Vatican slams Nigerian ‘terrorist’ attacks
- Category: Africa
- Published Date
- Written by AFP
Attackers with bombs and guns opened fire at church services at a Nigerian university on Sunday, killing about 20 people as worshippers tried to flee, witnesses and officials said.
Explosions and gunfire rocked Bayero University in the northern city of Kano, and witnesses said they targeted two campus church services - one outdoors, the other in a building but with the crowd spilling outside.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, although the attack was similar to others carried out by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram which has targeted Christian church services.
The military, which regularly downplays casualty figures in attacks, put the death toll at seven.
However, an AFP correspondent counted six bullet-riddled bodies near one site, and at least another dozen bodies could be seen on a roadside by the university, although the exact number was unclear.
The Vatican condemned what it called “terrorist†attacks on Christians in Kenya and Nigeria and called for restraint to prevent a cycle of violence.
In the Kenyan capital Nairobi, a man on Sunday set off a grenade during a church service, killing one worshipper and also sowing chaos.
In another attack against Christians, in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, four people were shot dead as they were leaving a church on Sunday, a Christian organisation said.—AFP
