Middle East - Africa News

Aftermath of the attack on the inauguration of Hagia Sophia Greek Orthodox Church in Al-Suqaylabiyah, Syria, July 24, 2022.

Casualties reported after attack on church inauguration in Syria

Jul 24, 2022

By CNA Staff

At least one person was killed and several were injured Sunday in an attack on the inauguration of a Greek... Read more

Father Patrick Alumuku

Nigerian priest: Federal government has refused to help regarding abductions, killings

Jul 22, 2022

By Agnes Aineah

Nigeria’s government has everything it needs to stop the ongoing attacks that are targeting Christians, but has refused to help,... Read more

Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa praying with young Catholics on the Mount of Beatitudes on July 19, 2022

'Hope and Closeness' in the Holy Land: Patriarch Pizzaballa prays with Catholics on Mount of the Beatitudes

Jul 20, 2022

By Courtney Mares

More than 8,000 young Catholics from the United States prayed together Tuesday on the Mount of the Beatitudes, where Jesus... Read more

Fr. John Mark Cheitnum, who was killed in the Diocese of Kafachan July 15, 2022.

Kidnapped priest killed in Nigeria, another escapes

Jul 19, 2022

By Jonah McKeown

Father John Mark Cheitnum was “brutally” killed the day he was abducted, his diocese announced. Read more

Croatian parliament member Marijana Petir initiated the proposal to send about $30,000 in government aid to victims of the Nigerian Pentecost Sunday Mass attack on June 5, 2022.

Croatian aid meant to show victims of Nigeria church attack that 'you are not forgotten'

Jul 18, 2022

By Hannah Brockhaus, Shannon Mullen

Forty-one people were killed by gunmen who opened fire during a Pentecost Sunday Mass. Read more

Father John Mark Cheitnum, left, and Father Denatus Cleopas, right.

Two Catholic priests kidnapped in Nigeria

Jul 16, 2022

By Courtney Mares

The Nigerian diocese of Kafanchan has asked for prayers after two Catholic priests were kidnapped Friday evening. Read more

Congolese civil rights attorney Hervé Diakiese Kyungu testifying on July 14, 2022, at a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C. on the use of child labor in China-backed cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Testimony: China-backed cobalt mines in Congo exploit 40,000 child workers

Jul 16, 2022

By Zelda Caldwell

The mines “are often no more than narrow shafts dug into the ground, which is why children are recruited —... Read more

Burkinabé soldiers patrol in Ouagadougou after the January 2022 coup.

At least 22 killed in jihadist attack on village in Burkina Faso

Jul 6, 2022

By CNA Staff

No fewer than 22 people were killed in an attack by suspected jihadi terrorists on a village in Burkina Faso... Read more

Bishop Jude Arogundade in Washington, D.C., on June 30, 2022 outside the Belmont House, where he attended a breakfast social with U.S. congressmen and religious freedom advocates.

Nigerian bishop, a former New Yorker, calls church massacre ‘my own Sept. 11th’

Jul 6, 2022

By Shannon Mullen

Bishop Jude Arogundade wants the world to know that a genocide against Christians is happening in Nigeria. Read more

Priests protest at the funeral of Father Vitus Borogo in the archdiocese of Kaduna on June 30, 2022.

Nigerian archbishop cries at gravesite of slain priest as Catholics protest violence

Jul 1, 2022

By Courtney Mares

“People are tired of the killing," a priest from the Archdiocese of Kaduna told CNA. Read more

Fr. Vitus Borogo, who was killed by armed bandits in Nigeria’s Kaduna state, June 25, 2022.

Two priests killed in Nigeria in separate incidents

Jun 26, 2022

By CNA Staff

Two priests were killed over the weekend in Nigeria, one in Kaduna state and one in Edo state. Read more

A photo of Deborah Emmanuel's photo on her Facebook page. Emmanuel, a Christian student in Nigeria, was killed by an Islamic mob on her college campus on May 12, 2022.

Eyewitness details brutal 'blasphemy murder' of Nigerian Christian student

Jun 23, 2022

By Douglas Burton, Beloved John

A close friend who was with Deborah Emmanuel when she died describes her final hours. Read more

Map of Nigeria.

Nigerian Catholic parish hard hit in latest raid

Jun 21, 2022

By Douglas Burton

“We lost three of our parishioners, and 36 people were kidnapped, the majority of whom were Catholics,” a Nigerian pastor... Read more

Kaduna State in northern Nigeria.

Two churches in Nigeria attacked during Sunday worship

Jun 20, 2022

By Courtney Mares

The attack comes two weeks after 40 Christians were killed in an attack on a Catholic church on Pentecost Sunday. Read more

Bishop Emmanuel Badejo of Oyo preaches the homily at the funeral of the Owo Pentecost massacre victims, June 17, 2022.

Nigeria church massacre: At funeral, bishop urges Christians to 'refuse to be crushed by the tragedy'

Jun 17, 2022

By Jonah McKeown

“In these coffins, a part of Nigeria lies dead, too," Bishop Emmanuel Badejo said. Read more

Map of Nigeria.

TRACKER: Where are Christians in Nigeria being killed?

Jun 15, 2022

By Jonah McKeown

More Christians are killed for their faith in Nigeria than in any other country worldwide — at least 4,650 in... Read more

Afghanistan map.

Afghan Christians: Where are they now?

Jun 11, 2022

By Kelsey Wicks

Escaping the Taliban was only their first hurdle. Now many are stuck in legal limbo. Read more

St. Francis Xavier Owo Parish.

Nigeria church massacre: ISIS affiliate group suspected as perpetrators, government official says

Jun 9, 2022

By Jonah McKeown

A Nigerian government official has laid blame on an Islamic militant group for the deadly church shooting on Pentecost that... Read more

The beatification of Father Leonard Melki and Father Thomas Saleh in Jal el Dib, Lebanon, on June 4, 2022.

Catholic priests martyred under Ottoman Empire beatified in Lebanon

Jun 6, 2022

By Courtney Mares

Father Leonard Melki and Father Thomas Saleh were martyred in 1915 and 1917 respectively. Read more

Cross of the Martyrs.

Catholic charity urges world leaders to condemn Nigeria church massacre

Jun 6, 2022

By Courtney Mares

At least 50 people were reportedly killed in the ‘Pentecost massacre’ on June 5. Read more