No Longer Containing the Restive Youths
May we at this stage remind our Muslim brothers that they do not have the monopoly of violence in this nation. Nigeria belongs to all of us – Christians, Muslims and members of other faiths. No amount of intimidation can Change this time-honoured arrangement in this nation. C.A.N. may no longer be able to contain our restive youths should this ugly trend continue.
Reuters - Bodies burned in open after Nigeria riots kill 146
Christian youths burned the corpses of Muslims on Thursday on the streets of Onitsha in southeastern Nigeria, the city worst hit by religious riots that have killed at least 146 people across the country in five days.
Christian mobs, seeking revenge for the killings of Christians in the north, attacked Muslims with machetes, set fire to them, destroyed their houses and torched mosques in two days of violence in Onitsha, where 93 people died.
“We are very happy that this thing is happening so that the north will learn their lesson,” said Anthony Umai, a motorcycle taxi rider, standing close to where Christian youths had piled up the corpses of 10 Muslims and were burning them.
Jesus.
Some charred corpses were still lying on the streets and hundreds of Muslim men, women and children fled the city crammed into open-top trucks for fear of more killings. Thousands more were hiding in army barracks and police stations.
Umeh said most of the bodies his group counted were Hausa, but some Ibo were killed too. The Hausa are the main ethnic group in northern Nigeria and most are Muslim, while the Ibo are dominant in the southeast and almost all are Christian.
Since I know that the press will be all over this (Christians attacking innocent Muslims! Woe, what Christianity makes us!):
In northern Maiduguri, where the Christian Association of Nigeria says 50 Christians were killed in a weekend riot that began as a protest against cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, tensions were high during several Christian funeral masses.
Emphasis mine.
The Red Cross said at least 21 people died in Maiduguri and 9,000 were driven from their homes.
A crowd of Christian youths broke away from the burial of one of the victims, a Catholic priest, and ran shouting through the streets before police dispersed them.
At the funeral of 13 children from two families who were burned in their houses, mourners wailed as police stood by.
Curtsy to RC2, who sent the link.
February 27th, 2006 at 8:12 am
nin-
I just posted about the same thing, with the addition of the quotes out of the Vatican concerning Islam in general, and how it relates to the underreported mess in Nigeria specifically. As I can’t seem to get trackbacks to work with you, I’ll just post instead ;-)