A leading human rights group is warning that the persecution of Christians in Africa is getting worse during the Covid-19 crisis.

Open Doors, a leading charity working to help persecuted Christians around the world, says the pandemic has also created more opportunities for persecutors to target believers where they are already vulnerable, leaving them even more exposed.

“Though many factors determine the vulnerability of populations to Christian persecution and to Covid-19, a common thread between the two vulnerabilities has surfaced in Niger,” explained Open Door’s Paige Collins.

“Here, some Islamic extremist voices have propagated the message that the coronavirus is a Western invention against Islam or Allah’s punishment against those who have accepted Christianity and departed from Islam. Christians are reporting increased harassment as a result of the rumors, which are likely driving additional exposures to the virus as well,” she told Crux.

“While Christians in many African countries, including Nigeria and Ethiopia, have experienced discrimination for some time, their need for food, shelter, and medical care has significantly increased due to the coronavirus. Relief discrimination is making a bad situation worse for Christians and other religious minorities,” Collins said.