At least 100 villagers have been killed in Nigeria's central Kaduna state in attacks linked to disputes between ethnic groups, officials say.
Heavily armed men entered three villages in the Kaura district in the south of the state.
It is not clear who was behind the attacks, but residents blame members of the mainly Muslim Fulani tribe.
Central Nigeria has often witnessed violence stemming from disputes over land and religion.
Thousands of people have been killed in recent years in violence blamed on semi-nomadic Fulani herdsmen attacking Christian farmers.
A member of Kaduna's state assembly, Yakubu Bitiyong, visited the scene of the most recent attacks, which took place on Friday night.
Most of those killed in the villages of Ugwar Sankwai, Ungwan Gata and Chenshyi, had been so badly burned they could not be identified, he told the BBC. Houses were destroyed by fire and food supplies looted.
Mr Bitiyong said two of the attackers were also killed and their bodies taken away by police, who have sent in reinforcements.
The unrest is not connected with the continuing Islamist insurgency carried out by the Boko Haram group, which wants to impose Sharia law in the north.
The attacks in Kaduna came only a day after reports emerged of 69 people being killed over several days in northern Katsina state when dozens of armed men arrived in villages on motorbikes.
Violence in that area has also been blamed on Fulani attacking local farmers from the Muslim Hausa ethnic group, rather than the Christian community.
BBC
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Friday, March 14, 2014
Nigerian best selling author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wins Americia's National Critics Book prize
The writer's work tells the story of a Nigerian woman who moves to the US to pursue a college education.
In 2008, her second novel, Half of a Yellow Sun, won the UK's Orange Prize and Purple Hibiscus was longlisted for the Booker Prize four years earlier.
Other category winners for the US honour included Sheri Fink's book about Hurricane Katrina.
Her account of the patients, staff and families who took shelter in New Orleans' Memorial Hospital during the devastating storm took the non-fiction prize.
Frank Bidart won the poetry section for his collection Metaphysical Dog, while Amy Wilentz was honoured with the autobiography award for her account of journeys to Haiti following the 2010 earthquake in the country. 'It takes an outsider'
For the first time, a special award was given for a debut writer, crossing all categories.
Anthony Marra was honoured with the prize for his novel A Constellation of Vital Phenomena.
Adichie's third novel was also named as one of the New York Times' top 10 books of 2013.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, the author said her book drew on her own experiences as an African living in the US, particularly with African Americans.
"I don't know race in the way an African American knows race… Sometimes it takes an outsider to see something about your own reality that you don't," she said.
Her preceding work, Half of a Yellow Sun, is set during the Biafran War of the late 1960s and has been adapted into a forthcoming film starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Thandie Newton.
The writer is also in the running for the UK's Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction - formerly known as the Orange Prize - for Americanah.
The National Critics Book Prize was first awarded in 1974 and is open to writers of all nationalities whose work has been published in the US.
BBC
Related stories: Video - Best selling author Chimamanda Adichie talks about her new book and gives praise to Lupita Nyongo
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Attack by gunmen leave 69 people dead in Katsina
Gunmen on motorbikes in Katsina state killed at least 69 people and torched several homes in attacks on four villages, a local lawmaker said Thursday, amid rising communal tension in the region.
The state’s police chief, Hurdi Mohammed, who gave a lower toll of 30 dead, told AFP the violence was perpetrated by ethnic Fulani herdsmen who have been blamed for scores of deadly raids.
“So far, 69 bodies have been recovered from the attacks carried out by a large group of gunmen riding on motorcycles,” said Katsina lawmaker Abbas Abdullahi Michika of the violence which first broke out late Tuesday. “The victims include men, women and children.
Rescue teams are still combing nearby bushes in search for more bodies,” he told AFP. He specified that 47 people were killed in the village of Mararrabar Maigora while seven deaths were recorded in both Kura Mota and Unguwar Rimi.
Another eight people were killed in Maigora, according to Michika. Fulani leaders have for years complained about the loss of grazing land which is crucial to their livelihood, with resentment between the herdsmen and their agrarian neighbours rising over the past decade. Most of the Fulani-linked violence has been concentrated in the religiously divided centre of the country, where rivalries between mostly Muslim herdsmen and mostly Christian farmers have helped fuel the unrest.
