Pope Leo has offered prayers for the victims of what he described as a “terrible massacre” in Benue State, Nigeria.
Speaking before the Sunday Angelus prayer at the Vatican, the Pope said about 200 people were “brutally killed” in Yelwata, Guma Local Government Area, during the night of June 13 and 14.
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He said most of the victims were internally displaced persons who had been “sheltered by the local Catholic mission.”
The Pope prayed for “security, justice, and peace” in Nigeria, stating that he was particularly concerned for the “rural Christian communities of the Benue State who have been relentless victims of violence.”
His remarks come amid growing international attention on the crisis in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, where attacks on farming communities have led to widespread displacement and loss of lives.
In a separate statement on Saturday, Amnesty International Nigeria urged the Nigerian government to “immediately end the almost daily bloodshed in Benue State and bring the actual perpetrators to justice.”
The rights group said the killings reflect a deepening failure of the state to protect vulnerable communities, especially those already displaced by earlier violence.