Middle Eastern Christians fear if 'future in the region is sustainable' amid rising persecution: watchdog

By Jon Brown, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, October 28, 2026

A report published Tuesday by a Roman Catholic persecution watchdog found that conditions for Christians have worsened in more than half of the 18 countries it has been closely monitoring for two years, with Christians in the Middle East reportedly fearing if their future in the region is sustainable.

The report, titled "Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians Oppressed for Their Faith 2024-26," covers August 2024 to June 2026 and was complied by the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).

Assessing the situation for roughly 413 million Christians in 18 countries where religious freedom violations are of particular concern, the report noted that the escalating trends of persecution from its last report have continued.

Upheaval in the Middle East has led to concern regarding Christianity's survival in its ancient heartland, according to ACN, which pinpointed the ongoing civil war in Syria, Islamist violence in the Levant and the ramifications of Israel's response to Hamas' terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023, as particularly concerning.

"Israeli operations in Gaza killed or displaced thousands, with the Holy Family and Saint Porphyrius churches serving as sanctuaries for those Christians fleeing the violence," ACN wrote. "The conflict also spread into Lebanon following Israeli strikes on the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah. The tensions in the region were further inflamed by the U.S.-Iran War in February 2026."

The conflict has reportedly "renewed fears among Christian communities about whether their future in the region is sustainable," the report said, noting that Israeli operations against Hezbollah have "emptied Christian towns along the Israel-Lebanon border" and that at least 1 million people have been displaced across Lebanon.

Iran's attack on U.S. bases in Iraq have led to fears of a new mass exodus of Christians from the country, whose Christian population has already dwindled from nearly 1 million to about 187,000 over the past decade of political upheaval and war.

In other regions, ACN also observed that intense persecution by authoritarian regimes has reached "unprecedented levels in countries with global or regional influence where anti-West sentiment has surged," highlighting increased crackdowns in China, Iran, and Nicaragua.

Christians are also increasingly labeled as "unwanted aliens" in countries rife with what the report described as "religio-nationalism," citing draconian "anti-conversion" laws in India and radical Islamist influence in Pakistan.

In East Asia, much of the oppression emerges from the communist regimes of China and North Korea, where "Christianity is not infrequently seen as a harmful Western influence threatening national cohesion," according to the report. Of the approximately 190,000 North Koreans estimated to be jailed or in brutal labor camps, a significant proportion are believed to be Christians.

Sub-Saharan Africa is the epicenter of global Christian persecution, where Christians coast-to-coast in that part of the continent "are at risk amid the worst hyper-extremist attacks since the height of the ISIS violence in the Middle East," according to ACN.

The report noted that six of the top 10 countries in the 2026 Global Terrorism Index were in Africa, and that the violence has spread from Africa's east coast to its western shores. An ongoing civil war in Sudan has led to accusations of war crimes and Islamic oppression, with more than 100 churches having faced damage or destruction.

The violence in Africa has led to an exodus of millions of people, including many Christians, who have been displaced by the conflicts. At least 1 million Christians in Nigeria are counted among the more than 3.5 million Nigerians who have been displaced internally as the country continues to descend into brutality.

Solomon Ako, a 33-year-old Christian man from northern Nigeria who was kidnapped and repeatedly abused after refusing to renounce his faith, told ACN that he drew strength amid his suffering from remembering there were Christians around the world praying for the persecuted church.

"Every night when our kidnappers were asleep, we prayed. We prayed knowing that we were not alone, that there were people like you who would never abandon us. That was what kept us strong then, and that is what keeps us strong now," he said.

ACN's findings about rising persecution align with reports from other Christian persecution watchdogs such as Open Doors U.S., whose annual World Watch List published earlier this year found that approximately 388 million Christians worldwide face some form of intense persecution or discrimination for their faith.

The report from Open Doors U.S. claimed that Christian persecution has reached an unprecedented global scale, with more than one in seven Christians being called to suffer for their faith in 2025, marking an increase of more than 8 million compared to 2024.