North Korea, Somalia, Syria ranked as world's worst persecutors of Christians

January 09, 2014

Persecution of Christians is most severe in North Korea, according to an annual international ranking by an Evangelical Protestant group. Somalia and Syria rank next on the list of most repressive regimes.

Portes Ouvertes, a French-based non-profit, reported a disturbing rise in anti-Christian violence in 2013. Although North Korea was the only country cited for “total persecution,” most of the countries on the group’s list were Islamic regimes.

Syria accounted for the largest number of Christians killed last year, Portes Ouvertes reported, with 1,213 killed. ''Christians have become extremely vulnerable due to the civil war and to the growing influence of jihadists among the opposition forces,” the group reported.

Portes Ouvertes expressed growing concern about the situation in Egypt, where anti-Christian violence has been rising since the “Arab Spring” uprising. The report cited 167 acts of violent persecution and 492 attacks on Christian churches.

 

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Further information:

• North Korea, Egypt, Syria, among worst Christian persecutors According to annual report by Portes Ouvertes NGO