Guinea

Religious clash leaves one dead in Guinea

Article published on the 2010-02-07 Latest update 2010-02-07 16:00 TU

Guinea's interim leader General Sékouba Konaté
(Photo: Seyllou/AFP)

One person has died and 34 have been injured in clashes between Muslims and Christians in Nzerekore, a town in the east of Guinea.

A government representative is in the town to broker peace between the two religious groups, but religious tension is still high.

On Friday a band of municipal police stopped a Christian woman who was returning from the market and wanted to use a shortcut through the mosque. In a confrontation with the guards, the woman is said to have lost a bag of rice and 220 euros.

A column of angry Christian youths tried to shut down the mosque in revenge, but they were prevented by a group of Muslim youths.

In a scuffle that followed, one person was killed and 34 were injured, eight of them seriously.

Authorities closed the mosque but Muslim youths threatened to attack all the churches in the town if their mosque was not reopened by Sunday.

It was reopened on Saturday night, but RFI's correspondent Karim Kamara says tension is still high between the two communities the authorities have imposed a curfew to forestall further trouble.