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At Least Four Killed in Nigeria as Christians, Muslims Clash

14 July 2010 23:44 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Police in Nigeria say calm has been restored after at least four people were killed in clashes between Christians and Muslims, APA reports quoting â€œThe Voice of Americaâ€.

The fighting broke out Tuesday in the eastern town of Wukari, after Christians opposed to the construction of a mosque burned it down. Muslims retaliated, leading to the swell in violence between the two groups.

Violence between Muslims and Christians in central Nigeria earlier this year left hundreds of people dead.

Meanwhile, a leader of a Nigerian Islamist sect involved in deadly violence last year has expressed solidarity to al-Qaida in Iraq and threatened the United States. A statement attributed to Abubakar Shekau was posted on a jihadist Web site and translated by the U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group. The statement has Shekau giving his condolences for slain leaders of al-Qaida in Iraq, and warning that "jihad has just begun."

At least 700 people were killed last July when Shekau’s Boko Haram sect clashed with security forces in northern Nigeria. Shekau was thought to have been killed in the fighting.