Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday thanked European leaders for backing his push to join this week’s U.S.–Russia summit, as Kyiv fears Washington and Moscow could strike a deal to end the war but in a way that undermines Ukraine’s sovereignty.

‘The end of the war must be fair, and I am grateful to everyone who stands with Ukraine and our people today for the sake of peace in Ukraine, which is defending the vital security interests of our European nations,’ Zelenskyy said.

The leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Finland and the European Commission said in a joint statement that any diplomatic solution brokered between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin must protect the security interests of Ukraine and Europe.

‘The U.S. has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously,’ EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told Reuters on Sunday. ‘Any deal between the U.S. and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine’s and the whole of Europe’s security,’ she added.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the upcoming summit ‘will be about testing Putin’ and will serve as a measure of how serious the Russian leader is about ‘bringing this terrible war to an end.’

Both the White House and the Kremlin have acknowledged Zelenskyy’s request to join the talks, though no formal invitation has been issued. Trump and Putin are scheduled to meet in Alaska on Aug. 15. If Zelenskyy were to take part, the meeting would mark the first between Putin and Zelenskyy since the start of Moscow’s war.

The meeting, which Trump announced in a Truth Social post on Friday, comes on the heels of Washington’s threats to impose steep tariffs on the Kremlin and its allies.

Trump has previously singled out countries like India and China—top buyers of discounted Russian crude — for undermining G7 price caps and weakening the impact of Western sanctions.

In response, bipartisan lawmakers introduced the Sanctioning Russia Act, which would impose a 500% tariff targeting the core of Russia’s economy — its oil and gas exports — if Moscow continues to resist peace efforts or escalates the conflict.

Meanwhile, a senior member of Putin’s inner circle warned that multiple countries are mounting ‘titanic efforts’ to undermine the upcoming summit between the Russian leader and Trump.

‘Undoubtedly, a number of countries interested in continuing the conflict will make titanic efforts to disrupt the planned meeting between President Putin and President Trump,’ wrote Russia’s investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, in a Telegram post on Saturday, referencing the Kremlin’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

While Dmitriev did not name specific countries, he warned that critics of the upcoming talks could seek to sabotage the summit through diplomatic maneuvers or disinformation through the media.

President Donald Trump will use the upcoming summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin to test how serious Putin is about ending the war with Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Sunday.

Rutte told ABC’s ‘This Week’ that the meeting comes as Trump continues to put pressure on Putin, noting the recent secondary sanctions on countries like India, which purchased Russian oil, and delivering lethal weapons to Ukraine.

‘Next Friday will be important because it will be about testing Putin, how serious he is on bringing this terrible war to an end,’ Rutte said.

Trump announced the first in-person meeting with Putin since Moscow launched its deadly invasion of Ukraine in 2022 in a Truth Social post on Saturday. The leaders are expected to meet in Alaska on Friday, Aug. 15.

In recent weeks, Trump has refused to mince words when asked about Putin. Trump said during a Cabinet meeting July 8 he was fed up with Putin and said he was eyeing potentially imposing new sanctions on Russia. 

The NATO chief called the upcoming meeting ‘an important step’ in the process of reaching full-scale peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, wasn’t expected to be at the summit with Trump and Putin as of Sunday. Despite Zelenskyy’s absence, Rutte said ‘we need Ukraine at the table.’

‘It will be about territory,’ Rutte said of the upcoming meeting. ‘It will, of course, be about security guarantees, but also about the absolute need to acknowledge that Ukraine decides on its own future, that Ukraine has to be a sovereign nation deciding on its geopolitical future, of course having no limitations to its own military troop levels, and for NATO to have no limitations on our presence on the eastern flank in countries like Latvia, Estonia and Finland.’

U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker told CNN on Sunday that no decision had been made at this point about whether Zelenskyy would be invited to the meeting.

‘If [Trump] thinks that that is the best scenario to invite Zelenskyy, then he’ll do that,’ Whitaker said, adding that ‘there’s time to make that decision.’

