’, only to be sent back to Boko Haram

April 4, 2018 Nigeria Boko Haram, Dapchi, ECWA, Fulani herdsmen, Islamic extremism, Kidnapping, Leah Sharibu, Nigeria, Religious freedom, Yobe

The only Christian among the 110 Nigerian schoolgirls abducted last month by Boko Haram ran away from her kidnappers but was caught and brought back three days later, according to fellow captives, reports the UK’s Guardian newspaper. Leah Sharibu, 14, and two other girls walked for three days and, hungry and exhausted, . . . Read More

Nigerian Christian who lost husband in Fulani attack: ‘I returned to encourage other women to do the same’

March 29, 2018 Nigeria Adamawa, Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria

Shaforon village in north-east Nigeria’s Adamawa state is all but deserted. Residents fled to the bigger cities of Numan and the state capital, Yola, when the village was attacked by Fulani herdsmen in December. Hanatu Solomon, whose husband died during the attack, is one of the few to have returned. . . . Read More

104 Dapchi girls back home, but fate of Christian unknown

March 26, 2018 Nigeria Abuja, Boko Haram, Chibok girls, Dapchi, Education, Leah Sharibu, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria, Yobe

(From left) Zahra Bukar, 13, Fatima Abdu, 14, Fatima Abdulkarim, 15 and Yagana Mustapha, 15, were released by Boko Haram after they were abducted from their school in Dapchi, in February 2018. (Photo: AMINU ABUBAKAR/AFP/Getty Images)

The more than 100 schoolgirls released four days ago by Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria were returned to their families yesterday (25 March), the BBC reports. Immediately after their release they were flown to the capital, Abuja, for medical and security screening, and to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari. Meanwhile . . . Read More

Nigerian kidnappers have released 101 girls. Nine have not returned; one of them is a Christian.

March 21, 2018 Nigeria Boko Haram, Dapchi, Leah Sharibu, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria, Yobe

Of the 110 Nigerian girls kidnapped 19 Feb. by militants suspected to be affiliated with the violent Islamist group Boko Haram, 101 were unexpectedly released 21 March. Of the remaining nine, five are reported to have died during their captivity. And the other four? One of them is a Christian . . . Read More

5 years on, what has Pope Francis done for religious freedom?

March 19, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Al-Azhar, Asia Bibi, Boko Haram, Egypt, Havana, Human rights, Iraq, Latin America, Minorities, Myanmar, Patriarch Bartholomew I, Patriarch Kirill, Pope Francis, Religious freedom, Syria, Turkey

Pope Francis greets people during his inauguration on 19 March 2013. (Photo: Getty Images)

Pope Francis, the son of Italian migrants, appeared on the steps of St Peter’s Basilica five years ago to be introduced as the first Latin American pontiff. Below, World Watch Monitor looks at a few of the highlights of his tenure so far, and his impact on freedom of religion . . . Read More

Death and destruction as Boko Haram launches fresh attacks in Cameroon

March 1, 2018 Cameroon Boko Haram, Cameroon, Nigeria

Boko Haram insurgents continue to carry out attacks outside the borders of Nigeria, where the group began. The Islamists recently attacked two villages in northern Cameroon, close to the north-eastern border with Nigeria, leaving one person dead and many homes destroyed by fire. The 23 February attack on Virkaza and . . . Read More

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