“Many Christians Were Killed”: Dozens Slaughtered After Muslims Open Fire On Christians In Northeast Nigeria

For peaceful purposes …

Matthew 24:22, 27, “And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened… For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”

Colossians 3:12, “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering …”

Acts 14:22b, “… we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”

By Stefan J. Bos and Paul Jongas, BosNewsLife – “Islamic militants attacked a predominantly Christian area in northeastern Nigeria on Sunday, November 3, ‘slaughtering’ villagers, just days after they killed Christians elsewhere in the region, residents and pastors said.

Local media quoted fleeing residents as saying suspected members of the Boko Haram group ‘slaughtered several people as they were heading to church’ in Sabon Gari, on the border of Nigeria’s Borno and Adamawa states.

It was not immediately clear how many people had died, but at least dozens of Christians were feared dead in Borno and Adamawa states according to conservative estimates, following recent attacks attributed to Boko Haram.

In one of the bloodiest incidents last week, suspected Boko Haram fighters stormed the northeast Nigerian town of Mubi, killing Christians, BosNewsLife learned.

‘Many Christians were killed,’ confirmed two local pastors to a BosNewsLife reporter. ‘Churches were attacked and torched,’ added the pastors who were not identified for security reasons.

Some 350 children were reportedly missing following ensuing clashes between Nigerian troops and Boko Haram, Nigerian media reported.

Beatice Elisha, a civil servant trapped in the town, said he heard gunfire north when the attack started earlier in the day. ‘They were burning houses and many people have died. There was gunfire all over the place,’ he told media.

Last weekend suspected Boko Haram insurgents killed at least 17 people and abducted dozens in several attacks in the central region of neighboring Borno state, reporters said. At least 25 girls were reportedly kidnapped from a remote northeastern town a few days earlier.

In what appears to be escalating violence, Nigerian media said furious Nigerian forces and members of local vigilante groups killed and beheaded 41 Boko Haram members in the area. Boko Haram did not immediately confirm those reports.

Nigeria’s Foreign minister Aminu Wali had said the surge in violence would not jeopardise talks on peace with the militants, but Boko Haram later denied Nigeria’s announcement of a ceasefire agreement.

It also said hundreds of mainly Christian schoolgirls abducted in April have been converted to Islam and married off.” Read more.

Flashback: Nigeria: Boko Haram: Our Goal Is To Eliminate Followers Of Christ – “Terrorist organisation Boko Haram has issued a statement making clear that its goal is to eliminate followers of Christ from Nigeria and establish an Islamic state. ‘The Nigerian state and Christians are our enemies and we will be launching attacks on the Nigerian state and its security apparatus as well as churches until we achieve our goal of establishing an Islamic state in place of the secular state … We are responsible for the suicide attack on a church in Jos and also another attack on another church in Biu,’ a spokesman for the group, Abul Qaqa, is said to have told reporters in the northeastern city of Maiduguri over the phone.” Read more.