From The Christian Post.
Up to 200 Christians were massacred by Islamic extremists in Nigeria’s troubled Benue state last Friday evening, according to a Catholic charity reporting that it’s the “single worst atrocity” in a region that has become known for communal attacks.
The militants attacked families displaced by radicalized Fulani herdsman who were housed in buildings repurposed as temporary accommodations in the market square of Yelewata in the Guma Local Government Area, shouting “Allahu Akhbar,” according to a Monday report from Aid to the Church in Need.
Buildings were torched as people were sleeping, and anyone who tried to flee was attacked with machetes. Local pastors told the charity that police had earlier repelled attackers who tried to swarm St. Joseph’s Church, a facility housing over 700 internally displaced persons.
At the market square, sources allege that the militants used fuel to set fire to the doors of the displacement accommodation and then opened fire as more than 500 slept.
“When we heard the shots and saw the militants, we committed our lives to God. This morning, I thank God I am alive,” parish priest, Father Ukuma Jonathan Angbianbee, told ACN. Angbianbee said he and others dropped to the floor of the church’s presbytery when they heard the shots fired.
“What I saw was truly gruesome. People were slaughtered. Corpses were scattered everywhere.”