ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Troopers and members of a Shiite Muslim group clashed in Nigeria’s capital Abuja, killing six folks, police stated Saturday.
One safety pressure and 5 members of the Islamic Motion of Nigeria had been killed within the violence Friday, a police spokesperson stated.
Members of the spiritual group had been marching in solidarity with Palestinians of their battle with Israel. The demonstration happened on Worldwide Quds Day, which is held on the final Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in solidarity with Palestinians worldwide.
It is not uncommon for the Islamic Motion of Nigeria to embark on demonstrations that usually flip violent, resulting in lack of life and property. Demonstrations by the group had been intense in 2015 after the army cracked down on the group and had its chief, Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, arrested.
Regardless of his launch, the group has continued to embark on demonstrations nationwide.
The Islamic Motion of Nigeria is a Shiite sect that represents round 5% of Nigeria’s 100 million Muslims, most of whom are Sunni. Its creation was impressed by the Islamic Revolution in Iran with the objective of forming an Islamic State in Nigeria via peaceable means. Nonetheless, the Nigerian authorities banned the group in 2019 following lethal protests and alleged extremist ties.
Sidi Munir Sokoto, a spokesperson of the group, stated they marched peacefully and didn’t do something to warrant an alleged assault on their procession by the military which led to the demise of 5 of its members.
“This incident is the newest in a sequence of comparable occasions, the place safety forces have been abusing their energy by concentrating on harmless civilians who’re exercising their authorized rights,” Sokoto stated in an announcement.
Nonetheless, the police stated members of the group had been armed with firearms, brief swords and catapults and upon responding to a misery name they got here underneath “intense gunfire” that led to “critical damage” of three safety forces and the demise of one other.
Nineteen folks had been arrested in reference to the incident, Josephine Adeh, spokesperson for the police in Abuja, stated. “Investigations are ongoing to make sure that all perpetrators are delivered to justice,” she stated.
Rights group Amnesty Worldwide accused the Nigerian army of utilizing techniques designed to kill when coping with gatherings of the group.
Firearms ought to by no means be used as a tactical device for managing demonstrations, and Nigerian authorities are obligated underneath worldwide regulation to conduct a full, unbiased investigation into the deaths, the rights group stated.
