Troops patrol Pakistani city after riots

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LAHORE, Pakistan — Paramilitary troops patrolled the streets of Gojra in Pakistan’s Punjab province after rioters set alight dozens of Christian homes that burned to death members of a Christian community, raising fears of similar violence spreading to other areas.

Tension started mounting last week after Muslims accused three Christian youths of burning a copy of the Koran. They denied the allegations, but clerics called for their death. On Aug. 1, hundreds of supporters of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an outlawed Sunni sectarian group, poured into the town from surrounding districts. The group is believed to have close links with Al-Qaeda and has been involved in several terrorist attacks targeting security forces in recent years.

The mob attacked indiscriminately, threw petrol bombs and looted houses as thousands of frightened Christians ran for safety. “They were shouting anti-Christian slogans and attacked our houses,” Rafiq Masih, a resident, said.

Police and local officials said that at least eight people, including four women and a child, were killed in the fires. Two others died of gunshot wounds. Residents said that the casualties were much higher; one claimed that the number of dead could be in the dozens, as many bodies were still buried under the rubble.

Television footage showed armed men running through the streets, gunfire, and women and children wailing. Blackened furniture lay outside burning homes, while a group of people rushed a man suffering from burns on a cart through the streets.

Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti said that 40 Christian homes were torched in rioting, adding that there was no truth to allegations that a Koran had been defiled. He accused police of ignoring his appeal to provide protection to Christians.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that paramilitary troops were sent after police and the local administration failed to control the situation. Security forces were also placed on high alert to prevent violence from spreading to other Punjab towns.

Security in Gojra, which has a Christian population of about 50,000, was tightened as funerals were held for the eight victims identified thus far. Christians make up a small minority of Pakistan’s population of 160 million and have been the target of attacks by Islamic extremists before, particularly in eastern Punjab.

[AP]