Eight Christians burned alive in Punjab

(August 3, 2009) Pakistani Special Forces have taken control of the town of Gojra (Punjab) after the bloody episode of Sunday 2^nd of August in which at least 8 people - including 4 women and a child of 7 years - were burned alive and 20 others wounded. At least 50 houses of Christians were burned and destroyed and thousands of faithful fled to escape execution. Relatives of the victims refuse to take care of dead bodies and do not want funerals until the culprits are arrested. At least 3 thousand Muslims, after they were incited by local religious authorities, marched to the Christian village Gojra founded 50 years ago. Groups of young Muslims - perhaps from the Sunni group Sipah-e-Sahabaha - with their faces covered started to shoot wildly. The villagers fled, but some were trapped and were killed by the uncontrollable fire unleashed by the mob. To burn the houses, the militants used a particular fuel that is difficult to extinguish. the same fuel was said to have been used in the village of Shanti Nagar, burned in February 2007, in the village of Sangla Hill in 2005 and in the burning of the 50 houses of Christians and the two churches on the evening of July 30 in Koriyan near Gojra. The minister for minorities, Beat Shahbaz, a Catholic, has accused the police of negligence. The local Christians say they have been requesting the police protection for days because the situation was tense, but have been ignored. As the news of attacks against Christians spread, in Lahore there was a demonstration to demand guarantees of freedom for Christians. It all started weeks ago with charges of blasphemy against Talib Masih, who is accused of having burned pages of the Koran during a wedding ceremony on July 29 at Koriyan and attack began the following day.