Suspected Boko Haram gunmen kidnap 172 women, children in Nigeria

Suspected Boko Haram gunmen kidnap 172 women, children in Nigeria Thu, Dec 18 17:33 PM EST By Lanre Ola MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Suspected Boko Haram gunmen kidnapped 172 women and children and killed 35 other people on Sunday during a raid on the northeast Nigerian village of Gumsuri, residents said on Thursday. Although no one has claimed responsibility, the attack bore the hallmarks of Boko Haram, which abducted more than 200 women in April from a secondary school in Chibok, only 24 km (15 miles) from this latest attack. The campaign for an Islamic state by Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sinful," has become the gravest threat to Africa's biggest economy and top oil producer. Village resident Abba Musa, a maize grinder who survived the attack, estimated the number abducted as 172 after the village did a head count following the assault. The attackers shouted "God is Great" and unleashed salvos of gunfire, he said. "My sister and her seven children were among those taken away," he told Reuters by telephone. "We ran into the bush and were lucky. There were not many others who were lucky." He said at least 33 were killed. Thousands of people have been killed and many hundreds abducted, raising questions about the ability of security forces to protect civilians, especially around the north Cameroon border where the militants are well established. "The government is outraged and deeply saddened by this deplorable act," government spokesman Mike Omeri said in a statement. "Boko Haram continues to choose, ever cowardly, to target civilian populations to spread their brand of terror." He estimated deaths at 17 but said the numbers abducted could not yet be reliably ascertained. Maina Chibok, who did not witness the attack but is from Gumsuri and visited family there shortly afterwards, said the insurgents carted away their victims on open-topped trucks. News from remote parts of Nigeria that are cut off from mobile communications sometimes takes days to emerge. A security source confirmed that more than 100 had been abducted and 35 people killed, including the district head. "They also burnt down a government medical center, houses and shops," Chibok said. The abductions have increased in frequency this year. A man who says he is Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau last month rejected comments by the government that it was in talks to free the Chibok girls, saying he had in fact "married them off" to Boko Haram commanders, in a video posted on the Internet. Aliyu Mamman, a young vigilante from the area, told Reuters by telephone that there was no security presence to stop the militants, who stayed in the town all night before leaving. Nigeria sentenced 54 soldiers to death for mutiny in the northeast on Wednesday. On Wednesday, Cameroon's army killed 116 Boko Haram militants when they attacked a base in the Far North region of the country, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday. (Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Alison Williams and Jonathan Oatis)

Bombs, gunfire kill 81 at crowded mosque in Nigeria's Kano

Bombs, gunfire kill 81 at crowded mosque in Nigeria's Kano Fri, Nov 28 16:53 PM EST image 1 of 7 By Nnekule Ikemfuna KANO, Nigeria (Reuters) - Gunmen set off three bombs and opened fire on worshippers at the main mosque in north Nigeria's biggest city Kano on Friday, killing at least 81 people, witnesses and officials said, in an attack that bore the hallmarks of Islamist Boko Haram militants. Blasts from the coordinated assault rang out as scores of people packed into the ancient building's courtyard for afternoon prayers. "These people have bombed the mosque. I am face to face with people screaming," said local reporter Chijjani Usman. The mosque is next to the palace of the emir of Kano, the second highest Islamic authority in Africa's most populous country and a vocal critic of Boko Haram. The emir, former central bank governor Lamido Sanusi, was not present. Boko Haram, a Sunni jihadist movement which is fighting to revive a medieval Islamic caliphate in northern Nigeria, regards the traditional Islamic religious authorities in Nigeria with disdain. It has attacked mosques that do not follow its radical ideology in a bloody near six-year campaign that has also targeted churches, schools, police stations, military bases and government buildings. "After multiple explosions, they also opened fire. I cannot tell you the casualties because we all ran away," a member of staff at the palace told Reuters on Friday. After the attacks, angry youths blocked the mosque's gates to police, who had to force their way in with tear gas. Reuters visited two mortuaries, one with 20 bodies from the attack, the other with 61, according to medical officer Muhammad Ali. The victims had blast and gunshot wounds, he said. President Goodluck Jonathan said in statement that he would "not to leave any stone unturned until all agents of terror undermining the right of every citizen to life and dignity are tracked down and brought to justice." A MILLION DISPLACED The old mosque and palace date back centuries to when Kano was one of several Islamic empires thriving off trade in gold, ivory and spices from caravan routes connecting Africa's interior with its Mediterranean coast -- glory days of Saharan Islam that Boko Haram says it wants to recreate. Islamic leaders sometimes shy away from direct criticism of Boko Haram for fear of reprisals, but Kano's emir Sanusi, angered by atrocities such as the kidnapping of 200 schoolgirls from the village of Chibok in April, has become an increasingly vocal Boko Haram critic. He was quoted in the local press as calling on Nigerians this month to defend themselves against Boko Haram. During a broadcast recitation of the Koran he was reported to have said: "These people, when they attack towns, they kill boys and enslave girls. People must stand resolute ... They should acquire what they can to defend themselves. People must not wait for soldiers to protect them." The insurgency has forced more than one million people to flee during its campaign focused on Nigeria's northeast, the Red Cross told reporters on Friday, an increase on a September U.N. refugee agency estimate of 700,000. Persistent insecurity is dogging President Jonathan's campaign for re-election to a second term in February 2015. He has asked parliament for approval to extend an 18-month-old state of emergency in the northeast. (Additional reporting by Julia Payne, Isaac Abrak and Abraham Terngu in Abuja; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Andrew Heavens)