Up to 200 Christians were killed by Islamic extremists in Nigeria's troubled Benue state on June 13, according to a Catholic charity reporting that it's the "single worst atrocity" in a region that has become known for communal attacks, the Christian Post website reports today (June 16, 2025).
The militants attacked families displaced by radicalized Fulani herdsmen who were housed in buildings repurposed as temporary accommodations in the market square of Yelewata in the Guma Local Government Area, shouting "Allahu Akhbar,"acording to a report today from Aid to the Church in Need.
Buildings were torched as people were sleeping, and anyone who tried to flee was attacked with machetes. Local pastors told the charity that police had earlier repelled attackers who tried to swarm St. Joseph's Church, a facilityhousing over 700 internally displaced persons.
"When we heard the shots and saw the militants, we committed our lives to God. This morning, I thanked God I am alive," parish priest,Father Ukuma Jonathan Angbiabee, told ACN. Angbiabee said he and others dropped to the floor on the church's presbytery when they heard the shots fired.
"What I saw was truly gruesome. People were slaughtered. Corpses were scattered everywhere."
Pope Leo XIV acknowledged the attack in his Sunday Angelus message, saying he is praying for those killed in "a terrible massacre," most of whom were "sheltered by the local Catholic mission." Leo prayed for "rural Christian communities of the Benue State who have been relentless victims of violence."
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