Nigerian religious slaughter peace talks stalled
Attempts to mediate a bloody conflict in Nigeria, where attacks by a predominantly Christian tribe on a Muslim village killed at least 500, were bogged down today.
Although the exact death toll was not known, Red Cross workers “estimate 500 to 600 dead” after interviewing witnesses and inspecting a mass grave site where hundreds were apparently buried, said Red Cross official Umar Abdu Mairiga.
He was leading a Nigerian Red Cross team visiting the Hausa-speaking Muslim town of Yelwa following raids by fighters from the largely Christian Tarok ethnic group.
About 100 people were reported missing following the attacks, many of them women and children allegedly abducted by the attackers, Mairiga added.
An emergency mediation committee meant to bring together leaders of the rival groups launched by President Olusegun Obasanjo was bogged down today after a prominent Muslim leader was named to head the committee.
The appointment drew condemnation from Christians, who constitute the majority in the central Nigerian state of Plateau, where the attack occurred.
“In the event of crisis, to bring somebody who has sympathy for the other group or somebody who is not neutral in the matter to head the panel is not acceptable,” said Samuel Salifu, leader of the region’s Christian association.
Intertwined religious, ethnic and political enmities have fuelled outbreaks of communal bloodshed that have left over 10,000 dead since Obasanjo’s 1999 election ended 15 years of repressive military rule in Africa’s most-populous nations.
The latest killings are part of a cycle of back-and-forth attacks that have rocked central Nigeria since 1,000 died in September 2001 during fighting between Christians against Muslims in the city of Jos.
Many more have since been killed in the restive region, including hundreds since January this year.
