It’s an all-too-common story: an attack against God’s people on one of the most important days of celebration for Christians. We see examples of this almost every year—you don’t have to go back very far to remember the horrific Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka in 2019.

But the latest example happened less than two weeks ago—a series of brutal attacks against mostly Christian communities in Nigeria, all right around Christmas. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, multiple villages in Nigeria’s Plateau State were attacked by suspected Fulani militants.

The villages are largely populated by Christians, meaning the recent attacks fit with the broader theme of believers being targeted by these militant groups.

“Confirmation on the identities and motive of the attackers will be slow to come in,” says Jo Newhouse, spokesperson for Open Doors operations in sub-Saharan Africa. “We can only go on what we know has been happening in this region over an extended period. We know that mostly Christian farming communities have been suffering attacks by Fulani militants over many years now. While the blame for the attacks usually falls on issues like climate change, ethnicity, socio-economy or politics, the religious element to these attacks should not go unrecognized. Over and over, we have seen defenseless Christians attacked without any provocation whatsoever.” To date, 140 deaths have been recorded as part of the attacks.

According to Open Doors’ 2023 World Watch List research, Nigeria remains the most violent country in the world for Christians—and sub-Saharan Africa is the world’s deadliest region for God’s people. The statistics are horrifying. Out of every 10 Christians murdered for their faith, 9 are killed in this region. Out of 2,700 Christians kidnapped in 2022, 92% were in Nigeria.

“It is tragic that many fellow Christians who were looking forward to a peaceful Christmas celebration with loved ones and their local congregations, found themselves brutalized once again,” Newhouse says. “Those who managed to escape the carnage with their lives are now uprooted, traumatized and in mourning. We need to pray fervently for our brethren to experience the Lord’s abundant grace in the midst of these circumstances.”

Please join us in prayer as we lift up the victims of this latest attack and their families.