Vatican City, Nov 30, 2008 / 11:58 am
Shortly after completing the Angelus prayer and his reflections on Advent, Pope Benedict turned his attention to the outbreaks of violence in India and Nigeria and deplored the thinking of the attackers.
The terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India began on Wednesday evening but were only brought to an end on Saturday. The perpetrators of the attacks and their motives remain unidentified, but close to 200 people were killed in the armed siege of eight different locations in Mumbai’s commerce and film districts.
Immediately following the attacks Pope Benedict condemned the violence and offered his prayers for the victims and their families.
The violence in central Nigerian city of Jos erupted after the results of regional elections were announced on Friday. The party which is generally associated with Christians, the People’s Democratic Party, was declared the victor in the elections, but the announcement was quickly greeted with accusations of rigging from the backers of the Muslim-associated All Nigeria People’s Party.