By Ethan Cole|Christian Post Reporter

More than 40 people were killed in a Muslim-Christian clash this past
weekend in a central Nigerian city with a history of volatile relations
between the two faith communities.

In Jos city, Plateau state, about 200 Muslim youths attacked Christians
near St. Michael’s Catholic Church, according to local sources of
Christian Solidarity Worldwide. The human rights organization reported
that Muslim youths congregated to renovate a house next to St. Michael’s
Catholic Church, owned by a man who allegedly killed three Christians in
the November 2008 sectarian violence in Jos.

But instead of renovating, the youths reportedly assaulted a female
passerby before attacking St. Michael’s Church. They also set fire to
several churches, including a Christ Apostolic Church and two
Evangelical Church of West Africa churches, as well as local houses and
businesses.

In retaliation, Christian youths launched a counter-attack, including
lighting mosques on fire, and soon violence spread to other areas of Jos.

At a press conference Sunday, Plateau state’s Police Commissioner Greg
Anyanting said the violence was sparked by unprovoked attack on
worshippers of St. Michael’s Church, according to The Punch, Nigeria’s
most widely read newspaper. Thirty-five armed people have been arrested
and some were in military uniform, the commissioner said.

“This incident is the latest in a series of attacks on the Christian
community of Jos that began in 2001,” said CSW chief executive Mervyn
Thomas. “Unfortunately, since perpetrators of religious violence are
rarely brought to justice, many in northern and central states no longer
trust the authorities to guarantee their safety."

“This must be addressed by state and federal authorities if we are to
see an end to the tragic cycle of religious violence in Northern and
central Nigeria,” he added.

In November 2008, major sectarian violence between Muslims and
Christians broke out in Jos resulting in the deaths of more than 300
people. The 2008 conflict was the worst sectarian violence in Nigeria
since 2004, when some 700 people were killed and over 100 churches,
destroyed.

“If the people arrested in connection with the November 2008 violence
and reportedly transferred to Abuja for trial had indeed been
prosecuted, this would been a deterrent, and perhaps the current
violence may not have occurred,” commented the Rev. Yunusa Nmadu, CEO of
CSW Nigeria.

Earlier, in September 2001, a Muslim-Christian clash resulted in more
than 1,000 deaths in Jos.

Though the clashes have generally been described as sectarian violence,
journalists say that more than religion, poverty or access to resources
is commonly the root cause of the conflict.

Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, is about evenly split
between Muslims in the north and Christians in the south with minorities
of both religions living where the other faith is dominant. Since
democracy was restored in 1999, there have been at least 15,000 deaths
due to religious, communal or political violence, according to BBC.

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