Muslims burn down churches, shops

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FAITH UNDER FIRE

Muslims burn down churches, shops
Melee reportedly broke out with no provocation from Christians

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Posted: February 27, 2010
1:00 am Eastern


By Michael Carl
© 2010 WorldNetDaily


An angry Muslim mob attacked Christian-owned shops and houses, burned down eight churches and injured several people in the northern Nigerian town of Kazaure. But the melee was prompted by a Muslim police officer who had a dispute with a Muslim citizen, according to a group that monitors persecution of Christians.

The Muslim police officer pulled over a Muslim for a traffic violation Feb. 21, but the driver became angry and refused to stop, explained International Christian Concern's Jonathan Racho. The police officer then pursued the driver, caught up with him and assaulted the driver after forcefully removing him from the car.

The driver was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.

Tension in the region has been high since last month's Muslim rioting in Jos where 300 people reportedly were killed, human rights activists report.

"The driver died from his wounds received from the police officer. But it's important to note that this has nothing to do with any of the area's Christian residents," Racho explained. "It was a traffic incident, and neither the police officer nor the driver were Christians."

Racho said the Muslim mob "came together and tried to attack the police station."

"When they couldn't do that, they turned their attention to the Christians in the city. They burned down several Christian shops and a church."

Racho said Muslim mobs frequently have attacked Christians in mostly Muslim northern Nigeria.

"Any provocation from Christians is enough. But this time there was no Christian involvement. This time it's clear that there was absolutely no connection between this incident and the anti-Christian violence," he said.

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