Nigerian 'Taliban' offensive leaves 150 dead

You —

Islamic group opposed to western education, Boko Haram, launches attacks across four northern provinces

Dead Nigerians are brought to a police station in the northeastern city of Bauchi after a gun battle in the early morning. Photograph: Ardo Hazzad/Reuters

A self-styled "Taliban" intent on imposing sharia law on all Nigerians widened its offensive yesterday in violence that has left 150 people dead.

Boko Haram, an Islamic group opposed to western education, has launched attacks across four northern provinces over the last two days and declared its intention to fight to the death.

Civilians were pulled from their cars and shot, their corpses then left scattered around the streets, witnesses told the BBC. Its reporter counted 100 bodies, mostly those of militants, near police headquarters in Maiduguri, Borno state. The police and army were on patrol, firing into the air, as hundreds of people fled their homes.

Read more @ The Guardian

Alternative BBC News article.

Forum
General

You — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 - 16:09

Nigerian militants 'under siege'

A group of Nigerian Islamist militants is barricaded inside a district in the city of Maiduguri, after two days of violence in the country's north.

A BBC reporter in the city says the Islamists, known locally as the "Taliban", are shooting at anyone approaching their stronghold.

The military says it has killed three militants trying to join the group.

The security forces have been told to use all necessary means to end the unrest, which has killed at least 100.

Sporadic fighting has been reported throughout the day in Maiduguri, with gunshots being heard and plumes of smoke rising from buildings.

"Fighting is still raging on in the heart of the city, where these men are burning places," a police officer told the AFP news agency.

Witnesses said dozens of corpses - mostly of militants - were still strewn around the city's police headquarters, which was the target of Monday's attacks...

Read more @ BBC News

Dawud — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 - 16:58

YouThe group is named "Boko Haram" which means "education is haraam". Very Islamic of them...

Quite ironic then, that they have called themselves 'Taliban' which means 'students'. Maybe they didn't know that.

You — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 - 17:49

Nigeria's 'Taliban' enigma

They have launched co-ordinated attacks across northern Nigeria, threatening to overthrow the government and impose strict Islamic law - but who exactly are the Nigerian Taliban?

Since the group emerged in 2004 they have become known as "Taliban", although they appear to have no links to the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Some analysts believe they took inspiration from the radical Afghans, others say the name is more a term of ridicule used by people in Maiduguri, the area where they were founded.

The group's other name, Boko Haram, means "Western education is a sin" and is another title used by local people to refer to the group.

Isa Sanusi, from the BBC's Hausa service, says the group has no specific name for itself, just many names attributed to it by local people.

If their name is uncertain, however, their mission appears clear enough: to overthrow the Nigerian state, impose an extreme interpretation of Islamic law and abolish what they term "Western-style education".

Flat-Earth views?

In an interview with the BBC, the group's leader, Mohammed Yusuf, said such education "spoils the belief in one god".

"There are prominent Islamic preachers who have seen and understood that the present Western-style education is mixed with issues that run contrary to our beliefs in Islam," he said.

"Like rain. We believe it is a creation of god rather than an evaporation caused by the sun that condenses and becomes rain.

"Like saying the world is a sphere. If it runs contrary to the teachings of Allah, we reject it. We also reject the theory of Darwinism."

Read more @ BBC News

Ya'qub — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 - 23:11

YouThe group is named "Boko Haram" which means "education is haraam". Very Islamic of them...

So the Masjid al-Haram means 'mosques are forbidden'?!

It means 'Holy/Sacred Education'

You — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 - 23:16

In arabic I think sacred/forbidden are linked and some people will describe how the names of the mosques allude to things being forbidden/more sinful on their premises too.

As for which version this group uses, I was just mentioning of what I had read, but I could easily be wrong.

Also "Boko" is supposedly "western education" and not just "education". What they define as western is in the above linked article (rain from evapourated water, the earth being curved and evolution and the three examples mentioned).

You — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 - 23:16

In arabic I think sacred and forbidden may be linked and some people will describe how the names of the mosques allude to things being forbidden/more sinful on their premises too.

As for which version this group uses, I was just mentioning of what I had read, but I could easily be wrong (and that can be a problem with transliteration - haram or harram or haraam).

Also "Boko" is supposedly "western education" and not just "education". What they define as western is in the above linked article (rain from evapourated water, the earth being curved and evolution and the three examples mentioned).

You — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 - 00:16

Detained Nigeria sect leader dead

The leader of an Islamic sect blamed for days of deadly violence in Nigeria has been killed in police custody, police officials say.

The news came just hours after security forces said they had captured Mohammed Yusuf in the city of Maiduguri.

Mr Yusuf led Boko Haram, which wants to overthrow the government and impose a strict version of Islamic law.

Hundreds of people have died in five days of clashes between his followers and security forces.

"He has been killed. You can come and see his body at the state police command headquarters," Isa Azare, spokesman for the Maiduguri police command, told Reuters news agency.

His bullet-riddled body was shown on state television, AFP news agency said...

Read more @ BBC News

You — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 - 00:18

Well, that's... erm... no trial there then I guess.

It seems pretty... public the way they killed someone after arresting him. I would have thought they would at least try to make it out as if due process had been followed!

The general public does not seem to trust the security forces/police all that much from what I read.