Middle East - Africa News

Catholic journalist Luka Binniyat will stand trial on charges of "cyberstalking" after reporting on the massacre of Christians in Nigeria.

Journalist who reported on massacre of Nigerian Christians to stand trial for “cyberstalking”

Aug 18, 2022

By Douglas Burton

Luka Binniyat, a Catholic human rights reporter, is facing prison after writing an article in which the Nigerian government was... Read more

A scene from a papal visit to Lebanon, Sept. 14, 2012.

After Maronite archbishop detained in Lebanon, U.S. bishops voice solidarity

Aug 15, 2022

By Kevin J. Jones

A Maronite Catholic archbishop was bringing aid back to Lebanon when he was wrongly detained by Lebanese authorities at the... Read more

Tawadros II, Coptic Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria, presides over a funeral liturgy for victims of the Dec. 11, 2016 bomb attack on his cathedral.

Who are the Coptic Christians? Tragic church fire a blow to a persecuted group

Aug 15, 2022

By Jonah McKeown

Egypt’s Christian minority has long been regarded as a second-class group among the Muslim majority populace, and in recent years... Read more

A fire broke out in the Abu Sefein Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt on Sunday, Aug. 14 2022.

Reports of at least 40 people killed in church fire in Egypt

Aug 14, 2022

By AC Wimmer

At least 40 people have died in a Coptic church fire in Egypt — most of them were children under... Read more

State officials walk past injured victims on hospital beds being treated for wounds following an attack by gunmen at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Owo, southwest Nigeria, on June 5, 2022.

Arrests made in Nigeria Pentecost massacre

Aug 12, 2022

By CNA Staff

One of those arrested in the killing of 40 people is a high-ranking member of Islamic State, authorities said. Read more

Displaced Nigerians camped near St. Francis Xavier Parish in Agagbe, Nigeria, in 2022.

Catholic parish in Nigeria struggles to feed thousands uprooted by violent attacks

Aug 12, 2022

By Douglas Burton, Masara Kim

From May 1 to June 30, 70 unarmed persons across Benue State in north-central Nigeria were killed in attacks by... Read more

Bishop Richard Kuuia Baawobr of Wa, who was elected present of SECAM July 30, 2022.

New leader of African bishops conference says ‘greatness is service’

Aug 6, 2022

By Courtney Mares

Bishop Richard Kuuia Baawobr of Wa, who is to be made a cardinal later this month, has been elected head... Read more

Aftermath of the attack on the inauguration of Hagia Sophia Greek Orthodox Church in Al-Suqaylabiyah, Syria, July 24, 2022.

Casualties reported after attack on church inauguration in Syria

Jul 24, 2022

By CNA Staff

At least one person was killed and several were injured Sunday in an attack on the inauguration of a Greek... Read more

Father Patrick Alumuku

Nigerian priest: Federal government has refused to help regarding abductions, killings

Jul 22, 2022

By Agnes Aineah

Nigeria’s government has everything it needs to stop the ongoing attacks that are targeting Christians, but has refused to help,... Read more

Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa praying with young Catholics on the Mount of Beatitudes on July 19, 2022

'Hope and Closeness' in the Holy Land: Patriarch Pizzaballa prays with Catholics on Mount of the Beatitudes

Jul 20, 2022

By Courtney Mares

More than 8,000 young Catholics from the United States prayed together Tuesday on the Mount of the Beatitudes, where Jesus... Read more

Fr. John Mark Cheitnum, who was killed in the Diocese of Kafachan July 15, 2022.

Kidnapped priest killed in Nigeria, another escapes

Jul 19, 2022

By Jonah McKeown

Father John Mark Cheitnum was “brutally” killed the day he was abducted, his diocese announced. Read more

Croatian parliament member Marijana Petir initiated the proposal to send about $30,000 in government aid to victims of the Nigerian Pentecost Sunday Mass attack on June 5, 2022.

Croatian aid meant to show victims of Nigeria church attack that 'you are not forgotten'

Jul 18, 2022

By Hannah Brockhaus, Shannon Mullen

Forty-one people were killed by gunmen who opened fire during a Pentecost Sunday Mass. Read more

Father John Mark Cheitnum, left, and Father Denatus Cleopas, right.

Two Catholic priests kidnapped in Nigeria

Jul 16, 2022

By Courtney Mares

The Nigerian diocese of Kafanchan has asked for prayers after two Catholic priests were kidnapped Friday evening. Read more

Congolese civil rights attorney Hervé Diakiese Kyungu testifying on July 14, 2022, at a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C. on the use of child labor in China-backed cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Testimony: China-backed cobalt mines in Congo exploit 40,000 child workers

Jul 16, 2022

By Zelda Caldwell

The mines “are often no more than narrow shafts dug into the ground, which is why children are recruited —... Read more

Burkinabé soldiers patrol in Ouagadougou after the January 2022 coup.

At least 22 killed in jihadist attack on village in Burkina Faso

Jul 6, 2022

By CNA Staff

No fewer than 22 people were killed in an attack by suspected jihadi terrorists on a village in Burkina Faso... Read more

Bishop Jude Arogundade in Washington, D.C., on June 30, 2022 outside the Belmont House, where he attended a breakfast social with U.S. congressmen and religious freedom advocates.

Nigerian bishop, a former New Yorker, calls church massacre ‘my own Sept. 11th’

Jul 6, 2022

By Shannon Mullen

Bishop Jude Arogundade wants the world to know that a genocide against Christians is happening in Nigeria. Read more

Priests protest at the funeral of Father Vitus Borogo in the archdiocese of Kaduna on June 30, 2022.

Nigerian archbishop cries at gravesite of slain priest as Catholics protest violence

Jul 1, 2022

By Courtney Mares

“People are tired of the killing," a priest from the Archdiocese of Kaduna told CNA. Read more

Fr. Vitus Borogo, who was killed by armed bandits in Nigeria’s Kaduna state, June 25, 2022.

Two priests killed in Nigeria in separate incidents

Jun 26, 2022

By CNA Staff

Two priests were killed over the weekend in Nigeria, one in Kaduna state and one in Edo state. Read more

CNA

Eyewitness details brutal 'blasphemy murder' of Nigerian Christian student

Jun 23, 2022

By Douglas Burton, Beloved John

A close friend who was with Deborah Emmanuel when she died describes her final hours. Read more

Map of Nigeria.

Nigerian Catholic parish hard hit in latest raid

Jun 21, 2022

By Douglas Burton

“We lost three of our parishioners, and 36 people were kidnapped, the majority of whom were Catholics,” a Nigerian pastor... Read more