Consequently, the Government and national army split into Muslim and Christian factions.

After initiallay seeking to curb Muslim factions, they began fighting Christian forces in later years.

As the army and government fractured along sectarian lines, the Christian defeat by the more numerous Muslim factions seemed a foregone conclusion.

It sought to establish a new government replacing the self-proclaimed administrations of rival Christian and Muslim factions.

Thursday night's fighting erupted during a basketball game that involved several Sunni Muslims and members of another Muslim faction, officials said.

But both the Christian majority of the region and some Muslim factions have denounced any peace agreement, leaving open the possibility of further fighting.

Upon Malik's return to the prison, he joins the Muslim faction of the yard.

Rather, it erupted due to intersectional fighting between Muslim factions and Han Chinese.

Maksudi became the leader of the Muslim faction in the Russian parliament.

Rather, the latest violence has been between Muslim factions.