The Voice of the suffering in Africa

Islamic terrorists killed 26 people in a church, many of them Christian.  Local sources have told Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) about a recent terrorist attack in Burkina Faso. The incident took place in the village of Sanaba, in the Diocese of Nouna, on August 25th, when a large group of insurgents surrounded the community and took all men over the age of 12 who were Christian, followers of traditional religions, or people they considered opponents of Jihadist ...

Bishop António Juliasse of Pemba, in northern Mozambique, visited communities that were attacked by Islamic terrorists and thanked ACN for its support of the country’s Church. Mozambique has suffered under insurgents since 2017. “As pastor of the diocese, I feel great pain for not being able to visit all the Christians, due to a lack of security,” said the Bishop of Pemba. “But when local Christian leaders told me that it was possible to reach some regions, I departed immediately. ...

The Bishop of Kaya in Burkina Faso calls for a day of mourning and for three days of prayer for the victims.  On August 24th, the town of Barsalogho in Burkina Faso was the target of a terrorist attack that killed more than 150 people, including 22 Christians, according to local sources in contact with the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). This was the third attack this month and one of the bloodiest in the ...

Plagued by gangs that plunder, kidnap, and terrorize, Haiti fights for its survival every day. In the midst of this violence, the Church remains a beacon of hope for the country, says Father Baudelarie Martial, a Haitian priest from the Congregation of the Holy Cross, who visited ACN’s international headquarters.  Gangs control about 80 percent of the capital and the main roads. What is the situation in Port-au-Prince in terms of security?  The situation in Port-au-Prince is unacceptable, intolerable, and ...

Bishop Tesfaselassie Medhin tells the international pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need about the human rights violations that occurred from 2020 to 2022, during the devastating war in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray, and particularly the sexual violence against women and girls. Parts of his diocese are still occupied, and many roads are insecure. In the accessible regions. the diocese is carrying out trauma-healing projects to help the many thousands of people whose lives are broken.  “During ...

Eight months after hundreds of Christians were massacred on Christmas Eve, and three months after another carnage on Easter Monday, the Nigerian government has failed to keep people safe, according to a priest caring for displaced people. Survivors of massacres by extremists in Nigeria’s Middle Belt “have no trust” in their leaders as they face continued attacks on their farms and an increasing food shortage, Father Andrew Dewan, director of communications in the Diocese of Pankshin, revealed. Father Dewan told ...