When asked about whether Putin can be trusted, Whitaker said that in any situation of competing national interests it will be actions, not words, that decide whether peace is achieved and preserved.

‘Words are cheap, but in this case, whether it’s the Russians or the Ukrainians, both sides are going to have to take the actions to have peace and to continue to honor that peace,’ he said.

Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump recently spoke to the South Carolina Republican Party’s Silver Elephant Gala through a phone that Sen. Lindsey Graham held up to a microphone.

Trump, who endorsed Graham for re-election earlier this year, continued expressing his support for the senator while speaking on the phone.

Trump said the senator has his ‘full endorsement,’ calling him a ‘great guy,’ saying that Graham has always been there for him when he needed him and he ‘won’t forget it.’

‘Thank you for your surprise call, Mr. President!’ Graham said in a post on X that also featured footage of Trump’s remarks about him. 

‘With your support, I’ll keep delivering the America First agenda to the great people of South Carolina. I’m glad to have been part of the most awesome six months in modern history led by President @realDonaldTrump.’

Graham, who has served in the Senate since 2003, is facing Republican primary challengers.

Paul Dans, the former director of the 2025 Presidential Transition Project at the Heritage Foundation and who is one of Graham’s challengers, attended the event where Trump spoke by phone.

‘Lindsey Graham’s terrified—his Senate seat’s at risk against me, his toughest challenger yet. After 32 years of broken term-limit promises, he’s done. Clinging to President Trump won’t save him from SC’s America First Patriots who see his grift. #LindseyPanic #PrezTrumpPlsHelpMe,’ Dans wrote in a post on X.

Graham will be up for re-election in 2026.

House GOP fiscal hawks have requested tens of millions of federal dollars for projects in their home districts for fiscal year 2026, an analysis by Fox News Digital has found.

It’s common practice for congressional lawmakers to request funding for specific community initiatives for the people they represent – measures called ‘earmarks.’ Critics of such funding have often referred to it as ‘pork,’ however.

This coming fiscal year, beginning on Oct. 1, is no different – both Republicans and Democrats have requests totaling over a billion dollars in earmarks so far. 

That includes conservatives in the House of Representatives who have been known to criticize what they describe as excessive or bloated government spending.

House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris, R-Md., for instance, has been approved for more than $55 million in federal funding for projects in his district. 

The figure includes $9 million for the Middle River Fire Company to make improvements and upgrades to its facilities, and $1 million for the development of a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. 

The majority of Harris’ requests are aimed at rural development in his district and the Army Corps of Engineers. Three earmarks were requested for clean water initiatives.

Harris told Fox News Digital when reached for comment on the funds, ‘These awards are certified to directly benefit taxpayers in the district—drawing from existing grant programs that are funded annually. It’s far better for elected members of Congress to designate where that money goes than to leave those decisions to unelected federal bureaucrats. There are no additional funds appropriated for Community Project Funding – they all fall within the agency’s appropriation.’

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., a self-described deficit hawk, was approved for just over $10 million so far. That includes over $4 million for Flexible Neutron Source, a research tool at the University of Tennessee, and $2 million for veterans housing in Knox County.

House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., was approved for more than $18 million in earmarks – with the largest request being $4,200,000 for the Silicon Bayou Semiconductor Technology Center at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette.

Higgins’ total sum also includes funding for Army Corps of Engineers projects, as well as rural hospital, law enforcement and clean water initiatives.

He also submitted a joint request with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., for $131,500,000 toward a levee and floodgate system, called the Morganza to the Gulf of Mexico Project, aimed at storm damage prevention.

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., another member of the House Freedom Caucus, got nearly $15 million in community funding projects approved, chiefly aimed at clean water programs and highway infrastructure.

Boebert was vehemently against earmarks when she first came to Congress. Her opinion has changed since then, however, due to Republican-led changes to the process – which she explained in a 2023 op-ed in the Aspen Times.

