A group of Muslim extremists killed an evangelist in eastern Uganda after he and another Christian refused to convert to Islam, according to reports.

Three days into an evangelisation event at which 18 Muslims converted to Christianity, Islamists surrounded Emmanuel Dikusooka, a 29-year-old father of three children, and a fellow church member, Jack Mbulante, as they returned to their hotel.

Armed with swords, sticks and iron bars, the assailants forced the two to surrender their bags, which contained Bibles and other Christian books.

“They threw them all into the River Lumbuye, then ordered us to hold the Quran up that they had and told us to recite and swear in the name of Allah,” Mbulante told Morning Star News. “They tried to force us to renounce Jesus Christ and our faith and then embrace the Islamic faith. We openly refused, which angered them, and they hit Dikusooka with an iron bar on the head, and he fell down.”

Mbulante escaped by jumping into a river and swimming to safety, but Dikusooka succumbed to his injuries.