Press reports out of Nigeria over recent week refer to hundreds and up to thousands Christians killed by Muslim militias in the west African country’s middle belt, with the Christian Society of Nigeria adding that most of the victims are women and children.
Reactions are also building over attempts by some international media to portray the violence as more of a conflict between herders (mostly Muslims) moving south and clashing with (mostly Christian) farmers, i.e. as an armed clash over land resources.
Several major Christian organizations, such as OpenDoors USA and Christian Concern, however, point to a religious factor as behind the mass killings.
The Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa has also recently decried the violence, in a bid to inform international public opinion.