The Voice of the suffering in Africa

IDPs burned alive, shot dead, and macheted Militants massacred up to 200 Christians in Nigeria’s Benue State on the evening of Friday, June 13. They targeted displaced families, set fire to their buildings as people slept, and attacked with machetes anyone who tried to flee. The IDP families were in buildings repurposed as temporary accommodation in the market square in Yelewata, in Guma Local Government Area, near Makurdi, when militants stormed in, shouting “Allahu Akhbar” (“God is great”), before killing ...

Father Luka Jomo, the parish priest in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State in Sudan, was killed during an attack on the city by paramilitary militias. The city has been under siege since April 2023, and he is believed to be the first Catholic priest killed in the conflict. “Dear fathers, sisters, and all the faithful. It is with great sorrow that I write to inform you of Father Luka Jomo’s passing to the Father’s House this morning ...

Fr. Alphonsus Afina was kidnapped on Sunday, June 1, in the Diocese of Maiduguri.   The auxiliary bishop of Maiduguri, Nigeria has called for urgent prayers for one of his priests, who was kidnapped by jihadist terrorists.   In a message sent to Aid to the Church in Need International (ACN), Bishop John Bagna Bakeni said that Fr. Alphonsus Afina was taken, along with other people, by suspected militants of Boko Haram–Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) on Sunday, June 1.  Fr. ...

A priest coming back from a memorial service for two slain clergymen shot and injured. A farmer gunned down on his own farm. Three members of a family killed, and the mother left seriously injured. They are just three examples of the “horror” people are enduring in the Middle Belt of Nigeria, according to a local priest. This past weekend, a series of brutal attacks on communities left at least 36 people dead, with several others injured or abducted, according ...

Through practical support and respect for their dignity, the Church in Nouakchott is showing the face of Christ to migrants. In a context where the Gospel can essentially only be proclaimed through action, the Church in Mauritania, supported by ACN, reawakens the hope of those who thought they were forgotten.   “Originally, I was ashamed of going to the Accueil-Écoute center to receive food because I was afraid that people would refuse me and treat me as a beggar. Finally, I ...

As Islamist attacks continue to terrorize the northern district of Cabo Delgado in Mozambique, the Church does all it can to help the local people.   The Christian population of Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique is suffering greatly from terrorist attacks carried out as part of an Islamist insurgency.   According to a message sent to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) by Passionist missionary Father Kwiriwi Fonseca, the terrorists have intensified their strikes, causing a new wave of internally displaced ...