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Military, Shiite Muslims Clash in Northern Nigeria
[AnNahar] Deadly festivities erupted between the military and Shiite Muslims in Zaria, northern Nigeria, which also left the group's headquarters and the home of its leader destroyed, witnesses said Sunday.Armed soldiers carried out crackdowns on the pro-Iranian Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) following an incident on Saturday involving the convoy of the chief of army staff. The IMN, which seeks to establish an Islamic state through an Iranian-styled revolution, has been at loggerheads with Nigeria's secular authorities, leading to occasionally violent confrontations. The group's leader, Ibrahim Zakzaky, has periodically been incarcerated for alleged incitement and subversion. Northern Nigeria is majority Muslim and largely Sunni. IMN front man Ibrahim Musa claimed dozens of the group's members were killed when soldiers opened fire and "hundreds more were maimed and incarcerated Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! " when Zakzaky's home and the sect's mosque were attacked. Zakzaky's deputy and the group's head of security were among the dead but the whereabouts of Zakzaky and his family was unknown, he added. There was no independent confirmation of the corpse count, although army front man Colonel Sani Usman said Sunday evening there was "loss of lives," without specifying numbers. Local residents said soldiers backed by tanks invaded the Gyallesu area of Zaria and fought running battles through the night with hundreds of IMN members trying to block troops from reaching Zakzaky's home. Hundreds of sect members had mobilized from different parts of the north in response to an appeal on social media from the IMN leader for protection. "Throughout the night gunfire rang all over the neighborhood as soldiers kept opening fire on hundreds of Shia followers who kept trooping to the house of their leader to guard it," said local Balarabe Gwargwaje. "The house has since been demolished." On Saturday, Shiite faithful blocked the main road outside their Husseiniyya religious center, where hundreds had gathered for a ceremony. The crowds obstructed traffic, including the convoy of Nigeria army chief Tukur Yusuf Buratai, witnesses and the military said. The military claimed the Shiites attacked Buratai, which left soldiers no option but to retaliate. The army said IMN members, who set barricades and bonfires on the road, were armed with "dangerous weapons" in a "deliberate attempt to assassinate the chief of army staff and members of his entourage." "The troops responsible for the safety and security of the Chief of Army Staff on hearing kaboom and firing were left with no choice than to defend him and the convoy at all cost as well as open up the barricaded road for law abiding citizens," it added. Buratai was on an official visit to the city, the statement issued late Saturday said. IMN front man Musa, however, said there was "no reason" for opening fire and the group was made up of "defenseless people out to perform a religious ceremony." Iran summons Nigerian diplomat over killing of Shiites [Ynet] Iran's state TV is reporting that the country's Foreign Ministry has summoned the Nigerian Charge d'Affaires to protest the killing of Shiite Muslims in northern Nigeria. The broadcast says a senior Foreign Ministry official condemned the killings and said the Nigerian government is responsible to protect Shiite Muslim lives and properties. Iran is the world's largest Shiite Muslim state. Nigerian soldiers raided the home of Ibraheem Zakzaky, leader of the Shiite Islamic Movement, this weekend in Zaria, a town in northern Nigeria. The movement says soldiers killed hundreds of Shiite Muslims after their group stoned the convoy of Nigeria's army chief. Other reports put the number of dead at about 20.
Posted by: trailing wife 2015-12-15 |
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