By William Wan
 

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/godingovernment/2009/08/us_commission_asks_hillary_to_address_nigerian_religious_violence.html#more

Just as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton takes off for a 10-day trip across Africa, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has issued a letter asking her to bring up specifically the topic of religious freedoms in Nigeria, where a clash between religious factions has left more than 700 dead.

For years, Nigeria has seen violent struggles between its Islamic and Christian sects. Here's a Reuters timeline tracking the bloody history. But the unrest reached a peak in recent weeks, when the Islamic Boko Haram sect attacked a police station in a five-day uprising , sparking violence that killed more than 700, according to Red Cross estimates.