Thursday, November 1, 2018
Video - Nigeria's Shi'ite Protests - death toll rises to 24
Cleric Ibrahim Zakzaky, leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria remains in jail as his supporters continue to face security forces in protests for his release. Protestors claim that 24 people have been killed in the latest confrontation but the army has refuted this saying only three people died. Hundreds of Shia Muslims were stopped from marching into the city centre where most government offices and the presidency is located.
Video - Nigeria's missing General
The Nigerian army says it has found the body of one of its retired senior officers. Army General Idris Alkali, has been missing for almost two months, which sparked a search operation around his last known whereabouts.A number of arrests have been made as the army tries to uncover the cause of death.
Boko Haram insurgents kill 15 in Nigeria
Suspected members of the Islamist Boko Haram insurgency have killed at least 15 people in an attack on a group of villages in northeast Nigeria, residents have told Reuters.
The villages lie on the outskirts of the militarised city of Maiduguri, the heart of government in the northeast and the headquarters of efforts to defeat Boko Haram and the related Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA) insurgency.
The conflict has lasted almost a decade.
Despite the Nigerian government's statements since late 2015 that Boko Haram has been largely defeated, the militancy is still able to attack in and around Maiduguri and throughout much of the northeast.
In the village of Kofa, a Reuters reporter on Wednesday counted five bodies burned inside the remains of their house.
A village chief in nearby Dalori said one person in the camp for displaced people had been killed, while two residents of Bulabrin said nine people had died there.
Nigeria's military said in a statement one civilian was found dead, after Boko Haram had ransacked Dalori's market, setting buildings ablaze and fleeing when soldiers approached.
The villages lie on the outskirts of the militarised city of Maiduguri, the heart of government in the northeast and the headquarters of efforts to defeat Boko Haram and the related Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA) insurgency.
The conflict has lasted almost a decade.
Despite the Nigerian government's statements since late 2015 that Boko Haram has been largely defeated, the militancy is still able to attack in and around Maiduguri and throughout much of the northeast.
In the village of Kofa, a Reuters reporter on Wednesday counted five bodies burned inside the remains of their house.
A village chief in nearby Dalori said one person in the camp for displaced people had been killed, while two residents of Bulabrin said nine people had died there.
Nigeria's military said in a statement one civilian was found dead, after Boko Haram had ransacked Dalori's market, setting buildings ablaze and fleeing when soldiers approached.
Nigeria arrests 400 Shia Muslims after deadly clashes
Nigerian police have arrested 400 members of a Shia Muslim sect after days of deadly protests in the capital.
The pro-Iran Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) protesters demanded the release of their leader Ibraheem Zakzaky, in custody for 34 months.
The army admits that three people were killed in clashes in Abuja on Monday, but the IMN says that dozens died.
In 2016, a judicial inquiry found that the army had killed more than 300 Shia Muslims during clashes in the north.
It accused the army of using "excessive force" when trying to head off an alleged attempt to kill army chief Gen Tukur Buratai in Zaria, Kaduna state, in December 2015.
IMN leader Sheikh Zakzaky was arrested in the aftermath and held without charge until April 2018 when he accused in court of inciting violence.
No soldiers have been arrested, despite the judicial inquiry advising prosecutions.
'Dangerous weapons'
The army, which fired live rounds on Monday at the protesters, said the deaths came after the demonstrators tried to overrun a checkpoint.
The security forces also accuse the Shia protesters, who took to the streets of the capital for three days, of having 31 petrol bombs as well as other dangerous weapons.
. Shias are minority in Nigeria but their numbers are increasing
. The IMN, formed in the 1980s, is the main Shia group led by Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky
. They operate their own schools and hospitals in some northern states
. They have a history of clashes with the security forces
. The IMN is backed by Shia-dominated Iran and its members often go there to study
. Sunni jihadist group Boko Haram condemns Shias as heretics who should be killed.
The pro-Iran Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) protesters demanded the release of their leader Ibraheem Zakzaky, in custody for 34 months.
The army admits that three people were killed in clashes in Abuja on Monday, but the IMN says that dozens died.
In 2016, a judicial inquiry found that the army had killed more than 300 Shia Muslims during clashes in the north.
It accused the army of using "excessive force" when trying to head off an alleged attempt to kill army chief Gen Tukur Buratai in Zaria, Kaduna state, in December 2015.
IMN leader Sheikh Zakzaky was arrested in the aftermath and held without charge until April 2018 when he accused in court of inciting violence.
No soldiers have been arrested, despite the judicial inquiry advising prosecutions.
'Dangerous weapons'
The army, which fired live rounds on Monday at the protesters, said the deaths came after the demonstrators tried to overrun a checkpoint.
The security forces also accuse the Shia protesters, who took to the streets of the capital for three days, of having 31 petrol bombs as well as other dangerous weapons.
. Shias are minority in Nigeria but their numbers are increasing
. The IMN, formed in the 1980s, is the main Shia group led by Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky
. They operate their own schools and hospitals in some northern states
. They have a history of clashes with the security forces
. The IMN is backed by Shia-dominated Iran and its members often go there to study
. Sunni jihadist group Boko Haram condemns Shias as heretics who should be killed.
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Video - Islamic Movement of Nigeria continue protests despite Monday's killings
Shi'ite Muslims continued their demonstration in Abuja on Tuesday. Members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria are calling for the release of their leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky. On Monday, the military opened fire on a procession of I-M-N members heading to the Abuja demonstration. El-Zakzaky has been in prison since a security crackdown in 2015. His Islamic Movement of Nigeria has about 3-million followers. The group claims the soldiers killed at least 10 protesters on Monday. However, the army disputes this, saying only three people were killed as they marched on a military checkpoint. Thousands of demonstrators were allegedly blocking roads and throwing rocks when security forces opened fire.
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