Rioters Storm 'Salvation Crusade' Camp on Matar; Chapel Burned to Ground

Pator – Rioters stormed the encampment of Abel Jarek's 'Salvation Crusade' this morning, burning down the recently-completed Amarrian chapel constructed by Jarek's followers on Matar. It is reported that 78 people have been injured, most of them members of Jarek's movement, with several severely wounded and hospitalized. No deaths are reported.

Since arriving on Matar some days ago the 'Salvation Crusade,' – led by Abel Jarek, a cleric of the Salvation Church of Blessed Servitude, a slave-based branch of the Amarrian Church – has attracted deep hostility among Minmatar citizens, particularly in the refugee camps where the 'crusaders' (as they are referred to by the citizenry) have made it their business to preach. Minor scuffles and violent arguments have been reported on those occasions when Jarek's followers have ventured into the main refugee camps.

At dawn today, however, the Salvation Crusaders were woken by a dramatic escalation in the opposition to their presence as hundreds of rioting refugees broke down the fence around their camp and proceeded to lay waste to everything they could find. Jarek's followers allege that the rioters were directed by a small group of masked men who they claim acted with 'military precision.'

Dr. Arturio Kiervalani, a Gallente voluntary medic who had just entered the compound to check on a patient, confirmed that "two masked men led a large group directly to the Amarrian chapel at the centre of the camp." Dr. Kiervalani agreed with reports that the masked men checked the chapel was empty, then had the rioters burn it to the ground while holding the Salvation Crusaders at bay with blows from clubs, some of which resembled primitive Khumaaks.

A visibly shaken but uninjured Abel Jarek was defiant when he spoke to reporters. "This will not stop the Salvation Crusade,” he said. “We will rebuild, we will grow, we will continue to spread the word of God. If this be a test, we shall meet it and not be afraid." Jarek then left to tend to injured members of his movement, leaving an aide to claim that local police and fire services took "over 45 minutes to arrive." Local authorities dismissed the claim, saying that "an appropriate response was dispatched as soon as we received an emergency call."