Human Right Watch (HRW)
has called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to make sure that the
massacre of up to 500 Christian villagers in central Nigeria on Sunday,
March 7, 2010, is thoroughly and promptly investigated and that those
responsible are prosecuted.
In a statement, Eric Guttschuss, the HRW Nigeria Researcher, tasked Vice President and Acting President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, to ensure that the military and the police act swiftly to protect civilians of all ethnicities at risk of further attacks or reprisal killings stating the need for conducting regular patrols throughout the vulnerable region.
"The latest killings in Nigeria's restive Plateau State took place in the early morning hours of March 7, when groups of men armed with guns, machetes, and knives attacked residents of the villages of Dogo Nahawa, Zot, and Ratsat, 10 kilometers south of Jos, the capital of Plateau State. The dead included scores of women and children," he said.
Guttschuss noted that most witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that the attacks against Christians were committed by Muslim men speaking Hausa and Fulani, mostly of the Berom ethnicity.
"Civil
society leaders in Jos said that the attacks appeared to be in
retaliation for previous attacks against Muslim communities in the area
and the theft of cattle from Fulani herdsmen," he said. "On January 19,
more than 150 Muslim residents were killed in an attack on the nearby
town of Kuru Karama."
Source: Success Kanayo Uchime, ASSIST News Service
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