IS kills 28 Christians in Libya

(Baonghean.vn) - Submit or die. That is the message that the Islamic State organization IS has sent to Christians in the Middle East and Africa. In a video posted on social media on April 19, IS filmed the execution of at least 28 people they considered "citizens of the cross" of "enemies of the Ethiopian Church".

IS takes hostages to the execution site. Photo: Internet

The nearly 30-minute video shows IS beheading the first 12 people in Cyrenaica (east coast) and 16 other victims shot in Fezzan (south). According to Ethiopian Communications Minister Redwan Hussein, the people executed in the video were Ethiopian immigrants who were captured by a group of Libyans.

Similar to previous executions, the first 12 victims were forced to wear orange shirts before being executed. Afterwards, an anonymous figure declared “the massacre of Muslims will not be tolerated… Christians, we are back”.

This is the first time IS has targeted Ethiopians. Ethiopia is a country of 90 million people, two-thirds of whom are Christians. Many Ethiopians have left the country to find work, often going to Libya to work or to cross the border to Europe.

Immediately after the video was released, Bernadette Meehan - US Representative to the Security Council strongly condemned "the brutal massacre of Ethiopian Christians by IS terrorists in Libya".

Through the video, IS wants to send a message: submit, pay or die. The terrorists threaten, “The Islamic State of IS will expand and reach you… you will either convert to Islam or pay Jizya (a tax for non-Muslims) to live in peace. For those who do not comply, men will be killed, women will be enslaved and property will be confiscated.”

Chu Thanh

According to Le Monde April 20