Smoke rises from the Franco-Nigerien Cultural Center (CCFN) in Zinder after it was burned down during demonstrations after Friday prayer on January 16, 2014. PHOTO: AFP
NIAMEY: Forty-five churches were torched over the weekend in Niger`s capital during deadly protests over the publication of a cartoon of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) by the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, police said on Monday.
The protests, which left five people dead and 128 people injured, also saw a Christian school and orphanage set alight, Adily Toro, a spokesperson for the national police, told a press conference.
Similar protests on Friday in the second city of Zinder also saw five people killed and 45 wounded.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius had condemned the violence in Niger while President Francois Hollande called freedom of expression “non-negotiable”.
On January 16, thousands had also demonstrated in the Middle East and clashes broke out in Pakistan after sacrilegious cartoon was published.
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They burn churches because they angry to Charlie Hebdo?. Don't they know people behind Charlie Hebdo are atheists?. They also mock Christianity and Judaism.