Tuesday, November 11, 2014

47 Youngsters Killed at Christian School in Nigeria


A suicide bomb attack in a Christian secondary school in the town of Potiskum in Yobe state, north-eastern Nigeria, has killed at least 47 people on Monday (10 November) as the students gathered for morning assembly. Boko Haram is thought to be behind the blast, having carried out several attacks on schools giving a Western-style education. Translated from Hausa, Boko Haram means “Western education is forbidden”, of which this latest school attack is a stark reminder.

n a separate incident, trapped residents from the predominantly Christian city of Mubi in Adamawa state report that Christians have been tortured and killed after the Islamist group Boko Haram took control of the town on 29 October. Churches have been burned down across the city, and the homes of many believers have also been torched. The group has renamed the city Madinatul Islam, meaning “City of Islam”.

Mirroring developments in territory under the control of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, sharia law has been enforced in Mubi. (Ten Muslims who were accused of looting suffered public amputations, in line with sharia regulations.) The Islamist group is telling Christians in Mubi that they must leave, convert to Islam, or be killed.

A church leader who escaped the area reported that most of the killings were of Christians who could not or would not recite the shahada (the basic Islamic creed that Muslims say is enough for a person to convert to Islam). Others reported that Christians had been stoned to death. Read more

See also
Nigeria: Suicide bomber kills 48 in school assembly
Kidnapped women 'used by Boko Haram on front line': rights group
Nigeria Girls Detail Horrific Boko Haram Abuse

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