by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - In what has been described as “mindless bloodletting,” radicalized Fulani herdsmen murdered 33 Christians in an attack Saturday night through the early hours of Sunday (April 15-16) in Kaduna state, Nigeria, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.
At about 10 pm on April 15, armed Fulani herdsmen stormed the predominantly Christian Runji village in Zangon Kataf County and embarked on a killing spree in which 33 residents were slaughtered.
“Please pray for us. It’s a black Sunday, as 33 Christians were killed by herdsmen and terrorists in the early hours of Sunday, 16 April,” area resident Mugu Zakka Bako said in a text message to Morning Star News. “They were also buried today, Monday, 17 April.”
Presiding over the mass burial of the 33 Christians, Rev. Jacob Kwashi, bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Zonkwa, Kaduna state, said in a statement: “In the past seven and half years, we in southern Kaduna have seen the handiwork of the evil ones who have decided that they’ll keep releasing evil on us in our land until we don’t know when they’ll stop.”
“It has always been obvious and clear that the government is capable and able to stop this evil, be it the government of Kaduna state or the government of Nigeria; they’re capable, they’re able to stop this evil, but the truth is that, are they ready and willing to stop this evil?” Kwashi said.
Separately confirming the 33 murders, Francis Sani, council official of Zangon Kataf Local Government Area, said in a press statement: “The attackers in their numbers maimed and burned mostly women and children, set houses ablaze, and raided several houses within the community, leaving an aftermath of the gruesome murder of 33 people, with four sustaining various degrees of injuries and some in critical condition that have been referred to Specialist Hospital, and properties worth millions destroyed. We are devastated and shocked by the level of carnage and mindless bloodletting.”
Nigeria has been ranked number one in the world for the number of Christians murdered and abducted, with more than 30,000 having been killed since 2015: neither the Nigerian government nor the international community has done anything to address the situation.