Nigeria: 13 killed in sectarian violence in central

AFP

AFP

Wednesday, 28 February 2018 05:42

UPDATE
Wednesday, 28 February 2018 05:42

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At least 13 people have been killed during clashes between young muslims and christians in Kaduna State, in central Nigeria, announced on Wednesday the police.

Violence broke out Monday in the locality of Kasuwan Magani, about 45 km from the State capital, Kaduna.

“The chaos has resulted in the death of 13 people, with many homes and shops burned to the ground”, told AFP the minister of Police for Kaduna State, Austin Iwar.

The local media reported balance sheets are heavier.

According to Mr. Iwar, 20 suspects have been arrested since then, while the police forces and the army have been deployed to restore order. “Calm has returned”, he added, specifying that an investigation has been opened to determine the origin of the disorders.

“There is some speculation on the fact that young christians were not happy that girls (from their community) bind with boys muslims,” he explained, before adding: “we don’t want to make assumptions about what led to the chaos”.

The centre of Nigeria, the meeting point between a north that is predominantly muslim and the south mainly christian, is regularly the theatre of sharp inter-communal tensions.

The region is experiencing such a resurgence of tensions between christian farmers and pastoralists muslims for months, in a conflict for access to land, exacerbated by the warming climate and rapid population growth – Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa with nearly 200 million inhabitants.