As jihadists advance, 30% of Niger’s Catholics have fled their villages

July 28, 2025

Father Mauro Armanino, SMA, a missionary in Niger, estimated that 15,000 of the nation’s 50,000 Catholics have fled their villages in the wake of a jihadist advance.

“Being forced to abandon their lands is very humiliating for them,” the priest told the Vatican newspaper. “They are farmers accustomed to providing for their own sustenance: now, seeing themselves sporadically assisted as displaced persons, they find it demeaning. For this reason, some, when they can, return to their villages, even risking their lives.”

Referring to widespread malnutrition, Father Armanino said that “the problem is one of survival. A catechist who lives in an area a few kilometers from the capital told me that no one can leave his town to look for food because it is completely surrounded by armed men. And the same is happening in other neighboring areas.”

Father Armanino also spoke about “a culture of silence that prevents people and the media from expressing themselves freely” following a 2023 coup d’état. He said that the nation is deeply divided, “not only because the interests of the supporters of the previous regime are even more alive than ever, but above all because the political parties have been suspended.”

The West African nation of 26.3 million (map) is over 95% Muslim and 4% ethnic religionist.

 

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Further information:

• Niger, cattolici in fuga da case e villaggi (Vatican News)
• Islamist insurgency in Niger (Wikipedia)