Nigerian 'Taliban' offensive leaves 150 dead

Published by You on 27 July, 2009 - 15:48

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


[size=9]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[/size]

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.

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Alternative article.

Submitted by You on 27 July, 2009 - 15:49

Morons!

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"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

Submitted by You on 28 July, 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...

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"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

Submitted by You on 28 July, 2009 - 16:11

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

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"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

Submitted by Dawud on 28 July, 2009 - 16:58

You wrote:
The 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.
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Gentleness and kindness were never a part of anything except that it made it beautiful, and harshness was never a part of anything except that it made it ugly.

Through cheating, stealing, and lying, one may get required results but finally one becomes

Submitted by You on 28 July, 2009 - 17:09

I don't think they call themselves the taliban, but others refer to them as such = equating them with the taliban.

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"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

Submitted by You on 28 July, 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."

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"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

Submitted by Ya'qub on 28 July, 2009 - 23:11

You wrote:
The 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'

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Don't just do something! Stand there.

Submitted by You on 28 July, 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).

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"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

Submitted by You on 28 July, 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).

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"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

Submitted by You on 31 July, 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...

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"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

Submitted by You on 31 July, 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.

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"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

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