Nigeria’s Christmas Eve bombings in the city of Jos, possibly executed by a new Islamic extremist group, led to an additional 80 deaths in the violence-stricken “Middle Belt,” adding to what already amounts to thousands of killings over the last decade.
The death toll from last weekend was raised today to “more than double” of what has been previously published by the police. Nigeria’s emergency management agency (NEMA), according to the Nigerian Tribune, said that after visiting hospitals the number is 80. The police previously said 32 people died.
On Christmas Eve, four bombs exploded almost simultaneously in Jos, aimed at Christian targets. Churches were targeted on Christmas Eve and reportedly Christmas shoppers were among the victims, as well.
According to Nigerian news site “thisdayonline,” the attacks were claimed by “Jama’atu ahlus-Sunnah Lidda’awati wal Jihad.” Two of their reporters, based in Lagos and Jos, say an unconfirmed statement on mansoorah.net called ,“A statement regarding Jos and Borno attacks” claims responsibility.
The new group states that their violent actions were “to start avenging the atrocities committed against Muslims in those areas, and the country in general,” as quoted on the site.
The credibility of the website is disputed in several reports. Euronews says unconfirmed reports from Lagos indicate the Boko Haram Islamist sect claimed responsibility. And the BBC says the mansoorah.net website might belong to Boko Haram.
The violence occurred in the so-called “Middle Belt,” the region between the Christian south and the Islamic north of Nigeria. Acts of violence between Muslims and Christians are common in the region.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his condolences and condemned the recent deadly violence in Nigeria. His spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday that Mr. Ban “condemns these deplorable acts of violence, especially at a time when millions of Nigerians are celebrating religious holidays, and supports efforts by the Nigerian authorities to bring those responsible to justice.”
The 152 million people in Nigeria are almost evenly distributed between two religions; 50 percent is Muslim and 40 percent Christian. In Nigeria’s history, tensions between the two groups have repeatedly resulted in clashes costing many thousands their lives.
According to a U.N. report in March, during the last decade violent acts between the two groups killed 13,500 and displaced many more. The individual waves of violence that take place a few times a year alternate between taking predominantly Muslim lives and Christian lives.
The U.N., however, focuses not just on religious groups, but also ethno-religious groups. According to an analysis made by Stratfor in early 2010, tensions in the Plateau State, home to the city Jos, are embedded in this question: “Who is truly indigenous to the area, and thus deserving of control over local political offices and patronage?”
The importance of ethnicity next to religion as the cause of the tensions in the region is stated in the U.S. Department of State’s 2010 International Religious Freedom report published last month. The “religious differences often paralleled and exacerbated differences among ethnic groups,” it states.
Ethnicity and religion together form differences in identity and lifestyle, which, when combined with competition for scarce resources, often form the underlying ground for a violent act, the report states. The wave of religious violence that struck Jos in 2008, claiming hundreds of lives, was thought to have stemmed from built up hostility owing to mutual discrimination, the U.S. State Department report states.
On the surface, the trigger might vary. In the summer of 2009, violence by Islamist sect Boko Haram had a political cause, according to Stratfor. Attempts by the ruling People’s Democratic Party to gain control of the northern states for better elections results may have triggered the acts that killed 700.
The Jos riots in January and March, in which hundreds died, can largely be attributed to “the lack of justice and reconciliation in Plateau State after the 2008 violence,” the U.S. State Department report states.
The death toll from last weekend was raised today to “more than double” of what has been previously published by the police. Nigeria’s emergency management agency (NEMA), according to the Nigerian Tribune, said that after visiting hospitals the number is 80. The police previously said 32 people died.
On Christmas Eve, four bombs exploded almost simultaneously in Jos, aimed at Christian targets. Churches were targeted on Christmas Eve and reportedly Christmas shoppers were among the victims, as well.
According to Nigerian news site “thisdayonline,” the attacks were claimed by “Jama’atu ahlus-Sunnah Lidda’awati wal Jihad.” Two of their reporters, based in Lagos and Jos, say an unconfirmed statement on mansoorah.net called ,“A statement regarding Jos and Borno attacks” claims responsibility.
The new group states that their violent actions were “to start avenging the atrocities committed against Muslims in those areas, and the country in general,” as quoted on the site.
The credibility of the website is disputed in several reports. Euronews says unconfirmed reports from Lagos indicate the Boko Haram Islamist sect claimed responsibility. And the BBC says the mansoorah.net website might belong to Boko Haram.
The violence occurred in the so-called “Middle Belt,” the region between the Christian south and the Islamic north of Nigeria. Acts of violence between Muslims and Christians are common in the region.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his condolences and condemned the recent deadly violence in Nigeria. His spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday that Mr. Ban “condemns these deplorable acts of violence, especially at a time when millions of Nigerians are celebrating religious holidays, and supports efforts by the Nigerian authorities to bring those responsible to justice.”
The 152 million people in Nigeria are almost evenly distributed between two religions; 50 percent is Muslim and 40 percent Christian. In Nigeria’s history, tensions between the two groups have repeatedly resulted in clashes costing many thousands their lives.
According to a U.N. report in March, during the last decade violent acts between the two groups killed 13,500 and displaced many more. The individual waves of violence that take place a few times a year alternate between taking predominantly Muslim lives and Christian lives.
The U.N., however, focuses not just on religious groups, but also ethno-religious groups. According to an analysis made by Stratfor in early 2010, tensions in the Plateau State, home to the city Jos, are embedded in this question: “Who is truly indigenous to the area, and thus deserving of control over local political offices and patronage?”
The importance of ethnicity next to religion as the cause of the tensions in the region is stated in the U.S. Department of State’s 2010 International Religious Freedom report published last month. The “religious differences often paralleled and exacerbated differences among ethnic groups,” it states.
Ethnicity and religion together form differences in identity and lifestyle, which, when combined with competition for scarce resources, often form the underlying ground for a violent act, the report states. The wave of religious violence that struck Jos in 2008, claiming hundreds of lives, was thought to have stemmed from built up hostility owing to mutual discrimination, the U.S. State Department report states.
On the surface, the trigger might vary. In the summer of 2009, violence by Islamist sect Boko Haram had a political cause, according to Stratfor. Attempts by the ruling People’s Democratic Party to gain control of the northern states for better elections results may have triggered the acts that killed 700.
The Jos riots in January and March, in which hundreds died, can largely be attributed to “the lack of justice and reconciliation in Plateau State after the 2008 violence,” the U.S. State Department report states.
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