Churches Are Being Burned to Protest Charlie Hebdo Drawings (UPDATE)

UPDATE: Agence France-Presse reported Saturday that as many as seven churches have been set ablaze during protests rocking the West African nation of Niger.

#BREAKING: At least seven churches torched in Niger anti-Charlie Hebdo riots: AFP

— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) January 17, 2015

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At least two churches have been burned and four people killed during violent Saturday protests against a French satirical magazine's publishing cartoon images of the Prophet Muhammad.

Churches alight & tear gas fired at #CharlieHebdo protest in Niger's capital, #Niamey: https://t.co/yEqw7G8Dvh pic.twitter.com/zzWMoh66Xl

— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) January 17, 2015

Anti-#CharlieHebdo protests in Niger, 2 churches torched https://t.co/3Jsosc7yl3 pic.twitter.com/RABk60XtXg

— RT (@RT_com) January 17, 2015

Anti-#CharlieHebdo protest in Niger, police deploy tear gas https://t.co/3Jsosc7yl3 pic.twitter.com/2S8mpyNTMY

— RT (@RT_com) January 17, 2015

The West African nation of Niger was once a French colonial possession and retains strong cultural ties — mainly a shared language — with France.

Niger's population is more than 90 percent Muslim.

As Nigerien protesters rioted in Niger's two biggest cities, the capital Niamey and second city Zinder, the French embassy warned French citizens in the country to stay indoors, Agence France-Presse reported.

#BREAKING: France tells citizens in riot-hit Niger to stay indoors

— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) January 17, 2015

People run past a police truck Aset on fire by protesters during a demonstration against French weekly Charlie Hebdo's publication of a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed in front of the grand mosque in Niamey on January 17, 2015. At least two churches were torched in Niger's capital as protests raged on. Earlier, police fired tear gas to disperse some 1,000 youths in front of the city's grand mosque and AFP witnessed protesters in several parts of the city armed with iron bars and clubs. (Boureima Hama/AFP/Getty Images)

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