A new report has warned that Christians in many parts of the world are facing persecution because of their religion.

The 'Persecuted and Forgotten?' report from Aid to the Church in Need UK (ACNUK) looks at the situation facing Christians in 22 countries of concern, focusing on the last two years (2013-15)

The report suggests that fear of genocide has prompted a large exodus of Christians from parts of the Middle East and Africa, and that Islamist groups have carried out religious-motivated ethnic cleansing of Christians.

"As a result of this exodus, Christianity is on course to disappear from Iraq within possibly five years – unless emergency help is provided on a massively increased scale at an international level," the researchers found.

It is also warned that many nationalist religious movements "increasingly see Christianity as a foreign ‘colonial’ import, worthy of suspicion as a result of its perceived links with the West which is seen as corrupt and exploitative".

ACNUK says that totalitarian regimes such as China and North Korea have been putting Christians under pressure for this reason. 

The Guardian reports that British prime minister David Cameron said in a message for the launch of the report that "now is not the time for silence. We must stand together and fight for a world where no one is persecuted because of what they believe,”

You can read more from the report on the ACNUK website.