Persecution of Christians

Nigeria's top security official on Friday ruled out the need for a United Nations or African Union-backed force to fight Boko Haram, saying the country and its partners could handle the threat.
      

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has praised Turkey?s efforts to stop the flow of foreign fighters traveling to join Islamist militants in Iraq and Syria, amid mounting pressure on the country to do more about the issue.

Top officials from 21 countries kicked off talks in London on Jan. 22 on pushing back Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants in Iraq and Syria and tackling the growing threat of homegrown jihadists in Europe.
      

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an on Jan. 21 called on Muslim states to speak with "one voice against terrorism and racism."
      
Addressing a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, Erdo?an said Islamic states had to defeat the successors of the iconic British officer Lawrence of Arabia who were seeking to disrupt the Middle East.

At least 43 civilians were killed and 150 wounded in a Syrian regime air raid targeting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the northeast, a monitoring group said on Jan. 21, updating an earlier toll.
      

Hundreds of people from four villages near the devastated Nigerian town of Baga have been forced to flee after a warning from Boko Haram militants, witnesses and community leaders said Jan. 20.
      
News of the exodus from Kekenu, Budur, Yoyo and Mile 90 villages came as Niger hosted a meeting on how to fight the rebels as concern mounted at the threat to regional security.

Macedonia: Bishop kept in jail despite deal to release him

SKOPJE -- The Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Skopje has filed a complaint against a decision to release Bishop of Ohrid Jovan, thus keeping him in jail.

Previously, a court decided that Bishop Jovan should be granted conditional release, and set free on January 19.

Balkans combat human trafficking, source of ISIL funding

Balkan countries expect greater assistance and support from the EU and NATO to counter human trafficking.

Police monitor a border crossing in Kosovo. Balkan countries are co-operating to fight human trafficking more effectively. [AFP]

The passage of foreign fighters through Turkish territory aiming to join the ranks of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is the ?greatest threat to Turkey,? Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu has said.

A South Korean teenager who went missing in Turkey near the Syrian border had images of what appeared to be Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants on his home computer, police said Jan. 19, amid suspicions he may have joined the group.