Catholic Information Service for Africa (Nairobi)
2 December 2008
Pope Benedict on Sunday invited people to pray for the many victims of the brutal terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, and of the clashes in Jos, Nigeria, as well as for the injured and affected.
"The causes and circumstances of these tragic events are different", he said, "but the horror and censure at the outbreak of so much cruel and senseless violence is one and the same. We ask the Lord to touch the hearts of people who delude themselves by thinking this is the way to resolve local or international problems, and we feel urged to give an example of mildness and love in order to build a society worthy of God and man".
News reports said bodies awaiting burial were piled up at wards in Jos, as troops enforced a curfew after the weekend clashes. Churches and mosques were torched as armed mobs rioted. Police arrested 500 people on Saturday.
Violence broke out on Friday after the mostly Christian-backed governing party, the People's Democratic Party, was declared to have won the state elections in Plateau State, of which Jos is the capital city. The result was contested by the opposition All Nigeria People's Party, which is perceived in the state as predominantly Muslim.
Nigeria's 140 million people are split almost equally between Muslims and Christians and the two communities generally live peacefully side by side.
But Jos has seen repeated bouts of inter-communal violence, with more than 1,000 killed during riots in 2001.
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