Hundreds of Christians in Nigeria have been killed and many more injured in numerous attacks by Muslim Fulani herdsmen since the beginning of the year. In addition to the murders, homes and churches have been torched, and thousands of Nigerians displaced.

“What is happening in Plateau state and other select states in Nigeria is pure genocide and must be stopped immediately,” said the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in a statement. “There is no doubt that the sole purpose of these attacks is aimed at ethnic cleansing, land grabbing and forceful ejection of the Christian natives from their ancestral land and heritage.”

“Through the centuries, there has been antagonism between farmers and nomads over land,” said Open Doors, an international ministry serving persecuted Christians and churches worldwide. Today, herders who are of the Fulani ethnicity and mostly Muslim are attacking indigenous tribes and local farmers who are of the Berom ethnicity and mainly Christian. The clashes over grazing land have intensified to what is seen as purely religious persecution.

The World Watch List, which tracks persecuted Christians throughout the world, ranked Nigeria as the 14th-worst country where persecution is most severe.