Five Christians killed in Nigeria

Another five Christians have been killed in conflicts with a terrorist group in Nigeria. 
 
The terrorist group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) says it carried out the killings. 

ISWAP is a splinter group of the extremists Boko Haram, which has pledged to turn Nigeria into an Islamist state.
 
The five Christians executed are believed to be among eleven people kidnapped on Christmas Day in north east Nigeria and then shot while the were forced to kneel facing away from the attackers. The attacks also reportedly included the burning down of churches, seizing weapons and amunition and taking people prisoner..

ISWAP began their attack on Garkida town in Adamawa State on Christmas Eve and continued into the early hours of Christmas Day.
 
Paul Robinson, CEO of Christian religious freedom charity Release International, said: "Boko Haram and ISWAP have both pledged to kill Christians. And heavily armed Fulani militants are driving Christian villagers from the north, in what appears to be an undeclared jihad. Release International's partners warn of a genocide in the making."
 
Release International's Nigerian partners have described the continuing violence as a series of "well-planned, well-orchestrated, systematic attacks on Christian communities" driven by an extreme Islamist ideology, aimed at destroying "the infidels."

In December, the US State Department declared Nigeria a 'Country of Particular Concern', because of the worsening violations of religious freedom there. 
 
This was followed by a call for an investigation into crimes against humanity in Nigeria by the International Criminal Court.

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