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ATTACKS ON EASTER SERVICES KILL 12 CHRISTIANS IN KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

Fulani terrorists killed 12 Christians in attacks on two worship services on Easter Sunday (April 5) in Kaduna state, Nigeria, following the killing of 17 Christians in Benue state, sources said. The assailants, who have been identified as Fulani bandits and were in large numbers, raided the predominantly Christian Ariko town in northern Nigeria’s Kaduna state, and fired on Christians at worship at an Evangelical and Catholic Church. As well as those who were killed, dozens of others were kidnapped, and both church buildings were damaged. On Facebook, the governor of Benue state, described the attack on Christians as heinous.
In central Nigeria’s Benue state, suspected Fulani herdsmen said to be accompanied by other terrorists killed 17 Christians at 5 a.m. on Sunday morning (April 5). “Many other Christians are still missing and believed to have been taken away from their community,” A resident  said. “The attack has left the community devastated, with survivors displaced and properties worth millions of naira destroyed.”
More Christians were killed in Nigeria than in any other country from Oct. 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 2025, according to Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List. Of the 4,849 Christians killed worldwide for their faith during that period, 3,490 – 72 percent – were Nigerians, an increase from 3,100 the prior year. Nigeria ranked No. 7 on the WWL list of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. Christian leaders in Nigeria have said they believe the Fulani herdsmen attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, are inspired by their desire to forcefully take over Christians’ lands and impose Islam as desertification has made it difficult for them to sustain their herds. The violence has now spread to southern states, and a new jihadist terror group, Lakurawa, has emerged in the northwest, armed with advanced weaponry and a radical Islamist agenda. [Source: Morning Star News]

PRISON CONDITIONS IN IRAN WORSEN FOR CHRISTIANS AND OTHER INMATES
Conditions in Iran for Christians imprisoned for their faith and other inmates, have deteriorated dramatically since the US and Israeli bombing of the Islamic regime in the past month, according to human rights groups. Missiles have struck the area around the prison, and inmates have no way to escape or move to safety. There were at least 48 Christians in prisons scattered across Iran.
Guards and some prison officials across the country have largely abandoned their posts, leaving hardliners from the paramilitary group known by the initials NOPO in charge. This counter-terrorism force group is responsible for some of the worst human rights violations in Iran. In a statement on X, the wife of a political prisoner at Evin Prison in Tehran (where 16 Christians are imprisoned), says: “The situation at Evin Prison is very bad. The prison is now in the hands of NOPO forces. They have completely closed the gates, and all prison officials have left. Obtaining food has become very difficult and there is no (prison) shop any more.” Calls from the prison have become very rare. According to Article 18, a non-profit group based in London advocating for religious freedom in Iran, states: “Prison officials have cancelled family visits and denied medical care to prisoners, and they are now ‘being fed just one small, low-quality meal a day’.”
Conditions for Christians even outside of prison have taken a turn for the worse, as this letter shows: “I am a woman with two young children. For years I have lived in poverty and insecurity. In the past days, because of the war conditions, fear and a deep sense of danger filled my home, and I had no money to feed my children. Many nights, when my children went to bed hungry, I knelt down and prayed through tears: ‘Lord, pour out Your blessing over our lives. In those painful and helpless moments,  God heard my prayer. Through the love of the church family, the needs of my home were provided. When the packages entered my house, it felt as if God Himself had come to visit us. My children looked on with eyes full of joy, and with tears of gratitude I whispered, ‘The Lord is alive. He has not forgotten us’. Today, with a broken yet thankful heart, I say: your kindness strengthened me. You were the hands of God, bringing hope into my home in the hardest of times. May God fill your lives with blessing, and may the same light you brought into my home shine brightly in yours as well. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ. (From Sister F)
Iran is ranked 10th on Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List (WWL) of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. [Source: Morning Star News and Back to Jerusalem.]

