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In a statement during its executive committee meeting, the World Council of Churches (WCC) expressed relief at hearing the news of the safe release of kidnapped religious leaders in Nigeria—but also expressed alarm over an escalating crisis of criminal kidnappings across the nation.

On the International Day of Living Together in Peace declared by the United Nations, members of the World Council of Churches (WCC) fellowship from countries troubled by war and conflict gathered to pray for sustainable peace in the world.

The churches of Sudan – and especially the Sudan Council of Churches as their ecumenical forum – have suffered from a serious lack of attention and support by international ecumenical partners since the separation of South Sudan in 2011.

To accompany the churches and people of Sudan in the midst of significant changes and challenges in the country, a delegation of World Council of Churches (WCC) along with its ecumenical partners is undertaking an ecumenical solidarity visit to Sudan.

World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed deep concern about the worsening security situation in Nigeria, and the impact on the people and churches of the country.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) expressed grave concern over the current state of emergency in Sudan. “Government officials, including ministers and civilian members of the Transitional Sovereign Council, have been arrested,” said WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca. “It has also been reported that at least seven people have been killed and some 140 others injured after soldiers opened fire on demonstrators.”

In Nigeria’s northwest state of Kaduna, Christians are bearing the brunt of insecurity and violence, as bandits attack homes, villages and churches, killing Christians and kidnapping others for ransom.

At the centre of the communal violence is religious persecution, territorial ambition and ethnic cleansing in the region where communities have settled along religious lines, according to Rev. John Joseph Hayab, the country director for the Global Peace Foundation, Nigeria.

 

The World Council of Churches interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca condemned the violence in Nigeria in a statement on 22 October and offered condolences to those who have lost loved ones.

Church leaders in Sudan are welcoming a peace agreement signed between the transitional government and rebel groups on 3 October, after a year of talks in Juba City, the South Sudanese capital.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation with an estimated 210 million people, has a distinctive mix of people with almost equal numbers of Christians and Muslims, most of whom get on, living their normal lives intertwined in peace, except when terror strikes.

In a joint appeal to Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari, the World Council of Churches and the Lutheran World Federation expressed grief at the continuing violence in Nigeria and urged the Nigerian government to better protect the people.

Young African clergy, theologians and laypersons are eager to engage with the challenging issues facing their continent and the world. This became clear in a recent essay competition for authors below 35 years by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in partnership with the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC).