Indian police told to shoot religious rioters

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

BHUBANESWAR, India (AFP) — Indian police were ordered to shoot on sight to end Hindu-Christian clashes on Wednesday as Pope Benedict XVI "firmly condemned" violence that has killed at least nine people.

Parts of eastern Orissa state have been rocked by Hindu-Christian clashes since Saturday, when a popular hardline Hindu religious leader and four of his disciples were shot dead by unknown assailants.

"We issued shoot-on-sight orders in the wake of large-scale violence" despite a curfew imposed Monday, said local administrator Satyabrata Sahu.

Mobs armed with sticks went on the rampage, torching government buildings and vehicles and staging other attacks, he said.

"This is unprecedented violence, much more widespread than we've ever seen" in the...