Tag: Kidnapping

Burkina Faso: citizenship for kidnapped Australian

November 29, 2016 Burkina Faso Ansar Dine, Burkina Faso, Djibo, Islamic extremism, Ken Elliott, Kidnapping, Ouagadougou, West Africa

An Australian surgeon kidnapped by jihadists in Burkina Faso nearly a year ago, and whose whereabouts remain unknown, has been declared a citizen of the West African nation, an official decree announced on Wednesday (17 Nov.). Ken Elliot was abducted along with his wife Jocelyn in January 2016 by Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists . . . 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

DRC: church deacon released after demonstration

November 23, 2016 Democratic Republic of the Congo ADF, Beni, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eringeti, Kidnapping, North Kivu

A kidnapped church deacon has been released in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), following demonstrations in the village where he works as a hospital apprentice. Godefroid Paluku was kidnapped on 18 November on the Kiwanja-Ishasha road in the Rutshuru territory of the eastern North Kivu province. He was on . . . Read More

Three priests killed, another tortured in Mexico

November 15, 2016 Mexico Catholics, Guerrero, Kidnapping, Mexico, Michoacán, Organised crime, State of Mexico, Torture, Veracruz

Three Roman Catholic priests have been murdered and another tortured in Mexico since September, reports the Associated Press. Rev. Jose Luis Sanchez Ruiz was found alive three days after his abduction in Catemaco town, Veracruz state, with ‘visible signs of torture’ according to a Roman Catholic Church statement. His kidnap . . . 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

Nigeria: Kidnapped priest freed

September 30, 2016 Nigeria Abuja, Anambra, Fulani herdsmen, Kidnapping, Niger Delta, Nigeria

A Catholic priest kidnapped on Monday (26 Sep.) by Fulani herdsmen in south-eastern Nigeria was released yesterday (29 Sep). Fr. Emmanuel Dim was travelling with two other priests when they were attacked by some heavily armed men on Monday evening. “We thank God for the release of Rev. Fr. Emmanuel . . . Read More

Talks to free Chibok girls failed three times

September 20, 2016 Nigeria Chibok girls, Kidnapping, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria

The Nigerian government has, for the first time, disclosed its failure to secure the release of girls kidnapped by the radical Islamist group Boko Haram from the northern town of Chibok in April 2014. On 16 September, Nigeria said that negotiations have gone on since July 2015, shortly after President . . . Read More

Hurricane of violence has left landscape of blood

September 19, 2016 Nigeria Fulani herdsmen, Kidnapping, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria, Sharia

Nigerian Catholic bishops, deploring have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to restore confidence amidst growing public frustration with his government. President Buhari was elected in Feb. 2015 on a platform of change and reform, but the clerics say “most Nigerians are today disillusioned by the frittering away of the high . . . Read More

Iraq’s Mosul Archbishop had to pay ‘protection money’ before his 2008 kidnap and death

July 21, 2016 Iraq Al-Qaeda, Iraq, Islamic State, Jizya, Kidnapping, Mosul, Quran, Saddam Hussein

The Chaldean Archbishop of Mosul, who was murdered by militias in 2008, paid protection money to safeguard his clergy for years before his kidnapping and death, an aide has told World Watch Monitor. Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho was abducted in February 2008 from the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, which . . . 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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