Anti-Charlie Hebdo protests in Niger result in at least 8 deaths
LatestThe latest Charlie Hebdo cover, which features a weeping Muhammad with a sign that reads “I am Charlie,” has led to violent protests in Niger, a former French colony that’s predominantly Muslim.
At least eight people have been killed since the demonstrations began after Friday prayers.
In the capital city of Niamey, thousands of demonstrators clashed with police and burned Christian churches in the area. Authorities report that four charred bodies were removed from a burned building. A fifth individual, a woman, died of suffocation from smoke and tear gas inside of a bar.
Facebook user Mouhmoud Mouta posted a video and various photographs from the clashes to the social media platform.
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10205587889086091
In the southern city of Zinder, protesters torched a French cultural center, burned several churches, and attacked Christian-owned establishment. Reports indicate that four people were killed, including two individuals shot by authorities and a police officer who was run over.
Elsewhere, a photographer for French news agency Agence France-Presse was shot while covering similar protests in Karachi, Pakistan. He is currently receiving treatment.
French President Francois Hollande has decried the violent clashes and stated that protesters didn’t understand freedom of speech.
“I’m thinking of countries where sometimes they don’t understand what freedom of expression is, because the have been deprived of it,” Hollande said while visiting the central French city of Tulle. “But also we have supported these countries in their fight against terrorism.”
Hollande’s comments come in the same week where 54 French citizens were arrested for making comments that “could incite violence or hatred.”
Fidel Martinez is an editor at Fusion.net. He’s also a Texas native and a lifelong El Tri fan.
Manuel Rueda is a correspondent for Fusion, covering Mexico and South America. He travels from donkey festivals, to salsa clubs to steamy places with cartel activity.