by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - A new report by the international aid organization Open Doors shows that persecution against Christians in sub-Saharan Africa is now so intense that the continent is in danger of suffering a “vast humanitarian catastrophe,” the Washington Times reports.
In its report published Tuesday, Open Doors noted that religiously motivated violence and jihadist expansion have “swept across” Africa, including Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Mali and Niger, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Times said.
Speaking to the Times, Wybo Nicolai, a former Open Doors global field director, said it was puzzling that such intense persecution against Christians is occurring in African countries with large Christian majorities. “What has surprised me is the development in the past two years is the increase in violence in countries which are basically predominantly Christian, where the Muslims only make up a minority,” Nicolai said. “When you think of Mozambique, where 60% of the population is Christian, and less than 20% is [Muslim], or Cameroon, 69% Christian, 21% [Muslim], that has taken us by surprise, the intensity of the violence against Christians over there.”
The world has largely looked on in the face of this crisis in Africa: for example, the Biden administration controversially went so far as to remove Nigeria from its list of Countries of Particular Concern in late 2021, the year Nigeria saw thousands of believers slaughtered as the highest number of Christians were murdered and abducted in the world.
According to Nicolai, the Western World must intervene to help African Christians. “It’s in the direct interest of the United States and definitely the European countries to step into the situation,” Nicolai said. “Millions of Africans are on the run. We can expect many more trying to go north trying to flee to Europe. So helping these countries to get more stability will be a blessing for the nations in this part of the world as well.”
In its report, Open Doors also noted that North Korea ranks number one on its World Watch List 2023 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.