86 Eritrean Christians kidnapped by ISIS

Islamic State has kidnapped 86 Eritrean Christians in Libya, including 12 women, according to the Stockholm-based International Commission on Eritrean Refugees (ICER). The militants ambushed a vehicle carrying Eritrean refugees to Tripoli, before separating out the Christians from the Muslims by testing their knowledge of the Quran. Meron Estefanos, a . . . Read More

Libya: ‘a country where Christians shouldn’t come’

Libya: ‘a country where Christians shouldn’t come’
Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has been engulfed by conflicts between various coalitions of armed groups.Photo courtesy Open Doors International Migrants and refugees in Libya are increasingly facing widespread abuse and persecution on religious grounds, a report by Amnesty International has revealed. Foreign nationals travelling irregularly . . . Read More

Libyan militants hold 20 Egyptian Christians hostage

Libyan militants hold 20 Egyptian Christians hostage
Coptic families in Upper Egypt’s Minya province await news on their kidnapped relatives in Libya, January 2015.Photo: Watani The kidnapping of at least 20 Coptic Christians in two separate incidents in December and January has been claimed by Libyan militants affiliated with the self-proclaimed Islamic State. Seven of the Christians . . . Read More

4 men abducted in Libya for being Christian

The Libya Herald has reported that a family of four Egyptian men, who were targeted specifically because they are Christian, was kidnapped in Libya on August 27 near Sirte. The Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedom said they were travelling with three Muslims when they were abducted at a checkpoint . . . Read More

Lebanon on the brink

The war in Syria threatens to spill over into Lebanon, where the Damascus regime and the rebels both have supporters. A Lebanese BBC journalist’s film ‘Lebanon on the Brink‘ shows the latent sectarian enmity between Sunni and Alawite Shia in Tripoli, northern Lebanon.

Libyan human-rights official flees country after death threats

Libyan human-rights official flees country after death threats
The head of the Libyan Parliament’s Human Rights Committee has resigned and fled to London, saying he’s received death threats. Hassan Al-Amin, prominent for his long opposition to the Gaddafi regime, recently spoke out against armed gangs and militias in his Misrata area. His self-imposed exile comes as hostilities against . . . Read More