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_WORLD WATCH______________________________
________________Nigeria_______________
Religious clashes resume
New disputes on Sharia law
Rival gangs of Muslims and Christians in northern Nigeria clashed in a series of riots early in September, leaving dozens dead and hundreds injured.
The fighting started in the city of Jos, where at least 50 people were killed, according to official reports. The riots were triggered by an argument between Christians and Muslims after Friday Islamic prayers. Northern Nigeria has been rife with tension over the past year as the majority Muslims have inaugurated a campaign to impose Islamic Sharia law in the region. Christians, who make up a majority in the country’s south, strongly oppose that campaign. Fighting last year led to hundreds of deaths, but the conflict had eased for several months.
The new wave of violence began when thousands of young people—some heavily armed—massed in the cities, setting fire to buildings and cars. “They just came in with their weapons and petrol in cans and asked everybody out before setting the church ablaze,” reported the pastor of one ransacked church. “Nobody could stop them.”
Back to Catholic World Report October 2001 Table of Contents