This is against the army’s position which said its confrontation with the Shia sect members who had erected a makeshift roadblock near a mosque resulted from an assassination attempt on the army chief of staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, whose convoy was passing by.
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Top Syrian rebel leader killed in airstrike in Damascus
He denies holding them although they were kidnapped from an area under Army of Islam control. The group’s surviving leaders were said to be discussing a succession plan.
The New York-based group said the army’s version “just doesn’t stack up”.
Indian PM arrives in Pakistan for surprise visit
Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, said in an interview that there was a danger of overanalyzing the visit. Stop-over in Lahore on way back from Kabul marks first visit by an Indian prime minister to Pakistan in over a decade.
The demonstrators on Friday gathered in Midtown Manhattan near the Nigerian Mission to the United Nations and called for the release of senior Nigerian cleric Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zakzaky, Press TV correspondent Caleb Maupin reported.
More Chinese cities issue red alerts for heavy smog
After four days of red alert Beijing lowered it today with a warning by officials that the smog will persist till the weekend. Paquette said the company’s first 500 containers of fresh mountain air sold quickly in China, and they’re sending 4,000 more.
“We demand the immediate and unconditional release of Sheikh Zakzaky, and all of the other detainees that have been illegally detained by the Nigerian military and the government”, said activist Ali Naqvi.
As many as 1,000 people may have been killed over December 12-14. It began in the 1980s and is led by Sheik Zakzaky, who was inspired by Iran’s revolutionary movement when he traveled there.
Nigerian Shia Muslims wounded in military raids earlier this month are dying in detention due to a lack of medical care, the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) says.
Describing the silence of the Presidency on the matter as shocking, the HRW said Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai following the incident immediately announced the establishment of a state judicial commission of inquiry to look in to the clash.
Spokesman Ibrahim Musa also says the Kaduna state government is destroying property of the group, which has millions of followers, including schools and shrines.
He said two of the injured members died Monday owing to absence of medical attention in the prisons.
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“The history of the circumstances that engendered the outbreak of militant insurgency in the past – with cataclysmic consequences that Nigeria is yet to recover from – should not be allowed to repeat itself”, said a statement from the sultan, who is president of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs.
