UPDATE DEATH TOLL IN NIGERIAN TWIN BOMB ATTACK RISES TO 46 DOZENS OF SCHOOL CHILDREN WERE SHOT OR BURNED TO DEATH IN A RURAL REGION NEAR THE NORTHEASTERN CITY OF DAMATURU The death toll from a twin bomb attack carried out by suspected Islamist militants in the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri has risen to 46 people, a witness and a rescue official said on Sunday. The first blast went off at around 6 p.m on Saturday in a busy market area in Ajilari-Gomari near the citys airport, with another explosion following minutes later, several witnesses said. Maiduguri is at the centre of an insurgency being waged by the Islamist sect Boko Haram, which has killed thousands in its bid to create an Islamic state in Africas second largest economy. Boko Haram, whose fight for an Islamic state in northern Nigeria has killed thousands and made the group the biggest threat to security in Africas top oil producer, is increasingly targeting the civilian population. Dozens of school children were shot or burned to death in a rural region near the northeastern city of Damaturu President Goodluck Jonathan started an intensified military push to end Boko Harams four and a half year insurgency almost a year ago but the bloodshed has not diminished. He is expected to run in a closely contested election next year. The violence has been largely contained to Nigerias remote northeastern rural areas on the borders with Cameroon and Niger, far from commercial hubs such as Lagos and Abuja, and from the southern oil fields. The attack in the northeasts biggest city marks a setback for Jonathans military campaign. The insurgents targeted a busy area where they knew many people usually visit in the evening for commercial activities. It appears Boko Haram are in the city again, a policeman said, asking not to be named. Insurgents killed more than 300 people last month, mostly civilians, including in two other attacks that killed around 100 each, one in which militants razed a village and shot panicked residents as they tried to flee. Western governments are concerned about Nigerian groups such as Boko Haram linking up with al Qaeda-linked cells in other countries in the Sahel region, such as Mali, where France sent troops a year ago to oust Islamist militants. SABC
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 13:03:05 +0000
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