Release International
'TALIBAN' ATTACK ON CHRISTIANS IN NIGERIA FEARED IMMINENT |
| Nov 02 2007 |
Extremists have put three houses to the torch in Wase, Plateau State, while their occupants were out working in the fields. And a group of militia calling themselves the 'Taliban' have threatened Christians beginning to return to their settlement in Borno State in north-eastern Nigeria.
The self-styled Taliban - also known as the Sunna Wal Jamma group - have been attacking communities in the north east since 2003. They have issued a threat against Christians in Borno State, and observers on the ground fear an attack may be imminent.
Last October, 26 of the Taliban were killed in a shoot-out with the military after attempting to kidnap two Christian pastors. The militants first gave notice that they intended to come to the area to preach. The trouble broke out when those who attended refused to convert to Islam. Now the group is threatening to come back and 'preach' again.
The British-based Christian human rights organisation, Release International, which supports the persecuted church, has been rebuilding houses destroyed in the attacks. So far, more than 500 Christians have ventured back. But Release's Nigerian representative, who cannot be named for security reasons, fears the militants won't rest until they have driven out every last Christian once again.
'The militants plan to terrorise them so they can take over the area. They do everything possible to convert people, but the only language they know is the language of attack. It is their desire to take over the whole of the North and impose Sharia (Islamic) law.'
Islamic law has been implemented in 12 of Nigeria's 37 states where Muslims are in a majority. Extremists are employing ethnic cleansing to drive out the opposition. According to church sources, 5000 were killed, 88 villages destroyed and up to 100,000 driven from their homes during previous attacks on the Wase area alone in Plateau State.
The militants were supported by jihadists from Chad and Niger. These fighters have been seen again. 'And they have more sophisticated weapons than last time', says Release's representative in Nigeria.
Last year a state of emergency was imposed in parts of Plateau State, which is seen as the dividing line between Nigeria's Muslim north and Christian south. According to government figures, more than 50,000 have been killed in Plateau State. Other sources put the figure far higher.
Release International's Chief Executive, Eddie Lyle, says: 'The international community must wake up to the seriousness of the violence taking place in Nigeria. In areas like Wase, it amounts to nothing less than ethnic cleansing. Christians who refuse to convert are burnt out and driven out. Those who won't go are killed. The militants are using terror to create a religious apartheid that - unchecked - will tear Nigeria in half.'
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