A Niger church burned by the Religion of Peace. (BBC) |
Muslims Burn Churches
This headline is 1,400 years old.
The Religion of Peace has never changed.
NIAMEY (Reuters) - Stone-throwing demonstrators set fire to two churches in Niger's capital Niamey on Saturday, in the latest protest in France's former African colonies at French newspaper Charlie Hebdo's cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad.
A day after five people were killed in Niger in protests over the cartoons, protesters in Niamey attacked a police station and burned at least two police cars near the main mosque after authorities banned a meeting called by local Muslim leaders. Police responded with teargas.
"They offended our Prophet Mohammed. That's what we didn't like," said Amadou Abdoul Ouahab, who took part in the demonstration. "This is the reason why we have asked Muslims to come, so that we can explain this to them, but the state refused. That's why we're angry today."
Demonstrations were also reported in regional towns, including Maradi, 600 km (375 miles) east of Niamey, where two churches were burned. Another church and a residence of the foreign minister were burned in the eastern town of Goure.
Four Muslim preachers who had convened the meeting in Niamey were arrested, police sources said. Protesters burned the French flag and set up roadblocks on streets in the town centre but no casualties were reported on Saturday.
The death toll from Friday's clashes in Niger's second largest city of Zinder, rose to five after emergency services discovered a burned body inside a Catholic Church.
On Friday, churches were burned, Christian homes looted and the French cultural centre attacked during the violence in Zinder, residents said.
A police officer and three civilians had already been confirmed killed in the demonstrations against the Charlie Hebdo cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, police sources said.
Charlie Hebdo: Niger protesters burn churches
The French embassy has called on its nationals living in Niamey to remain at home. |
A man holds a copy of the Koran during a protest against Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou's attendance last week at a Paris rally in support of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo. (Reuters) |
A man (2nd L) holds a sign reading "Charlie and his allies are damned". |
A man burns a tire during a protest against Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou's attendance last week at a Paris rally. |
A police van set on fire by protesters during a demonstration against French weekly Charlie Hebdo. |
A burned out church in Zinder. |
Muhammad, piss be upon his beard, is shown bathing in blood. Show me the part of this cartoon that is not historically correct. |
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