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66 killed in Chad violence over 'holy war'
Chad said on Wednesday its security forces had killed 66 followers of a Muslim spiritual leader who was threatening to launch a holy war against Christians and atheists from Africa to Europe. Ahmat Ismael Bichara, 28, was arrested after hundreds of his disciples armed with swords, spears, bows and clubs fought gendarmes armed with automatic rifles at a southeastern village on Sunday and Monday. Four members of the Chadian security forces were also killed and six wounded in the one-sided battles at Kouno, 300 km southeast of the Chadian capital N'Djamena. Bichara, his lip bloodied, wearing a white robe and reciting verses from the holy Quran was presented by the authorities to journalists in N'Djamena on Wednesday along with seven of his captured followers. Ministers in the landlocked ethnically mixed African country, where just over the half the population is Muslim, said the government had been obliged to act against the Islamic holy man to stop him triggering a religious war in the country. "Since June 3, he has been calling on all Muslims to prepare to engage in a holy war against Christians and atheists, saying that the war would be launched from Chad to as far as Denmark," Security Minister Ahmat Mahamat Bachir told journalists. "Ahmat Ismael Bichara's actions could have plunged the country into fire and blood," Information Minister Mahamat Hissene said, explaining the government's use of force. Posted by: Fred 2008-07-03 |
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