Release International

Church leaders in Jos have appealed for calm after serious violence rocked the Plateau state capital again, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people.

Tensions remain high and security is tight after three days of clashes between Christians and Muslims in and around Jos left at least 300 people dead and up to 18,000 people displaced. The precise death toll may never be known as the Government has ordered many bodies to be buried in mass graves.

Latest reports say that two pastors and 46 other Christians are confirmed dead. And 27 Christians are still missing, according to the Christian Association of Nigeria. Large parts of the city were badly damaged: Bukuru market, a large commercial area, was razed to the ground, with at least 1,000 shops and homes destroyed.

The trigger for the violence is unclear. Christian sources insist that Muslim youths attacked worshippers in St Michael's Church in Nasarawa Gwong and then burnt down ten other church buildings on January 17. A Muslim group, however, contends that the violence began when Christians tried to stop construction workers from rebuilding a Muslim's house which had been destroyed in violence in November 2008.

Stefanos Foundation, a Release partner in Nigeria which has launched a factfinding mission in Jos, reports that Muslim builders on the construction site, which is in a mainly Christian area, began chanting inflammatory phrases, apparently to goad local Christians. When builders started chanting 'Allahu Akbar' (Allah is great), local youths reportedly interpreted it as a call to arms and started attacking churches. There have been reports of some people from the general Christian community retaliating and attacking Muslims.

The BBC reports that the violence had apparently been fuelled by scores of intimidating text messages, sent to both Muslims and Christians, designed to stir up religious hatred. Stefanos Foundation believes that insurgents from Nigeria's northern Sharia states such as Jigawa may have helped fuel the conflict.

Jos is no stranger to violence. Clashes in the city in 2001 left more than 1,000 dead and a weekend of riots in November 2008 claimed hundreds of lives.

(Sources: BBC, Compass Direct, Daily Nation [Kenya], Human Rights Watch, Stefanos Foundation)

• Pray that the cycle of violence and retribution will be broken in this troubled city.
• Pray that all those bereaved in recent clashes will choose peace, not retaliation. Pray too for committed Christians who may feel their witness has been compromised by misguided individuals committing crimes in Christ's name.

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