Violence rocks Nigerian cities

UPI ^ | Monday, 10 September 2001 | UPI staff

[Nachum]

JOS, Nigeria, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- More than 160 people were killed in three days of violence between Muslim and Christians in Jos, according to reports Monday from this central Nigerian city.

Kano, a city in the north, was also the scene of communal clashes and a church was set ablaze, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported. >[? "Our records, at this afternoon, show that 165 bodies have been deposited at various hospitals in Jos," said International Red Cross official Phillip Machram, who warned that the final death toll could be significantly higher.

He said more than 900 people were injured during fighting by the rival gangs, according to the BBC.

However, an official spokesman said the violence claimed 51 lives and injured more than 500 since the outbreak of fighting on Friday. He did acknowledge that those figures were not "final."

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo called for a return to order, sending the military into the city of 4 million over the weekend. They appear to have restored order, though there are reports of small skirmishes.

Thousands of residents fled their homes and sought shelter from the violence in police and military compounds.

Violence erupted Friday following an argument outside a mosque, "after which vigilante groups went on the rampage following a false rumor that a Christian church had been burnt down," the BBC reported.

To the north, authorities in Kano said the recent violence there has nothing to do with the fighting in Jos. In the last 20 years Kano has been the scene of numerous religious clashes.

Relations between Nigeria's Christians and Muslims in the north have been tense ever since the introduction of Sharia Islamic law in 12 of the country's states.

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Copyright 2001 by United Press International.

All rights reserved.

[Nachum]

For my Chritian friends here.

[Nachum]

Christian.