She made a similar argument to Fox News Digital when reached for this story: ‘I fought for real reforms to the appropriations process in 2023 to make sure my constituents’ tax dollars go to necessary infrastructure projects, not the wasteful and corrupt spending schemes that took place under Nancy Pelosi.’

‘My district’s roads are crumbling, and our water keeps getting sent to California, where it’s wasted, because Colorado’s politicians won’t invest in water storage or infrastructure investments. My constituents pay federal taxes just like everyone else, and they should see their dollars benefit their communities instead of being sent to sanctuary cities like Denver,’ Boebert said.

Conservative libertarian Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., also got some community funding, though only totaling $5 million approved so far. Massie’s requests so far are all focused on construction and rehabilitation for Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.

Massie told Fox News Digital of the funding, ‘I serve on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee because I believe the federal government has a legitimate role in transportation infrastructure, and the legislature has the constitutional authority to direct the funding of those projects.’

‘In fact, I have voted in the GOP conference more than once to restore congressionally directed spending in the context of transportation infrastructure,’ Massie said.

And Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., chair of the subcommittee for Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE), got nearly $10 million in earmarks approved for her rural-suburban Georgia district. 

Those funding requests are largely comprised of infrastructure initiatives, clean water programs, and law enforcement-related projects for Floyd County and other areas.

While known as a fiscal hawk, it’s worth noting that the majority of Greene’s criticism of government spending is directed at foreign aid.

Greene said she was glad to be able to provide for her district when reached for comment by Fox News Digital.

‘I’m proud to bring federal tax dollars back home to Northwest Georgia – where they belong. My constituents work hard, and for far too long, Washington has sent their money to fund foreign wars, foreign governments and globalist pet projects. When I first got to Congress, I opposed the earmark process because I believed it was a tool of the Swamp. But after seeing how it works today, I’ve realized that if we don’t fight to bring money back to our districts, the money goes elsewhere,’ Greene said.

‘I’ll never support billions for Ukraine or other endless wars, but I will absolutely fight to secure critical investments in Northwest Georgia, from water systems and sewer expansions to public safety equipment, roads and broadband.’

The aforementioned lawmakers’ spending requests are far from an exhaustive total list across the entire House, but fiscal conservatives’ earmark proposals show just how widespread the practice is within Congress – on both sides of the aisle.

Republicans have made some changes to the process as of FY2025, however, to narrow what’s allowed.

In an effort to block out funding requests for ‘woke’ or socially progressive policies, GOP appropriators have barred earmarks for most nonprofit organizations.

That move likely saved hundreds of millions of dollars in annual spending, but Democrats decried it as a block on federal funding for LGBT initiatives.

Fox News Digital reached out to spokespeople for Burchett and Higgins for comment but did not receive a response.

President Donald Trump’s week will culminate in a high-stakes summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, where the two leaders are expected to discuss the war in Ukraine and the broader state of U.S.–Russia relations on the global stage.

The summit, scheduled for Friday, has drawn international scrutiny amid concerns that Washington and Moscow could attempt to broker terms for ending the conflict without formally involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, leaving him only a tacit role in negotiations.

Trump has previously said that Putin and Zelenskyy were close to a ceasefire deal but signaled that war-weary Kyiv would have to concede significant territory, an outcome that Ukrainians and many European allies oppose.

Russian forces currently occupy approximately one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory stretching from the Russian border to Crimea — including regions vital to the country’s economy, rich in minerals, industry, and home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.

Both the White House and the Kremlin have acknowledged Zelenskyy’s request to join the talks, though no formal invitation has been extended to the Ukrainian leader. If granted a seat at the table, it would mark the first face-to-face meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022.

The summit comes as Russia’s war grinds into its third year and fifth month, with Moscow showing little sign of abandoning its efforts to erode Ukraine’s sovereignty and reassert the territorial influence of the former Soviet empire.

The Kremlin said in a statement on Saturday that Trump and Putin are expected to ‘focus on discussing options for achieving a long-term peaceful resolution’ in Ukraine. ‘This will evidently be a challenging process, but we will engage in it actively and energetically,’ the statement added.

