Mob Kills 2, Burns Mosques in Raid on Nigerian Village

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A mob killed two people and burnt mosques and homes in an overnight raid on a mainly Muslim village in northeastern Nigeria in the latest such violence to hit the country, residents said Friday.

"It was around 11:30 pm (22:30 GMT) when a crowd from Imbur attacked Gwalam village, setting fire on homes and mosques," resident Abubakar Hussaini said, with Imbur a largely Christian area and Gwalam mainly Muslim.

"So far, we have two deaths, and we still don't know the fate of some residents who fled into the bush to escape the attack."

The attack occurred in Adamawa state, which is to hold a governorship election on January 21.

Such ethnic and religious violence often occurs around election periods in Nigeria, though some residents believed the attack was in retaliation for the recent killings of Christians in the state claimed by Islamist group Boko Haram.

Gamo Jika, an official in the state for one of Nigeria's main Islamic organization, Jama'atu Nasri Islam, confirmed two were killed.

"We have two dead from the attack on Gwalam by some Christians. We are taking inventory of houses burnt in the attack," he said.

Adamawa state police spokeswoman Altine Daniel confirmed the attack but gave no details.

Imbur and Gwalam villages are located in Numan, a flashpoint of sectarian violence.

Nigeria has seen spiraling violence mostly blamed on Boko Haram, whose recent attacks targeting Christians have sparked fears of a civil conflict in a country roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and mostly Christian south.

Comments 6
Default-user-icon religion (Guest) 13 January 2012, 16:03

it would be more balanced to state this all started when churches were burned and christians were killed earlier last month...

Default-user-icon moslem (Guest) 13 January 2012, 17:23

i agree with you "religion", but tit for tat is not the answer. Those savages on both sides must be eliminated and I agree the boko haram started it.

Default-user-icon mark (Guest) 13 January 2012, 19:57

obeserver , i wish people could be objective like muslim , good position

Missing allouchi 13 January 2012, 20:23

I agree with moslem also. I hope this tit for tat will stop soon.

Default-user-icon An opinion (Guest) 14 January 2012, 03:48

Tit for tat violence between muslims and other religions will always exist until the So-called 'moderate sunni muslim leaders', stop acting as agents for the radical salafis from saudi Arabia. Until this stops, nothing will change.

Thumb ado.australia 14 January 2012, 06:30

God have mercy on the souls of the innocent civilians being martyred on both sides. This is exactly what the terrorist Boko haram wanted when they started all this.