As millions of Christians across the world celebrate Holy Week, believers in Nigeria have already been shaken by a Palm Sunday attack that reportedly left dozens dead.
A group of gunmen opened fire on a crowd in the northern Nigerian Plateau State on Sunday evening as many people returned home from evening worship services. While the official death count is still being confirmed, local reports have indicated that as many as 27 people could have been killed.
Some witnesses have blamed the terrorist group Boko Haram for the attack while others said it was a group of Fulani militia, a largely Muslim group that has targeted Nigeria’s Christian communities. The attack took place in the majority Christian town of Angwan Rukuba.
“Here in Jos in Nigeria, we say that there is no Christian holiday or event left on the Christian calendar that has escaped an attack by radical Islamists or terrorists in Nigeria, whether it is Christmas, Easter or Good Friday, Palm Sunday, or Sunday services or whatever. We are trapped,” one local lawyer told Fox News after the attack.
The attacks have led to calls for action from Congress, including Rep. Mark Harris, a Christian pastor and North Carolina Republican representative, who sent a letter on Thursday to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Harris pointed to the Palm Sunday attack in Nigeria and violence targeting the Christian city of Suqaylabiyah in Syria over the weekend.
“As Christian communities in both countries continue to be terrorized, displaced, and killed for their faith, this crisis requires the Department of State to ensure that both governments take decisive action to protect innocent Christians,” Harris wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio first obtained by The Daily Wire. “When Christians are targeted for worshiping, gathering, and living openly in their faith, the United States should speak with moral clarity and act with resolve — and under President Trump’s and your leadership, we have.”
Harris asked for clarity on if the State Department had taken any action related to the attacks and if any consequences will be imposed on the governments of Syria and Nigeria if they fail to take action over the violence.
“This urgency is only heightened as Christians around the world observe Holy Week and remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ,” Harris wrote. “At a time when believers should be free to gather in worship, far too many Christians in places like Nigeria and Syria are instead forced to worship in fear, grieve loved ones lost to violence, or wonder whether they will be targeted next simply for living out and practicing their faith.”
The State Department has routinely condemned Christian persecution around the world, recently labeling Nigeria as a country of particular concern for Christian persecution. President Donald Trump ordered strikes targeting Islamic terror groups on Christmas Day, and the country has hired lobbyists to convince the American government it is doing enough to protect Christians.
“For too long, persecuted Christians around the world have watched the international community issue statements while their churches are burned, their families are slaughtered, and their future in their ancestral homelands disappear,” Harris said. “The United States must remain an unapologetic voice for those who are suffering for their faith and a forceful advocate for governments to uphold their responsibility to protect innocent life.”
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