IN THE FACE OF MOUNTING CHALLENGES, GOD’S CHURCH LIVES OUT CHRIST’S LOVE
CUBA – Christians in Cuba must align with the country’s Communist agenda, and failure to do so can bring pressure and persecution. Dissent is systemically suppressed in Cuba – something Christians know all too well. Those who speak out against the regime, including church leaders and Christian activists, risk arrest, smear campaigns, harassment, restrictions on movement, physical violence and imprisonment. To curb the church’s influence, the authorities routinely deny registration of new churches. This forces many to operate ‘illegally’, putting them at greater risk of persecution.
Countries having placed sanctions on the nation , have resulted in deepening the economic hardship, social strain and rising outward migration in Cuba. However, churches continue practical support for communities facing these mounting challenges. The national crisis is characterized by widespread suffering, material and spiritual shortages, deteriorating sanitation, and a growing sense of insecurity linked to rising crime and injustice.
Baptist leaders in Cuba issued a statement emphasizing their missionary involvement. It frames missionary commitment not in terms of geographic movement but of those who remain among the people motivated by faith and a desire to serve. Leaders told Christian Daily International the church is not merely enduring the crisis but continues to grow. Congregations are expanding “more than ever”, they say, suggesting that hardship is not hindering spiritual engagement. Beyond spiritual guidance and Gospel proclamation, churches are taking practical steps to respond to urgent spiritual and physical needs within their communities, despite limited resources. [Source: Christian Daily International and Open Doors]

SUDAN’S CIVIL WAR
Sudan— More than 9 million people remain internally displaced as Sudan’s civil war approaches its third year. This war, which erupted on April 15, 2023, is a violent power struggle between the national army and the Rapid Support Forces (both Islamic forces). Famine has been declared in parts of the country and an estimated 33 million people are in dire need of assistance. Both sides in the war have launched violent attacks on the small Christian community. The war has also forced the closure of 10,400 schools. Christian ministries are doing all they can to train primary school teachers to give children some hope of a better life ahead. Civilian deaths continue amid ongoing drone attacks, Radio Dabanga reports, and “the humanitarian situation there is rapidly deteriorating” as fighting blocks aid access.
Strikes also continue throughout Darfur State as the war rages on. Tens of thousands of people were executed in El Fasher, Darfur, in December and January. At least 6,000 people were slain in just three days. John* partners with dozens of Sudanese church planters. “Many of them are from  Darfur,” he says. “The statistics are not statistics to them; they’re losing family, friends, and property. In the middle of that loss, they’re trusting God. Believers are not only trusting God but also continuing to serve Him, in the refugee camps they now call home. Where the dominant tribe [in the camp] is Masalit from Darfur, with the greatest persecution and death, there are Masalit house churches,” John says. “We’ve started literacy classes so they can learn to read and write their own language.”
With the help of Greater Reach Alliance (GRA), believers are making Christ known among the Masalit. “We started in 2018 with the first known two believers from the Masalit tribe,” John says. “We’ve now graduated 28 from our school, and we have 15 leaders involved in (Bible) translation in their language. Our Masalit team translated the JESUS Film and the Magdalena film for women. These are being widely used in reaching the Masalit people for Christ.” Sadly, fourteen graduates from GRA’s school of mission lost family and close friends in the massacre at the end of 2025.
Pray they will experience the peace only Jesus can offer. Pray that the conflict will cease. Pray for all Christian workers to be kept safe, and be enabled to bring many to Christ. [Sources: Barnabas Aid and Missionary Network News. *John – not his real name for security reasons.]

UN COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN FAILED TO REACH A CONSENSUS
After weeks of pressure, meetings, strategy, and constant back-and-forth, the Commission on the Status of Women has finally come to an end. The headline was this: “They failed to reach a consensus”. One of the biggest goals of the radical lobby FAILED: Abortion was NOT declared a universal right!
The fight remained intense until the very last day of the Commission. In a final, desperate push, radical lobbyists tried to move one step closer to redefining what a “woman” is—shifting away from biology toward something vague, flexible, and purely ideological. The United States delegation (along with others) fought to bring the language back to biological truth as already agreed-upon in the 1995 Beijing Declaration. Other countries, like the United Kingdom, pushed hard in the opposite direction. But when the moment came to actually confront the issue openly, they didn’t debate it—they shut it down. No discussion, no clarification, no accountability. Just silence – they knew they were defeated. Countries were no longer prepared to nod their approval to the UN’s radical agenda. There is a challenge here for the Christian Church to faithfully preach the Gospel and for Christians to remain true to the Biblical teaching on the sanctity of life and God creating only two sexes – male and female. [Source: CitizenGo]

– compiled by Guido Kettniss