Kaduna, Nigeria, Apr 20, 2023 / 14:30 pm (CNA).
A 5-year-old boy was reportedly beheaded when Islamists attacked a village in southern Kaduna State, Nigeria, leaving dozens of people dead.
In the April 15 attack, the killers descended on Runji village in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area (LGA) of southern Kaduna State, leaving 33 people dead, among them 14 children.
Condemning the attack in a Tuesday, April 18, report, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) called on the international community to put pressure on the Nigerian government to end the killing of innocent civilians in the West African country.
CSW’s press and public affairs team leader, Kiri Kankhwende, said he finds it regrettable that attacks continue on Nigerians in Kaduna and Benue States unabated as the international community does little to help.
Kankhwende said that innocent people in Nigeria continue to suffer unspeakable horrors as the authorities at both state and federal levels and “the international community do far too little to protect or assist them.”
“The unaddressed insecurity has now metastasized and constitutes a threat to Nigeria’s territorial integrity, with serious implications for the region, the continent, and the wider international community,” the CSW official said.
He added: “The international community must assist in this regard wherever possible, including by holding the federal and state governments to account, should they continue failing to fulfill their duty towards citizens.”
Expressing solidarity with the victims of the April 15 Islamist attack in southern Kaduna State, the CSW press official said: “We extend our deepest condolences to all those who have lost loved ones in these recent attacks in Benue and the southern Kaduna States and wish those who have been hospitalized a swift and full recovery.”
The 33 victims of the attack on Runji village were reportedly buried in a mass grave amid distressing scenes.
“Fourteen of the victims were children, including a 5-year-old boy who was reportedly beheaded. Several others were reportedly burnt beyond recognition,” CSW reported.
The human rights foundation quoted survivors who said that at least 200 militia descended on the village at about 10:30 p.m. on April 15 “shooting sporadically” and setting fire to approximately 40 houses.
The attack went on for over an hour before the militants left, informing surviving villagers they would be returning.
Some of the terrorists are also said to have lost their lives when soldiers and local vigilantes engaged them.
CSW reported that Zangon Kataf LGA has been under sustained attack since Nigeria’s general elections period came to an end, despite the area having a joint military and police camp stationed three kilometers (a little less than two miles) from its main town.
An attack on Ungwan Wakili on the evening of March 11 claimed the lives of 17 people, most of them women and children, allegedly following “a series of complaints of cow poisoning and destruction of farm produce by both herders and locals in the area” and an altercation between security operatives and Fulani herders.
The attack on March 11 occurred four days after 88 people were killed in a similar assault on an IDP camp in Benue State that had also largely targeted women and children, eliciting a rare but strong condemnation from the United Nations office in Nigeria.
The Nigerian presidency was also prompted to issue a statement lamenting the “concerted attack on innocent citizens in the state,” adding that “law enforcement agencies must take serious action to put an end to this.”
Despite the condemnation, the attacks in Nigeria continue unabated, CSW lamented, referring to the April 5 raid on the Dutsen Bako community in Zangon Kataf LGA in which at least four people were killed.
In another attack on April 12, nine people were killed, four were injured, and five homes were damaged during an attack on Tanjei village in the area.
CSW reported that among the casualties in the April 12 attack were a sleeping 8-year-old girl who was left behind by her fleeing family and died from a gunshot to the stomach, and a pregnant woman who was a month away from her due date.
According to Kankhwende, concerted and concrete action is essential to ensure that the Nigerian security forces are adequately resourced to combat the threats posed by terrorist groups operating in the country and to protect vulnerable communities.
He described the insecurity in Nigeria as “deeply distressing,” adding: “Such events are not at all uncommon for many communities in Nigeria.”
This story was originally published on ACI Africa, CNA’s sister news agency, and has been adapted by CNA.
If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!
Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
Righteous indignation comes in reading this report.
What is Islam if not a contradiction in terms? The “Religion of peace”, inconceivable! Islam has the hallmarks of a man made religion, enslaving, inconsistent, cruel and warlike. The Christian puts his trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, not the Arabic Allah.
If Islam is the “final revelation”, a Muslim scholar should jump at the opportunity of endorsing and proving the claims the Koran makes of itself!
Anyone responding will be accorded respect, yet Islam will be scrutinized by means of its own words and the counterbalance of the true and living God of the Bible.
Who then will take up the challenge? Who will be saved by means of the shed blood of Jesus Christ and belief in Him?.
James 1:20 For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
Romans 12:19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
Psalm 7:11 God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day.
1 John 4:8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Ephesians 4:31-32 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Blessings
The noun «Allah» is not the preserve of Islam. It is used by Catholic and Orthodox whose native language is Arabic. It certainly predates the Islamic use of the term.
The Maltese for God is «Alla».
That being said the Islamic usage is unitarian.
Events of the kind are far from rare in the Islamic context. What is rare is strong condemnation of such events by the highest religious authorities as unIslamic.
Western media, in general, take care to avoid reporting antiChristian activities by Muslims, Hindus etc either for fear of the slur «racist» or they ignorantly regard Christians, and especially Catholics, as colonial relics and fair game.
Well said Alba.
God bless you.
The MSM’s silence amounts to complicity, IMO.
Indeed Gilberta!
Listening to a conversation or a debate, an amount is often lost. Listening is a very intense activity, whereas something printed presents an opportunity to reflect and take stock.
It is unsatisfactory that an Islamic scholar will not make a case for Islam. Yet, the word of God is so powerful in refuting falsehood, is it any wonder that even an expert wishes to avoid the subject. A devotee of the Koran will often turn the argument around trying to evade the sad realities of Islam!
My aim is to help the Muslim find joy through Jesus Christ. Hopefully someone will place value on their eternal soul and examine the word of the Lord.
God bless you,
Brian
Yes.