‘The US has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously’

Over the weekend, several European leaders voiced support for Zelenskyy’s push to attend this week’s summit, amid growing concerns that Kyiv’s long-term security could be negotiated without its direct involvement.

The leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Finland and the European Commission said in a joint statement that any diplomatic solution brokered between Trump and Putin must uphold the security interests of both Ukraine and Europe.

‘The U.S. has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously,’ European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told Reuters on Sunday. ‘Any deal between the U.S. and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine’s and the whole of Europe’s security,’ she added.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also voiced support for Zelenskyy’s attendance at the meeting and called the summit an opportunity to measure how serious Putin is about ‘bringing this terrible war to an end.’ 

Zelenskyy thanked European leaders for their support and said that ‘the end of the war must be fair.’

‘I am grateful to everyone who stands with Ukraine and our people today for the sake of peace in Ukraine, which is defending the vital security interests of our European nations,’ he said.

Why did the Sydney Sweeney ad for American Eagle become such a national sensation that has lasted multiple weeks? 

What made this story unique is that it wasn’t the outrage that prolonged the story but the reaction to that outrage. It represented a win for normalcy after many years of abnormal hysteria. 

Sydney Sweeney has great jeans, proclaims the American Eagle ad released toward the end of July. The ad has been called racist, sexist and more. The controversy ostensibly stems from a pun. The accusation that the play on words, that Sweeney actually has good genes, means celebrating eugenics. 

In one video, Sweeney says, ‘Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue.’

Thousands of internet commenters weighed in angrily about the ad, both because of the pun and because they didn’t approve of Sweeney’s classic American blonde hair, blue eyed beauty. Vanity Fair called the ad a ‘very, very bad idea.’ Megan Graham at the Wall Street Journal called the ad ‘male-geared’ and quoted TikTok users who used the term ‘male gaze,’ a silly film term that alleges women are often portrayed only for the consumption of a male audience.

The New York Times took issue with Sweeney doing so many ads for different brands. ‘Why does an actress who has two Emmy Award nominations and has been featured in a number of films and TV shows — including the hit rom-com ‘Anyone But You,’ which brought in over $200 million worldwide — need to lend her face to so many brands?’ they wondered while closely inspecting her bank account.

The Sweeney ad didn’t just show a beautiful girl in tight jeans. It represented a shift in culture, the left felt it and it made them angry. But the real test of that shift is what came next. Nothing. 

It’s one thing for a brand to make what used to be considered a fairly safe ad featuring a pretty girl wearing the clothes in a provocative fashion. It’s another for that brand to stand by it amid backlash. American Eagle put out a short statement noting ‘it’s always been about the jeans.’ What would have been a groveling apology just a few years ago was suddenly a terse comment telling people, essentially, to get over it.

One of the top comments on their Instagram page noted ‘It’s giving ‘I’m sorry you feel that way” which is another way of saying it’s a non-apology. That’s exactly right. American Eagle isn’t sorry and they shouldn’t be. Sweeney hasn’t commented publicly about the non-controversy at all.

Sweeney has been the center of dumb internet storms before and it’s possible she learned some lessons. Three years ago, Sweeney posted photos from her mom’s 60th birthday and, in the blurry background of some of the photos, red hats in the style of the Trump campaign’s MAGA hats are visible. Her brother pointed out that the hats actually read ‘Make Sixty Great Again,’ which did little to assuage the mob. 

At first, Sweeney tried to brush it off, posting on her then-Twitter account that ‘An innocent celebration for my moms milestone 60th birthday has turned into an absurd political statement, which was not the intention. Please stop making assumptions.’

But it was 2022 and the mob had total control over the narrative. A year later, in an interview with Variety, Sweeney somewhat capitulated and noted, ‘The people in the pictures weren’t even my family.’ In that same interview, Variety described her bikini photo shoot with them as channeling ‘a ’90s-throwback magazine queen.’ Somehow she wasn’t catering to the male gaze then.

