In an entirely new yet similar style, and an exciting yet still familiar format.
"Radicals kill at least 15 in Nigerian village" by Haruna Umar |
Associated Press, December 30, 2012
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — Gunmen suspected of belonging to a radical
Islamist sect attacked a village in northeast Nigeria, tying up men,
women, and children before killing at least 15 in the troubled region’s
latest attack, witnesses said Saturday.
The assault happened early Friday morning in the village of Musari on
the outskirts of Maiduguri, the city where the sect known as Boko
Haram first launched its guerrilla campaign of shootings and car
bombings against Nigeria’s weak central government.
The gunmen shouted religious slogans and later ordered those there to
be gathered up into a group, said Mshelia Inusa, a primary school
teacher in the village.
‘‘We heard some people chanting, ‘God is great, God is great,’ amid
sounds of banging on doors of houses at about 1 a.m.,’’ the teacher
said. ‘‘A voice was heard ordering people to be slaughtered and also
voices of children were heard screaming.’’
Inusa said he and others later saw corpses with their hands tied behind their backs and their throats cut.
Later Friday morning, an ambulance arrived at the State
Specialists Hospital in Maiduguri, accompanied by a group of military
vehicles, a security guard said. Agitated soldiers ordered people away,
but the guard said he counted at least 15 bodies being brought into the
facility’s morgue.
The guard spoke on condition of anonymity out of fears of angering either the military or the sect.
Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa, a military spokesman, later issued a
statement saying only five people had been killed in the village during
the attack. However, military and police officials routinely downplay
casualty figures because they are under increasing pressure from their
superiors to minimize the perceived effects of the ongoing attacks by
Boko Haram.
Boko Haram, which speaks to journalists through conference calls at
times of its choosing, could not be reached for comment Saturday.
Does that ever reek of an intelligence agency operation (or AmeriKan media reporting, which is basically the same thing).
However, the attack mirrored other assaults carried out by the group
as it expands its operations outside of cities in the northeast into
rural towns and villages, where the security presence remains light and
contact with the outside world remains difficult as the sect has
destroyed a number of mobile phone towers recently.
The sect, whose name means ‘‘Western education is sacrilege’’ in the
Hausa language of Nigeria’s Muslim north, wants the nation to enact
strict Shariah law and release its imprisoned members. Despite a heavy
military and police presence, the sect’s adherents have continued to
launch frequent attacks.
More than 780 people have been killed in Boko Haram attacks so far
this year, according to an Associated Press count, making 2012 the worst
year of violence attributed to the group. Boko Haram also has loose
connections with Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Somalia’s
al-Shabab, according to Western military officials and diplomats.
I need to go the crapper, readers.
Suspected Boko Haram gunmen also attacked another village Friday in
Adamawa state on its border with Cameroon. Witnesses said that attack
focused on the town of Maiha, where gunmen also shouted praises to God
while setting fire to government buildings, a school, and a prison....
And violence continued around the central Nigerian city of Jos, where
ethnic, religious, and political rivalries have caused mass killings in
recent years. Authorities said at least seven had been killed in
recent days around Christian villages in the rural plateau. Police said
they were investigating the attacks.
Related: All Religion is Local in Nigeria
Yeah, it's more about land but don't let that get in the way of the repeated war propaganda benefiting a few.
--more--"
Related: Haram Scare 'em In Nigeria
Sunday Globe Special: Qaqa in the Toilet
Nigerian Sectarianism Stories Stink
That's what happens when you don't flush.
Also see: No Place is Safe in Nigeria
That's certainly the way my newspaper makes it seem (in the old format).
