Police fired tear gas as hundreds of Niger Muslims came out to yet again protest Charlie Hebdo’s satirical cartoons targeting Islam. At least three people were killed and several Christian churches set on fire by rioting crowds throughout the day.
Niger, a former French colony, has been gripped by Charlie Hebdo-fueled violence since Friday, when a protest rally in front of a French cultural center led to deadly clashes in which three protesters and a police officer were killed.
On Saturday, Niger police again used tear gas against at least 1,000 aggressive young demonstrators in the capital, Niamey, who burned tires and pelted the security troops with stones. At least two police cars were burned out as the angry crowd retaliated against a decision to ban a march organized by local Muslim leaders.
At least three people were killed in the protests, police sources said, which brings the death toll to eight from two days of violence in the West African country.
Elsewhere in the country, at least seven Christian churches were set on fire and ransacked, AFP reported, as religious-linked conflict escalates in the country.
Yemen on Saturday also saw renewed demonstrations against the Charlie Hebdo cartoons.
Meanwhile, in Russia’s predominantly Muslim republic of Ingushetia, some 10,000 people showed up to denounce both extremists hijacking Islam to spread a message of hatred and violence and those in the west who equate deliberate insulting of Muslims’ faith with defending freedom of speech.
via Churches torched, 3 killed as Niger’s anti-Charlie Hebdo protest escalates — RT News.