In the parsing of the American Eagle story, some outlets have pointed out that Sweeney posted a Black Lives Matters post in 2020, which feels particularly Soviet. Does this person really believe? Is their zeal real? Is she for us or against us? Then the news broke that Sweeney had registered as a Republican.

A few days ago, the president gave new life to the story when he was asked about it. President Donald Trump responded, ‘You’d be surprised at how many people are Republicans. That’s what I wouldn’t have known. But I’m glad you told me that. If Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic!’ The truth is, the ad is fantastic whether she’s a Republican or not. 

The larger win here is for giving people what they want. American Eagle wasn’t making a political statement, it was making a marketing one. Pretty girls wear our clothing and you should too. In May, American Eagle was forced to downgrade their outlook for the year after lackluster sales. Since the controversy, their stock price is up. 

If it’s true that they have good jeans, their growth will continue. They’ve done a service for the American people by standing their ground and focusing on their product.

As Japan marks the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings, the mayor of Nagasaki is warning that the world could see the same kind of devastating attack again.

Approximately 2,600 people, including representatives from 90 countries, attended the memorial event on Saturday at Nagasaki Peace Park, according to the Associated Press. At 11:02 a.m., the exact time the bomb exploded over the city, the attendees held a moment of silence. Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki, whose parents survived the 1945 attack, addressed the crowd and called for global action against nuclear weapons.

‘Conflicts around the world are intensifying in a vicious cycle of confrontation and fragmentation,’ Suzuki told a crowd on Saturday, according to a translation by The Mainichi. ‘If we continue on this trajectory, we will end up thrusting ourselves into a nuclear war. This existential crisis of humanity has become imminent to each and every one of us living on Earth.’

Mayors for Peace, which brings together mayors and city leaders from across the globe, is holding its 11th General Conference in Nagasaki this weekend as the city mourns the tragic day. The organization’s aim is to abolish nuclear weapons, a point Suzuki emphasized in his remarks.

‘In order to make Nagasaki the last atomic bombing site, it is essential to show a specific course of action for achieving the abolition of nuclear weapons. Procrastination can no longer be tolerated,’ Suzuki said, according to The Mainichi. 

The mayor also noted that the 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) ‘will represent a crucial moment capable of swaying the fate of humanity.’

Every five years, world leaders meet to review the provisions of the NPT, which was opened for signature in 1968 and entered into force in 1970, 25 years after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The U.S. dropped two atomic bombs on Japan three days apart. The first was dropped on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, and the second was dropped on Nagasaki three days later, on Aug. 9. The bombs decimated both cities, leading to Japan’s surrender on Aug. 15, 1945, and later the end of World War II.

A bomb nicknamed ‘Little Boy,’ weighing approximately 9,000 pounds and producing an explosive force equivalent to 20,000 tons of TNT, detonated 1,800 feet over Hiroshima, causing massive devastation. ‘Fat Man,’ the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, weighed 10,000 pounds and detonated at approximately the same altitude as ‘Little Boy.’

‘I would like to express my deepest condolences for the lives claimed by the atomic bombings, and to all of the victims of war,’ Suzuki said, according to The Mainichi. ‘In marking 80 years from the atomic bombing, Nagasaki has resolved to continue our duty to relay, both inside Japan and overseas, the memories of the bombing, which are a common heritage to all humanity and should be passed down for generations throughout the world.’

He concluded with a declaration, which was also translated by The Mainichi: ‘I hereby declare that in order to make Nagasaki the last atomic bombing site now and forever, we will go hand-in-hand with global citizens and devote our utmost efforts towards the abolition of nuclear weapons and the realization of everlasting world peace.’

FBI Director Kash Patel took to social media on Saturday to celebrate the bureau’s successes in the first 200 days of the Trump administration. 

‘200 Days of Trump Admin, From Jan 20 to Present: FBI has arrested over 1,600 people for violent crimes against children, to include 270 arrests for human trafficking,’ Patel wrote on his official X account.

Patel added that 1,500 kilos of fentanyl – ‘enough lethal doses to kill 113,850,000 Americans’ – has also been seized in that time, which he said was a 25% increase from the same time last year, and the ‘most ever.’

