According to reports, recently, one hundred and sixty Christians were forced to run from their village when it was attacked by Muslim extremists.
Reportedly the villages of Malipayon, Saban of Barnagay, Maybula and New Bunawan in the Philippines were attacked by around 300 armed men at around 9 a.m. More than five mortars were fired into the villages, according to reports.
The Christians are still unable to return to their villages because they fear that the Muslim extremists will attack them again and either k!ll them or burn down their homes. They are now in need of food and other daily requirements to help them survive.
Some of those that fled their villages have become sick because of a lack of medicine and adequate sleeping arrangements including mats and blankets to protect them.
Apparently the Christian organization, Voice of the Martyrs has provided the refugees with basic needs such as food, mosquito nets, blankets and medicine to ease their suffering.
Although the Philippines is Asia’s most Christianized country, there are fractions of Muslim extremists that threaten Christians on a daily basis, especially in the southern regions of the country around Mindanao, Basilan, Jolo and other nearby islands.
The most active terrorist groups in the Philippines are the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Abu Sayyaf, Rajah Sulaiman Movement and Jemaah Islamiyah.
Christians who live in a predominantly Muslim area are constantly in threat of violent attacks, kidnapping and even death.
The Muslim extremist groups are intent on forcing the formation of an Islamic state in the southern regions of the country and persecution of Christians has become an increasingly common practice.
Suspected al-Qaida terrorists murdered a Catholic missionary in January of 2008 and in April that same year, the home of Pastor Vic Vicera was stormed by militants, and Vicera and his wife were fired upon. Pastor Vicera was killed in the incident.
According to local Christian residents, Pastor Vicera, had been approached by Muslim militants who tried to convert him to the Islamic faith and they believe this same group carried out the attack.
Four Christian male passengers were murdered on a minibus in Mindanao on July 29, 2008, when armed militants stopped the bus.
Authorities suspect the Islamic group, Abu Sayyaf, of bombing the Chapel of the Sacred Heart in Mindanao during Mass on Christmas Day in 2010. Eleven people were injured during the bombing.
Last year, the Philippine government struck a peace deal with the Islamic rebel group MILF. However, the details of the agreement have yet to be agreed upon.
Some people fear that if the Philippine government succumbs to the pressure of Muslim groups to create an Islamic state in the southern regions, they would just be giving them ground on which to train terrorists.
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