Sectarian clashes in Nigeria claim over 100 lives

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2012-06-22

At least 101 people were killed in the last three days in sectarian clashes and gun battles between soldiers and insurgents in two Nigerian cities after suicide bombers attacked three churches on Sunday.

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In Kaduna city, angry Christians burned down mosques and killed Muslims in retaliation against the bombings, allegedly carried out by suspected members of the Islamic fundamentalist sect Boko Haram.

In Damaturu, capital of Nigeria's northern state of Yobe, over 40 persons including six security personnel were killed on Thursday in a gun battle between soldiers and insurgents.
According to state police spokesman Patrick Egbuniwe, 34 of those killed were members of the Boko Haram.

However, sources at the Sani Abatcha Hospital Damaturu claimed that corpses of eight policemen and three soldiers were brought in.

The governments of the two states of Yobe and Kaduna have declared 24 hours curfew to prevent further violence. The curfew led to acute scarcity of food and water as people were trapped indoors.

In Kaduna, where the violence left more than 61 people dead and several others injured, many people who needed money were disappointed when they found the ATM machines were not dispensing cash.

Meanwhile, the country's top security chiefs, including chief of Defence Staff Air Marshal Oluseyi Peturin have assured people that normalcy will return to the state immediately.

The Boko Haram radical sect has been waging war to install an Islamic government and Sharia rule in Africa's largest oil producer.

On Jan 20, an attack by the group in the northern city of Kano left 185 persons dead.

Nigeria's 150-million people comprises both Muslims and Christians, with Muslims predominant in the north and Christians living mostly in the South.

Source: Nigeria News.net