He added, ‘We look forward to working with our @SecDef and DoD partners to getting after it even more, thanks @realDonaldTrump for the new authorities.’ 

In a third post, Patel said the FBI had identified and located 4,000 child victims. 

‘FBI investigations targeting Foreign Terrorist Organizations has resulted in 1,000 arrests of those wanting to harm our nation. Seized 6,300 Kilos of methamphetamines = lives saved,’ he wrote, adding the hashtag ‘#SummerHeat.’

The White House also posted an article on X on Saturday, touting ‘200 Days of American Renewal,’ including ‘historic border security to infrastructure revitalization.’ 

Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, who had considered resigning over the administration’s handling of the Epstein files earlier this summer, according to a source, reposted Patel’s post, writing, ‘This isn’t even the beginning of the beginning. More coming.’ 

Many in MAGA world have also been frustrated with the lack of transparency over the Epstein files. 

The U.S. Department of Justice has denied the existence of an Epstein client list, and President Trump defended Attorney General Pam Bondi last month, saying ‘she’s really done a very good job.’ 

President Donald Trump said Saturday he was nominating U.S. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce to become the next deputy representative to the United Nations. 

‘I am pleased to announce that I am nominating Tammy Bruce, a Great Patriot, Television Personality, and Bestselling Author, as our next Deputy Representative of the United States to the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador,’ the president wrote on social media.

‘Since the beginning of my Second Term, Tammy has been serving with distinction as Spokesperson of the State Department, where she did a fantastic job. Tammy Bruce will represent our Country brilliantly at the United Nations. Congratulations Tammy!’

Bruce has defended the Trump administration’s immigration policies and its position on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. 

Last week, she warned Russia on Fox News that it needs to take Trump ‘seriously’ on his deadline for a ceasefire. 

Bruce has been with the administration since Trump took office. 

Before Trump tapped her as State Department spokesperson, she was a longtime conservative commentator and contributor to Fox News. 

When Trump chose her for the State Department, he described her as a ‘highly respected political analyst who understood the power and importance of ‘MAGA’ early on.’

‘As one of the longest-serving News Contributors, Tammy has brought TRUTH to the American People for over two decades,’ Trump added. ‘I know she will bring that same strength of conviction and fearless spirit to her new position as State Department Spokesperson.’ 

Dorothy Shea, who served as deputy ambassador last year, is the current acting ambassador. 

Trump’s nominee for U.N. ambassador, Mike Waltz, is still awaiting confirmation.

The White House, faced with an ongoing and growing tsunami of murderous attacks by Islamic State-allied groups against Christians in sub-Saharan Africa, is now working closely with the State Department to find ways to stop the killing.

Last week, the White House told Fox News Digital, ‘The Trump administration condemns in the strongest terms this horrific violence against Christians,’ after the U.N. reported 49 Christians were butchered with machetes on July 27 in and around a church in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), while Catholic worshipers were praying for peace. Authorities say the killers were Islamist militants from the Allied Democratic Forces, also known as Islamic State DRC.

In neighboring Nigeria last month, 27 Christians were reported killed by Islamist Fulani tribesmen in the village of Bindi Ta-hoss, where residents are predominantly Christian. Eyewitness Solomon Sunday said, ‘I advised my family to seek refuge in the church, which seemed the safest place at the time. I lost my wife and second daughter in the attack; they were burned [alive] by Fulani militias.’ 

Local youth leader D’Young Mangut, who helped retrieve the bodies, added, ‘People are being killed like chickens, and nothing is being done.’

‘Such grisly proceedings have become commonplace in central Nigeria,’ John Eibner, president of Christian human rights organization Christian Solidarity International, told Fox News Digital. ‘It is part of a longstanding process of violent Islamization, of ethno-religious cleansing. Last Palm Sunday, 50 Christians were similarly slaughtered in nearby Bassa. Over 165 Christians have been killed in the last 4 months in Plateau State (one of Nigeria’s provinces) alone,’ he added.

