A video posted on December 30 by the Islamic State group’s media channel Amaq reportedly shows the execution of the men after they mention each man by name and identify them as “Christians.” The horrific image is a tragic reminder of February 12, 2015, when the world watched in horror as 21 Christian men were sent to their knees and martyred by ISIS on the Libyan Coast—all captured on a triumphant video released by the Islamic State group.
This recent execution is reportedly meant as a warning to Christians, said Illia Djadi, Open Doors’ Senior Analyst for Freedom of Religion or Belief in sub-Saharan Africa. “Think of the beheading of the Coptic Christians by Islamic State on a Libyan beach in February 2015 … it’s the same scenario,” he said.
In Christmas Eve attacks on multiple Nigerian villages, members of the terrorist group Islamic State West African Province (ISAWP)—a break-away faction of Boko Haram that has affiliated with the Islamic State group—kidnapped the men from the predominantly Christian town of Garkida in Adamawa state.