While there is no religion element to the conflict in Katsina, which is overwhelmingly Muslim, tensions between the Fulani and ethnically Hausa farmers have worsened in recent months. Residents have blamed the Fulani for several violent robberies this year.
Three people were killed earlier this month in Katsina when suspected Fulani gunmen opened fire at a checkpoint. The police chief insisted the attacks were not linked to Islamist group Boko Haram, whose insurgency has killed more than 500 people in the northeast already this year.
Vanguard
The state’s police chief, Hurdi Mohammed, who gave a lower toll of 30 dead, told AFP the violence was perpetrated by ethnic Fulani herdsmen who have been blamed for scores of deadly raids.
“So far, 69 bodies have been recovered from the attacks carried out by a large group of gunmen riding on motorcycles,” said Katsina lawmaker Abbas Abdullahi Michika of the violence which first broke out late Tuesday. “The victims include men, women and children.
Rescue teams are still combing nearby bushes in search for more bodies,” he told AFP. He specified that 47 people were killed in the village of Mararrabar Maigora while seven deaths were recorded in both Kura Mota and Unguwar Rimi.
Another eight people were killed in Maigora, according to Michika. Fulani leaders have for years complained about the loss of grazing land which is crucial to their livelihood, with resentment between the herdsmen and their agrarian neighbours rising over the past decade. Most of the Fulani-linked violence has been concentrated in the religiously divided centre of the country, where rivalries between mostly Muslim herdsmen and mostly Christian farmers have helped fuel the unrest.
While there is no religion element to the conflict in Katsina, which is overwhelmingly Muslim, tensions between the Fulani and ethnically Hausa farmers have worsened in recent months. Residents have blamed the Fulani for several violent robberies this year.
Three people were killed earlier this month in Katsina when suspected Fulani gunmen opened fire at a checkpoint. The police chief insisted the attacks were not linked to Islamist group Boko Haram, whose insurgency has killed more than 500 people in the northeast already this year.
Vanguard
Video - Nigeria demands justice for Nigerian brutally mistreated by South African police
Nigeria has protested to South Africa about a "merciless attack" by police on one of its nationals in Cape Town, its foreign ministry has said.
An amateur video on social media sites purportedly shows the man being stripped, assaulted and handcuffed by policemen and security guards.
Nigeria had sent a "strongly worded" note to Pretoria, demanding justice for the man, the ministry said.
Two South African police officers have been arrested.
Rights groups have often accused South African police officers of brutality, incompetence and corruption.
"The Nigerian High Commission will continue to monitor the case with keen interest until justice is achieved," the ministry said in a statement.
South Africa's police watchdog, the Independent Police Directorate, has said the officers would be charged with assault.
About 17,000 registered Nigerians live in South Africa, but correspondents say there are many more illegal immigrants.
Last year, Mozambican national Mido Macia died after being dragged behind a moving police patrol van in a town east of Johannesburg.
Nine officers are standing trial for his killing.
BBC
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Stephen Keshi is ranked 24th best coach in the world
Super Eagles coach, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi has been named the 24th best national team coach in the world by The Institute of Football Coaching and Statistics.
The listing, which is the latest by the body, also named the Head coach of Ghana Black Stars James Kwesi Appiah in the 42nd position.
Top of the list
The coach of the Spanish national team, Vincente Del Bosque tops the list with 25188 points followed by Germany Joachim Low with 21422 points.
Oscar Tabarez of Uruguay placed 3rd, Italy Ceasre Prandelli came fourth, Netherlands Van Marwijk 5th, Jurgen Klinsmann 6th , Poalo Jorge Gomes of Portugal 7th.
Position
Guinea coach Michel Dussuyer is in the 29th position, while Algeria coach Vahid Halihodzic fell from previous 34th position to 41st.
Seasoned coaches like Laurent Blanc was named in 43rd place, Lars Lagerback, 47th, with Croatia Slaven Billic placing 50th.
The listings can be found at http://www.coachworldranking.com/ranking-national-teams.aspx
Futaa
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)