Tag: Children

Gunmen kill 28 Egyptian Christians in Ascension Day bus attack

May 26, 2017 Egypt Children, Egypt, Minya, Port Said, Tanta

Gunmen opened fire and killed at least 28 Coptic Orthodox Christians – some reports say up to 35 – and wounded about 25 others; the Copts were traveling to Ascension Day services at the Monastery of St. Samuel in Minya, southern Egypt. Bishop Ermia, General Bishop and President of the Coptic . . . Read More

Unicef: Boko Haram increasing use of child suicide bombers

April 13, 2017 Boko Haram, Cameroon, Chad, Chibok girls, Children, New York, Niger, Nigeria, West Africa

As it torments West Africa, Boko Haram is increasingly turning to children to carry out its crimes. One of every five suicide bombers deployed by Boko Haram in the past two years has been a child, usually a girl, according to a report released on Tuesday (11 April) by Unicef. . . . Read More

65,000 children freed from armed groups in 10 years

February 23, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Boko Haram, Central African Republic, Chad, Children, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Paris, South Sudan

At least 65,000 children have been released from armed forces and armed groups in the past 10 years, UNICEF said as leaders from around the world gathered in Paris on 21 Feb. to mark the anniversary of the Paris Commitments to end the use of children in conflict. “Ten years . . . Read More

Pakistan law amendments help protect Christians

February 9, 2017 Pakistan Children, Marriage, Minorities, Pakistan, Terrorism

Forced conversions, mob violence and sectarianism will no longer go unpunished after Pakistan’s National Assembly passed a bill on 6 February amending some of its criminal laws. The amended law on forced marriage for minority religious groups now applies to minors as well as women, with the punishment more severe . . . Read More

Nigerian girls abducted, forced to convert, marry

November 24, 2016 Nigeria Bauchi, Bayelsa, Children, ECWA, Kaduna, Kano, Kidnapping, Nigeria, Sharia, Sultan of Sokoto

More details have emerged of the scale of abductions, forced conversions and then marriage of Christian girls in northern Nigeria. For instance, in the state of Kano in the last five years, over 40 Christian girls have been abducted and Islamised, and many married to Muslims. But locals say many . . . Read More

Child marriage becoming a ‘cloud of crisis’ – N. Nigerian Christian leaders warn President

November 15, 2016 Bayelsa, Boko Haram, Chibok girls, Children, ECWA, Hisbah, Katsina, Marriage, Nigeria, Sharia, Sultan of Sokoto

When the Northern States’ Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) recently met President Buhari at his Presidential Villa (3 Nov), they asked him to warn Northern Nigeria’s traditional rulers against child marriage. They said the trend was already gathering “a cloud of crisis” and would cause a serious crisis if not . . . Read More

Four Copts, including child, abducted for ransom

October 5, 2016 Egypt Asyut, Children, Copts, Egypt, Kidnapping, Qena

Four Christians, including a child, on Sunday (2 Oct.) became the latest of hundreds of Egypt’s Copts to fall victim to kidnapping and extortion. Brothers Emad and Ramy Lamei, both day labourers, together with their relative Marzouq Ashamallah and his nine-year-old son Amir, were lured with the promise of a . . . Read More

More attacks on Christians in northern Nigeria

August 4, 2016 Nigeria Adamawa, Children, Kaduna, Nigeria, Women

Attacks against Christians in Nigeria continue, particularly at the hands of Fulani herdsmen. On 2 August, according to local media, at least 30 people were killed in north-eastern Nigeria in the Christian-dominated Demsa area of Adamawa State in an attack on the village of Kodomun and others nearby. “The attackers invaded . . . Read More

Nigerian Army claims it’s freed 5000 hostages

June 30, 2016 Nigeria Boko Haram, Children, Maiduguri, Nigeria, Trauma

The Nigerian army says it has freed over 5,000 people held hostage by Boko Haram during an operation conducted on June 25, in the north-eastern of the country. Six militants killed and several others wounded, said the army spokesperson, Col. Sani Usman. Yet local media and NGOs have not been . . . Read More

Rescued Chibok girl still missing

June 23, 2016 Nigeria Chibok girls, Children, Education, Kidnapping, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria, Women

“BringBackOurGirls”, an advocacy group which has been campaigning for the safe rescue of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls, has expressed concerns over the whereabouts of Amina Ali, the first girl rescued a month ago. On 19 May, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari promised the government “will do everything possible” to ensure that . . . Read More

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