News

Libya: Mass grave found of Christians killed by the Islamic State

December 31, 2018

The Orthodox Christians in Libya are under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Alexandria; likewise, the majority of Christians in Libya are members of the Coptic Orthodox Church, which separated from Holy Orthodoxy in the fifth century amid controversies over the divine and human natures of Christ. In modern times, Christians in Libya have faced escalating persecution since the fall of the Gaddafi regime and the ensuing chaos in that nation. In Tripoli, the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George is still open, but is subject to sporadic harassment and persecution.

The Islamic State (ISIS) is still active in Libya. Please pray that Almighty God would change the hearts of this group, turning them toward the Church that they persecute today.

“Mass grave of Christians killed by Islamic State found in Libya,” Catholic News Agency, December 30, 2018:

MISRATA, Libya – A mass grave of 34 Ethiopian Christians executed by the so-called Islamic State group in 2015 has reportedly been unearthed in Libya.

The bodies have been exhumed and will be eventually repatriated to Ethiopia, the Libyan interior ministry says.

Libyan government authorities found the mass grave Dec. 23 after obtaining information from arrested Islamic State members. The grave appears to be located on a farm near the coastal city of Sirte, 170 miles southeast of Misrata.

Islamic State gained control of Sirte in 2015, but United Nations-backed forces regained control of the city in December 2016 after months of deadly fighting.

According to the Libyan Express newspaper, a propaganda video posted to social media in April 2015 appeared to show the Islamic State members shooting and beheading the Ethiopian Christians, who were all wearing orange jumpsuits, on a beach. The Christians were in Libya to seek work as migrant workers, according to International Christian Concern.

The 2015 incident happened just months after Islamic State members executed a group of nearly two dozen Coptic Christians; a mass grave containing their bodies was found last October….