JOS, Nigeria — Fifty-four Christians were killed in multiple attacks in August by suspected Muslim Fulani herdsmen, according to the group International Christian Concern.
Quoting a Morning Star News report, ICC said 40 Christians — including 12 children — were killed in attacks Aug. 15 and Aug. 25 in or near Jos.
On Aug. 25, 16 Christians were killed with machetes and guns. Another 17, ranging in age from 4 to 90, burned to death when militants set homes ablaze, the report said.
Ten days earlier, seven Christians were killed.
In Plateau state’s Riyom Local Government Area, suspected Fulani attacked multiple Christian villages in August, said ICC, quoting a Sun News report.
A massacre in one village claimed 14 lives. A pregnant woman and her five children survived by hiding in a mining pit, laying still four days, ICC said.
Militant violence has killed many thousands and displaced millions in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region.
Nigeria is No. 9 on Open Doors’ 2021 World Watch List of places most difficult to be a Christian.