Muslim fanatics burned down 10 Christian churches in the town of Makarfi in the northern state of Kaduna, Nigeria, April 10. Claims that a mentally retarded Christian teenager desecrated the Quran, the Muslim holy book, apparently incited the attack.
Although officials initially reported no casualties in the incident, eyewitnesses saw trucks piled with bodies of dead Christians from Makarfi being taken away for burial by police in nearby Kaduna. The violence also provoked the displacement of hundreds of other Christians from the town.
At an April 12 press conference, leaders of the Kaduna chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) confirmed the killings in Makarfi.
“Is it our conclusion that Muslim leaders are deliberately using fanatics in the name of Islam to engage in periodic attacks on Christians with the sole aim to intimidate, terrorize and force Christians into submission and to denounce their faith,” CAN vice chairman Sam Kujiyat said.
(CD)
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