Boko Haram leaves trail of blood across the northeast

THE ISLAMIST terrorist group Boko Haram has been blamed for the killings of at least 300 people over the past two weeks in northeastern Nigeria. Borno State reported the torching of 32 churches and about 300 homes. At Potiskum in Yobe State, a bomb in a crowded evangelical Christian church killed six people. Last Sunday evening two bomb attacks in Jos, Plateau State, killed at least 48 people and injured scores more – mostly Muslim – in a crowded mosque and a restaurant where prominent Muslims had gathered to break the Ramadan fast. The mosque may have been targeted because the imam, who survived the attack, is known for preaching that religions should coexist peacefully.

“Boko Haram now considers anyone or any group who does not share their world view as an enemy, whether the person is a Muslim or not,” Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos told The Tablet on Monday. “Naturally, people are very apprehensive, especially as the violence takes the form of guerrilla attacks,” he added. “It could happen anytime, anywhere and to anyone.” He felt “sensible and moderate Muslims and Christians” would continue to collaborate and pray for peace.