‘Clearing out an entire people’

ABUJA, Nigeria—Aid groups and church communities are still scrambling to restore some level of normalcy in predominantly Christian areas in Plateau state after the June 23 herdsmen attack that killed more than 200 people. Some Christian groups call the attacks ethnic cleansing, saying the killings should qualify as genocide.

The latest attack, one of the deadliest in recent months, has drawn more international attention to herdsmen violence. Militia on June 23 and 24 targeted 15 communities in Barkin Ladi and three other local government areas in the state. The carnage displaced about 11,500 people, with many of them seeking shelter in churches, public buildings, and in some host communities, according to the Nigeria-based Stefanos Foundation, which serves persecuted Christians.

The International Community for the Red Cross is working with the Nigerian Red Cross Society to provide food, bedding, and other assistance to more than 7,000 displaced people in the Riyom local government area, an ICRC spokesperson told me. “Families often got separated in the process and in some cases, children ended up taking care of their younger siblings,” Aleksandra Matijevic Mosimann said.

The Rev. Romanus Ebenwokodi, the public relations director for the Evangelical Church Winning All, said the affected communities have many needs. “People are accommodated in crowded places, drinking water is not available for everyone,” he said, adding that the burden is heavy on some of the host communities.

The herdsmen attacks target Christians, especially in Plateau state, Ebenwokodi said. He received word two weeks ago of another pastor and his wife hacked to death in an area called Bassa as they returned from the burial of one of their church members. Christian Solidarity Worldwide in a statement last month said herdsmen killed at least 1,061 people across central Nigeria in the first quarter of this year.

Nigerian President Muhammad Buhari said in a statement after the latest attack that geographical and economic factors contribute to the clashes and “politicians are taking advantage of the situation.”

Others say the issue is a failure to enforce the rule of law. “If people know they can go and attack a community with impunity, they would do it,” said Martin Ewi, an analyst with the South Africa–based Institute for Security Studies. “I see it as criminality, and the response should be different.”

“They’re clearing out an entire people,” said the Rev. Justin Ahmadu, public relations officer for the Church of Christ in Nations. “That’s why it qualifies as genocidal.” Ahmadu said he receives multiple phone calls whenever attacks occur near his community.

In Gashish district in Barkin Ladi, no soldiers attempted to intervene, allowing the latest attack to continue, despite a military post situated less than a 30-minute drive away, Ahmadu said. He added that the country needs “a government that is responsive to the needs of the people.”

Indonesian government hosting mosques that preach radicalism, association warns

As Indonesia tries to combat Islamic terrorism following a terrorist attack in May, the deadliest in a decade, one group is urging the government to start looking at home.

An analysis of sermons preached last fall in mosques located in government ministry, state agency, and state-owned buildings found that 41 out of 100 promoted radicalism, The Jakarta Post reported. The study was conducted by The Association of Islamic Boarding School and Society Development (P3M) and Rumah Kebangsaan.

“We defined radicalism as ideas that called for fundamental changes [to the government] without concern for different groups,” P3M head researcher Agus Muhammad told reporters at a news conference on July 8 hosted by Nahdlatul Ulama, the largest Muslim organization in Indonesia. Nahdlatul Ulama opposes radical Islam, according to the Berkley Center at Georgetown University.

“This boils down to how the authorities manage their own mosques,” Nahdlatul Ulama Secretary-General Helmy Faishal Zaini said, according to UCA News. “Make a list of preachers who often deliver provocative sermons and ban them.”

P3M called for moderate Muslim organizations to be “more active in preaching at government-owned building mosques” so that radicals do not fill the void, and urged government action.

Islamic suicide bombers attacked three churches and a police headquarters in Surabaya, Indonesia, in May, killing at least eight people and injuring 41. —Julia A. Seymour

Pakistan suffers preelectoral violence

More than 170 people have died in electoral violence in Pakistan over the last week as the country prepares for national elections on July 25.

At least 153 people died when a bomb exploded at a rally Friday in southwest Baluchistan province. Earlier that day at least four people died from an explosion at another rally in the town of Mastung, including provincial assembly candidate Siraj Raisani. At least 300 people sustained injuries from the attack.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for a July 10 suicide bombing that killed 21 people, including a political candidate in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The latest attacks come two weeks before Pakistan’s national elections. The army has said it would deploy more than 370,000 security forces at polling stations. —O.O

North Korea faces humanitarian crisis

Twenty percent of children in North Korea battle the effects of malnutrition, in what a senior UN official called a “massive humanitarian crisis” that is largely overlooked.

Mark Lowcock, the UN under-secretary for humanitarian affairs, made the comments during a tour of North Korea. He commended the improvement of humanitarian access in the country but said about 10 million people still lack access to safe water and more than a third of the country’s population have no access to essential health services. During a visit to one local hospital, Lowcock’s team saw 140 tuberculosis patients, but the hospital had drugs for only 40 of them.

North Korea’s nuclear weapons program brought international sanctions upon the country. The sanctions exclude aid provisions, but officials say it still faces delays in shipments due to trade sanctions. —O.O.

Iran had nuclear-bomb know-how 15 years ago

Iran had already obtained the information and equipment to produce a nuclear bomb when the program was shut down 15 years ago, according to Iranian documents stolen in April by Israeli spies. The Israeli government recently invited journalists from U.S. newspapers to view the documents.

The latest internal memos disclosed that senior scientists continued to work extensively on several projects in secret under existing military research programs. “The work would be divided in two: covert (secret structure and goals) and overt,” according to an Iranian scientist in one of the memos.

Iran in 2003 halted much of its nuclear program in line with a 2005 nuclear accord with six world powers, including the United States. The documents do not prove that Iran violated the deal, but analysts and weapons experts have said it shows why the deal was timely and necessary. —O.O

China sentences prominent democracy activist

A court in central China has sentenced Qin Yongmin, one of the country’s prominent democracy campaigners, to 13 years in prison. The Wuhan City Intermediate People’s Court on its website said it found Qin “guilty of subversion of state power.” The 64-year-old activist has spent 22 years in detention. Chinese authorities arrested him again in 2015, when he led the China Human Rights Watch group, known for criticizing government policies online. One of his lawyers, Liu Zhengqing, told the AFP news agency that Qin was in “despair” and “angry” at the Chinese government following his sentencing. “[We] will definitely appeal,” Liu said. Qin’s sentencing came a day after the Chinese government allowed Liu Xia, widow of Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, to leave for Germany after eight years under house arrest. —O.O