Two persecuted Christian women sacrificed their own lives to try and save others.
The two unidentified women from the Pentecostal church died in a hospital in Eritrea after going on a hunger strike in their effort to hopefully draw the world's attention on the abuses faced by Christians in the northeast African country, Premier UK reported.
The women were previously detained at a military camp where they were reportedly raped, which apparently led to their decision to go on a hunger strike, the report said, quoting the Eritrean website Erimedrek News.
"We mourn with the families and friends of these young women, who are the latest known victims of a regime deemed guilty of perpetrating crimes against humanity against its own people," said Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of Christian Solidarity Worldwide.
The reports noted that the women's bodies bore injuries suggesting that they were sexually abused.
"It is particularly poignant and harrowing to note they may have died after enduring unspeakable violations that compelled them to adopt a hunger strike, the sole means of protest available to them. Their story is emblematic of many others, whose suffering and deaths fail to register internationally due to the closed nature and pervasive control of the regime," Thomas said.
Eritrea is ranked as the 10th worst country for a Christian to be living in, according to Open Doors' 2017 World Watch List.
According to the Christian persecution watchdog, the current Eritrean regime has been trying to control all religious institutions. It deposed the Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Church in 2007, and he has been under house arrest since then.
It said thousands of Eritreans, including Christians, continue to flee the country to escape persecution.
Open Doors USA says many Christian prisoners "have been locked in shipping containers and died as a result." It says the persecution springs from the belief that Christians are "agents of the West" and "a threat to the state."
In 2016, the United Nations found "reasonable grounds to believe" that the Eritrean regime was committing human right crimes, including persecution of religious groups and rape by detention officials, Premier UK reported.
