Pope Francis prays for the victims of the Islamist attack in Nigeria which left 30 beheaded

Pope Francis said Wednesday he was praying for Nigeria following a massacre of at least 110 peasants in which Islamic militants beheaded about 30 people.

"I want to assure my prayers for Nigeria, where unfortunately the blood has again been shed in a terrorist massacre," the Pope said at the end of the general audience on 2 December.

“Last Saturday, in the north-east of the country, more than 100 farmers were brutally killed. May God welcome them into his peace and comfort their families and convert the hearts of those who commit similar atrocities that gravely offend his name “.

The November 28 attack in Borno State is the most violent direct attack on civilians in Nigeria this year, according to Edward Kallon, humanitarian coordinator and UN resident in Nigeria.

Of the 110 people killed, around 30 people were beheaded by militants, according to Reuters. Amnesty International also reported that 10 women went missing after the attack.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but the local anti-jihadist militia told AFP that Boko Haram operate in the area and often attack farmers. The Province of the Islamic State of West Africa (ISWAP) has also been named as a possible perpetrator of the massacre.

More than 12.000 Christians in Nigeria have been killed in Islamist attacks since June 2015, according to a 2020 report from the Nigerian organization for human rights, the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law (Intersociety).

The same report found that 600 Christians were killed in Nigeria in the first five months of 2020.

Christians in Nigeria have been beheaded and set on fire, farms have been set on fire and priests and seminarians have been targeted for kidnappings and ransoms.

Fr Matthew Dajo, a priest of the archdiocese of Abuja, was kidnapped on 22 November. He was not released, according to the archdiocese spokesman.

Dajo was kidnapped by gunmen during an attack on the city of Yangoji, where his parish, the Catholic Church of St. Anthony, is located. Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja has launched an appeal for prayer for his safe release.

Kidnapping of Catholics in Nigeria is an ongoing problem that not only affects priests and seminarians, but also lay faithful, Kaigama said.

Since 2011, the Islamist group Boko Haram has been behind many kidnappings, including that of 110 students kidnapped from their boarding school in February 2018. Of those kidnapped, a Christian girl, Leah Sharibu, is still being held.

The local group affiliated with the Islamic State also carried out attacks in Nigeria. The group was formed after Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in 2015. The group was later renamed the Province of the Islamic State of West Africa (ISWAP).

In February, US Religious Freedom Ambassador Sam Brownback told CNA that the situation in Nigeria was deteriorating.

“There are a lot of people being killed in Nigeria and we fear it will spread a lot in that region,” he told CNA. "It has really appeared on my radar screens - in the last two years, but particularly in the last year."

“I think we need to stimulate the government [of Nigerian President Muhammadu] Buhari more. They can do more, ”he said. “They are not bringing these people to justice who are killing religious adherents. They don't seem to have a sense of the urgency to act. "