The demonstrations, which began on Friday January 16 in Niger's second largest city, Zinder, spread quickly and reached the capital Niamey on Saturday. Ten people have lost their lives and 45 churches have been burned down during the two days of unrest, police say. But according to World Watch Monitor's own data, more than 70 churches have been destroyed, as well as several Christian schools and organizations, including an orphanage. The 40 children from the orphanage are currently in police custody.
Over 30 Christian homes are believed to have been looted and burned. Those who have been affected say the violence has left them with "only the clothes on our backs".
Pastor Zakari Jadi, whose church is among those destroyed, told the BBC that he was on his way to a meeting with the elders when he heard about the attacks. "I rushed to my colleagues in the church and told them to take their families and get away. I also took my own family away from there. When I came back, I saw that everything was gone. There is nothing in my house and there is nothing in the church."
It all began on January 16 in Zinder where eight churches and twelve Christian homes were burned down and two Christian schools were attacked and looted. 300 Christians (out of the 700 in the town) had to flee and take up residence in military barracks. Some of them have now started to return to their homes.
Widespread violence
The violence quickly spread to other towns around Zinder. On Saturday, it reached the capital Niamey, where a large group of 1000 Muslims gathered outside the local mosque before marching through the city. The angry crowd set fire to public buildings, including bars, brothels and a beer factory. Then, in smaller groups, they attacked Christians across the city.
No protection against the attacks
Several sources have pointed out the lack of intervention by the security forces. This has meant that Christians and their property have been easy prey. In a TV broadcast on Saturday night, President Mahamadou Issoufou condemned the anti-Christian violence and expressed surprise at the attacks. "What have the Christians of Niger done to deserve this? How have they wronged you? Those who loot the churches, those who desecrate them, and those who persecute and kill their Christian compatriots or foreigners living in our country have not understood anything of Islam," he said. The weekend's violent incidents were also widely condemned by several Muslim clerics. The government has declared a three-day mourning period for those who lost their lives, wrongly but conveniently linking the Charlie Hebdo case to the local Christians and using it as an excuse to attack Christians, as happened in the Muhammad cartoons case where Muslims in northern Nigeria attacked Christians in February 2006.
The Charlie Hebdo cartoons were also protested in Sudan, Somalia and several other countries.
Source: World Watch Monitor
