Over 60 people have been killed in a village belonging to a heavily persecuted and anti-Christian area in Nigeria. The country’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said on Tuesday that bandit criminals attacked the Binnari community located in the Karim-Lamido Local Government Area in Taraba State on Friday. 

The victims included 52 others injured and thousands displaced, the Associated Press reported. NEMA officials added that 52 bodies have been found so far, 15 of which were recovered from the Benue River, as victims were chased towards the river by bandits. A Taraba policeman warned there are yet more bodies to be recovered.

“It’s devastating to learn of yet another large attack in Nigeria that claimed dozens of lives,” Arielle Del Turco, director of the Center for Religious Liberty at Family Research Council, told The Washington Stand. 

But this isn’t the first time Taraba State has suffered mass casualties. More than 200 churches in the area have been destroyed, and more than 98,000 people have fled after attacks by the Fulani, a militant Muslim group, TruthNigeria reported in May. 

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) reported that the Fulanis have become increasingly more active in their violence towards Christians. “In recent years, armed actors from a Fulani ethnic background have perpetrated some of the most visible and deadly attacks on religious communities—often but not exclusively against Christians—in Nigeria. These actors operate in a variety of contexts and with a multiplicity of likely aims and motivations. While many Fulani militant groups wage independent attacks, others periodically coordinate with a wide range of other actors, from conventional bandit gangs seeking financial enrichment to recognized terrorist organizations that espouse a violent interpretation of Islam.”

Del Turco added that the persecution is finally getting the attention of world leaders, especially in America. “Nigeria has risen in public attention, including President Trump’s attention, this year more than possibly ever before. Tens of thousands of Christians have been slaughtered by terrorists and militants in Nigeria over the past couple of decades. And the Nigerian government has been willfully incompetent about protecting Christian communities and seeking justice for the perpetrators.”

“These attacks are sadly the norm in Nigeria’s north where there is a Muslim majority, and in the Middle Belt, where Christians and Muslims live together,” Del Turco added. “In addition to terrorist groups, most of these attacks are perpetrated by militants from the Fulani Muslim tribe who are seeking to harm and expel the Christian population and make most of their money from ransoms paid to them to return their kidnapped victims. It’s unacceptable that the Nigerian government still does not have these groups under control.”

During a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee hearing in April on violence in Nigeria, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) placed part of the blame on the Nigerian government, saying, “Nigerian officials have been, unfortunately, complicit in facilitating these atrocities. I will judge their commitment by the results. Those results have yet to materialize.”

President Trump labeled Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” last year after the country’s government failed to keep its people safe. “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” he posted on Truth Social.

“When Christians, or any such group, is slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 Worldwide), something must be done!” the president continued. “… The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other Countries. We stand ready, willing, and able to save our Great Christian population around the World!”

Turning Point USA Faith, an affiliate group of TPUSA that ministers to churches, pastors, and believers lamented, “Christians are being slaughtered for their faith in Nigeria. The persecution of our brothers and sisters in Christ must not be met with silence. Pray for the families mourning their loved ones and for the persecuted Church around the world.” 

The Catholic bishop of Wukari, a town in Taraba State, told TruthNigeria that Christians are constantly fleeing the area. “My people are experiencing an exodus. I see them constantly on the move with their belongings from one place to another.”

“We should be praying for the Lord’s protection and justice for Christians in Nigeria,” Del Turco underscored. “We can also encourage the Trump administration to put more pressure on the Nigerian government so that they protect their innocent citizens.”