No indication in this piece as to why the “violence between Muslims and Christians” erupted. However, in nearby Nigeria, the international media routinely portrays jihad violence as “Muslim/Christian strife.”
This reminds me of the Liberian cab driver who drove me across Washington last year. He was nursing hopes of returning home and running for President of the country, and he discoursed on its internal condition at great length. Along the way he told us that Al-Qaeda was establishing a significant presence in Monrovia, and that they were causing increasing trouble there. I have no independent confirmation of that, so I give it to you for what it’s worth. It isn’t every day that one can ride a cab driven by a man who has plans to become a national politician in any country — although another of my colleagues was given a ride in another major American city by a driver whose name stuck in his mind, and who later turned up on FBI wanted lists as a senior member of Al-Qaeda. If he had known who he was driving, he could have stopped a leading anti-jihadist. Thank God he didn’t.
From AP, with thanks to Ireneo Funes:
MONROVIA, Liberia, Oct. 29 (AP) – Violence between Muslims and Christians engulfed Liberia’s war-battered capital on Friday, with machete-wielding crowds rampaging through the streets and United Nations peacekeepers firing warning shots and tear gas to restore order.
At least three people were killed, crushed under the wheels of a United Nations armored vehicle that was moving in to disperse a crowd, a policeman said.