The Sahel region of Africa where Christians are being targeted by Islamist terror groups has become “the new epicentre of terrorism“, according to the latest Global Terrorism Index.

Release International, which supports persecuted Christians around the world, has identified that Sahel is an emerging hotspot in their recent Persecution Trends report.

Partners of Release have reported that Christians are being executed by armed gangs, who target their villages and stop cars and buses on the road.

A Release International partner whose identity needs to remain hidden, said: “Christians are killed on the spot.

“If you’re kidnapped and you’re a believer, there is no possibility you will survive.

“When the jihadists attack villages, they know where the Christians live and they search them out. They are looking for believers”.

In Burkina Faso, the terror groups destroy shops, schools and official buildings, but the focus of their destruction are often churches.

Chief executive of Release International, Paul Robinson said the conflict in the Sahel is “the forgotten jihad”.

“The religiously motivated violence that has been growing in Nigeria is now being replicated in a much wider region. It is time for the world to sit up and take notice.”