Tensions between Sunnis and Shias boiling over in Pakistan

[BurtWorm]

Islam sometimes seems like the perfect poster-religion for atheism. :wtf:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7901094.stm

Pakistan's evolving sectarian schism



Shias in Karachi
Sectarian violence bedevilled Karachi in 80s, but has become less commonplace

By Alastair Lawson
BBC News

The deaths of dozens in a bomb explosion at a funeral procession in north-western Pakistan seems to be the latest manifestation of the bitter split between Sunnis and Shias in Pakistan.

No-one has yet claimed responsibility but the suicide blast targeted the funeral of a Shia Muslim cleric who had been gunned down on Thursday.

Over the past 20 years extremists from both groups have attacked each other all over Pakistan, although analysts say that the bulk of the violence more recently has been committed by Sunni militants inspired by al-Qaeda's ideology.

Their attacks over the past five years have borne a startling resemblance to bombings carried out by Sunni militants against Shias in Iraq.

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The list of recent sectarian attacks makes for grim reading:

* Feb 2009: Bomb attack on a Shia procession in Punjab leaving 35 dead
* Dec 2008: 27 people killed in a car bombing at a Shia mosque in Peshawar
* Aug 2008: 21 people killed in sectarian clashes in the Kurram tribal region
* Aug 2008: 25 Shias killed in an attack on a hospital in Dera Ismail Khan
* Mar 2008: 40 people killed in sectarian violence in North-West Frontier Province (NWFP)

As the influence of the Taleban grows in the north-west, the fear is that violent sectarian groups will assert themselves once again across the rest of Pakistan - correspondents say that recent violence in Punjab province could be a reflection of this.

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