News

21 Jan 2010

NIGERIA: Christians in Jos, Fear Further Attacks

Gunshots and smoke continued to alarm residents of Jos in central Nigeria, with the Christian community fearing further violence from Muslim youths who on Sunday 17 January attacked a Catholic church and burned down several other church buildings.

Police said continuing violence was initially triggered by unprovoked attacks by Muslim youth on worshippers at the St Michael’s Catholic Church in Nasarawa Gwong, in the Jos North Local Government Area. Also attacked were buildings of the Christ Apostolic Church, Assemblies of God Church, three branches of the Church of Christ in Nigeria and two buildings of the Evangelical Church of West Africa, Christian leaders said. The number of casualties continued to grow, reportedly reaching more than 100 as security forces tried to rein in rioters, with both Christian and Muslim groups still counting their losses. Hundreds have reportedly been wounded. “We have been witnessing sporadic shootings in the last two days,” said the Rev Chuwang Avou, secretary of the state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria. “We see some residents shooting sporadically into the air. We have also seen individuals with machine guns on parade in the state.”

Source: Compass Direct

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