Islamic militants in Nigeria murdered at least 200 displaced Christians with fire, guns, and machetes June 13, ambushing them as they slept in Benue State shelters.

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) UK reported in an emailed news release that Fulani militants stormed houses in the market square in the village of Yelewata that are temporary shelters for hundreds of displaced Christians. The militants were reportedly praising Allah, setting fire to the buildings, shooting at people, and using machetes on those who tried to escape.

Yelewata parish priest Father Ukama Jonathan Angbianbee said that the town had welcomed thousands of displaced Christians from nearby villages fleeing from terrorist attacks. Before heading to the market square, the attackers had attempted to storm St. Joseph’s Church, which was reportedly sheltering roughly 700 Christians. Police had stopped them, but their subsequent attack on the market square was successful.

“There is no question about who carried out the attack,” Fr. Angbianbee said, according to ACN UK. “They were definitely Fulanis. They were shouting ‘Alahu Akhbar’ [God is great].”

Fr. Angbianbee said that there was a poor security response to the attacks. Though police prevented the militants from accessing the church, they were reportedly not well equipped and could do nothing to stop their attack on the marketplace. Another priest, who was not identified by ACN UK, reportedly said, “The morning after the attack there were plenty of police and other security but where were they the previous evening when we needed them?” 

Fr. Angbianbee said that the attack was carefully planned out, noting that the militants came from several different angles and made use of heavy rains that night to shield them. He also predicted that the number of those killed in the attack will rise. ACN UK stated in a separate news release that the current death toll is already the “single-worst atrocity in a region where there has been a sudden upsurge in attacks amid increasing signs that a concerted militant assault is underway to force an entire community to leave the region.”

Agenzia Fides reported that Father Remigius Ihyula, coordinator of the Development, Justice and Peace Commission of Benue State’s Diocese of Makurdi, said that survivors of the attack are “terrified” after suffering and seeing “unspeakable violence.” He added that they now are without “everything, from food to clothing, mattresses, blankets, and even medicine.”

According to ACN UK, deadly attacks on Nigerian Christians, especially Catholics, have spiked in Benue State. Agenzia Fides reported that Father Ihyula said some Western media outlets report that Fulani militants are victims of climate change, driven to violence in search of land and water for their livestock, but he disagrees.

“No, that’s not the case, because the armed Fulani nomads are motivated by an Islamist ideology,” he said, according to Agenzia Fides. “They want to conquer the land of Christian farmers in order to later establish an Islamic state.”

He added that he has attempted to talk with the Fulanis, but his offer of dialogue has always been refused.

According to ACN UK, church leaders have asked for international help and decried the persecution as a Jihadist militant plan to ethnically cleanse the state of Christians.

Pope Leo acknowledged the massacre and offered prayers for the murdered Christians during the Angelus Sunday afternoon, noting the “extreme cruelty” with which they were murdered and that most of the victims were housed at a local Catholic mission.

I pray that security, justice and peace prevail in Nigeria, a beloved country that has suffered various forms of violence,” he said. “I pray in particular for the rural Christian communities in the state of Benue, who have unceasingly been victims of violence.”