An MEP from Hungary’s co-ruling Christian Democrats has called for the end of the Islamic State’s expansion in Africa, saying that religious persecution in the region would lead to increased emigration.
Addressing a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, György Hölvényi highlighted the security situation in Burkina Faso and warned that the Islamic State, having lost its last territorial holdings in the Middle East, was now expanding in the less secure countries of the Sahel region.
According to MTI, Hölvényi noted that there has been a “dramatic rise” in the number of jihadist attacks committed in Burkina Faso this year. These have included the murder of Spanish Salesian missionary Antonio Cesar Fernandez and a total of 57 Christians, including three pastors.
“In order to find the right solution, we must see that churches play a key social and security role in the region,” Hölvényi said. “European institutions must end their excessive neutrality in the name of which they consistently turn a blind eye to the attacks on the various religious denominations.”
Photo credit: International Policy Digest