‘Massacres of the sort that happen in central Nigeria are also happening with increasing frequency in predominately Christian places like Congo and Mozambique. There is no simple solution.’

The U.K. division of Open Doors, a global Christian charity which supports and speaks up for Christians persecuted for their faith, told Fox News Digital, ‘The crisis facing large areas of sub-Saharan Africa is hard to overstate. It is potentially existential for the future peace and stability of several nations in the region, not least Nigeria.’

‘Around 150,000 people have been killed in Jihadist violence over the last ten years. Over 16 million Christians have been driven from their homes and their land across the region.’

The Trump administration appears to be preparing for action. This week, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, ‘The Department of State is working closely with the White House to identify opportunities to further the cause of religious freedom around the world.’

The spokesperson added, ‘Religious freedom for all people worldwide is a moral and national security imperative and a U.S. foreign policy priority.  As President Trump has stated, the United States will vigorously promote this freedom.’

Nigeria is among the most dangerous places in the world to be a Christian. Recent Open Doors research shows that more Christians are killed for their faith in Nigeria than the rest of the world combined. Local bishop Wilfred Anagbe was threatened, and some 20 of his parishioners killed, after he spoke out against the killings to a Congressional Committee in March. 

This week, the bishop spoke exclusively to Fox News Digital, declaring that ‘the attackers form part of the larger Islamic- Jihadists family headed in Nigeria by the likes of Boko Haram, ISIS West Africa and similar groups. Nigeria has had a long history with Islamic fundamentalism. (But) the violence, killing and displacements without consequences suggests a new pattern where the Islamists have resorted to use their control of official government and apparatus to continue this jihad.

‘There is a strong tendency by fundamentalist Muslims in Nigeria to turn the whole or part of Nigeria (in)to an Islamic State.’

‘This is what the Nazis did to the Jews,’ David Onyillokwu Idah, director of the International Human Rights Commission, told Open Doors, adding, ‘It’s ethnic cleansing, step by step.’

John Samuel, legal expert for Open Doors, told Fox News Digital that where the Islamist groups are operating, if Christians gather for ‘a prayer meeting, let’s say, or go to a church, (it) could be a one-way ticket, or something very deadly.’

‘If you’re a Christian, you either convert to Islam or die.’

Samuel gives an example of a Nigerian Christian who was ambushed by Boko Haram fighters. According to his widow, ‘he was asked to deny his faith and say an Islamic prayer. He refused and he was killed instantly. You are a target. You are a target by the mere fact that you identify with Christ.’

Across the region, it’s claimed the Islamist attackers want the land belonging to the Christians they attack. Lawyer Jabez Musa fights in court in Nigeria to get this land back. He told Fox News Digital the displaced Christians ‘want their land restored back to them for their livelihood. The cry is always I have been dispossessed of what belongs to me, my house, the food, foodstuff, the land. As we speak, over 64 communities in Plateau State have been dispossessed and taken over by the Fulani militants.’

‘Only Christians are targeted, they’re killed, displaced, and their lands are taken over.’

Henrietta Blyth, CEO of Open Doors U.K. and Ireland, told Fox News Digital that ‘African governments must urgently provide three things: justice – because very few of these perpetrators are ever held to account, and this impunity emboldens them.  Restoration – people want their lives back, an opportunity to rebuild their homes, send their kids to school, have a future together.  And protection – the state must protect them from these attacks.  The security forces need to get out of their barracks and be deployed around the most vulnerable.

‘For too long, nobody has been talking about the horrific wholesale slaughter of Christians and moderate Muslims in Africa. The Western world needs to wake up and be outraged,’ she said.

One grieving relative told reporters after the massacre in Nigeria’s Bindi Ta-hoss this past month, ‘We are tired of condolences and statements. What we need is real security, not sympathy.’ 

Fox News Digital reached out to the governments of both Nigeria and the DRC but received no response.

Lawyer Jabez Musa pleaded ‘I urge the American government, especially President Trump personally … to come to the help of Christians.’