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(NewsNation) — Pope Leo XIV prayed Sunday for the Christian victims of what he called a terrible massacre in Nigeria.

“I renew my appeal to the combatants to stop, to protect civilians and to embark on a path of dialogue for peace,” the pontiff said.

According to Genocide Watch, a group that aims to predict and prevent mass murder around the world, more than 200 Christian villagers were slaughtered by armed jihadists in Guma County, Benue State, on June 13.

The group reports that witnesses say 40 gunmen stormed the Yelwata village on motorcycles, opening fire on civilians and moving from house to house.

According to a 2023 report by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, at least 50,000 Nigerian Christians had been murdered by Islamic militants over the previous 14 years. Human rights groups say moderate Muslims have also been their victims.

Tensions between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria

Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country, with a population of 227,882,945 as of 2023, according to the World Bank. The CIA Factbook estimates that Nigeria is 53% Muslim and 45% Christian.

Tensions between Christians and Muslims in the nation have been rising in recent years. Islamic militant group Boko Haram’s kidnapping of 276 girls, mostly Christian, from a government school in Chibok, Nigeria, in 2014 drew attention from the global media. As of April 2024, 82 of the girls remain missing, according to Amnesty International.    

According to Open Doors, a nonprofit that supports persecuted Christians, more than 380 million Christians around the world face high levels of persecution, up by 15 million in 2024, which was a record.