“Members of the Islamic State pushed out of the Middle East are finding a new home in the Sahel region and are infiltrating splinter groups with their ideology.”
This movement must be arrested quickly, before the tiny and defenseless Christian communities of North Africa suffer the same fate as that of the Christians of the Middle East. It is urgent, indeed, well past time, for international human rights organizations to make ending the persecution of Christians a top priority.
“Persecution of Christians intensifying across the Sahel,” Christian Today, July 13, 2019:
Christians across the Sahel in northern Africa have been left “shocked” by the speed with which violent extremism has spread across the region.
Homes and livelihoods are being wiped out at the hands of Islamic extremists operating in the region, a “faultline” between the largely Muslim north of the continent and the more Christian south, says Open Doors.
The charity, which supports persecuted Christians, said that poverty, unemployment, corruption and a “lack of governance” are creating a “toxic mix” that is combining with rising Islamic extremism to cause havoc for Christians.
Close to 30 violent Islamist groups are active in the area, with some of the extremists having links to international terrorist networks like the so-called Islamic State and al-Qaeda.
Salafi and Wahhabi Islam are also gaining in prominence with the help of missionaries and NGOs funded by countries like Saudi Arabia, the organisation reports.
Members of the Islamic State pushed out of the Middle East are finding a new home in the Sahel region and are infiltrating splinter groups with their ideology.
One such group is the Islamic State West Africa Province, an offshoot of terrorist organisation Boko Haram, which has enslaved Christian women and girls….
