City wakes up to explosions and gunfire in Nigeria

Explosions and gunfire rocked the northern Nigerian city of Damaturu on Monday, in a suspected Boko Haram attack that targeted police, according to residents.

The sound of blasts and heavy weapons being fired woke locals in the Gujba Road area of the Yobe state capital at about 4:45 am (local time), said Umar Sada, who lives in the area.

"We have left our homes. We are now in the bush. We don't know what's going to happen," said Sada, who added that a police barracks had been destroyed.

The militants, who have been waging a five-year rebellion to create a hard line Islamic state in northeast Nigeria, have conducted similar dawn raids and attacked Damaturu before.

The raid came after a suicide bomb and gun attack on the central mosque in the northern city of Kano on Friday which bore all the hallmarks of Boko Haram and left at least 120 people dead.

Attack condemned

China on Monday strongly condemned Friday's bomb attack.

"China strongly condemns and firmly opposes terrorism in any form," said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying at a daily news conference.

"We felt deeply shocked and saddened at the attack that caused many civilian casualties," she said, expressing condolences to the victims' families.

After the attack, the Jama'atu Nasri Islam, the umbrella group for the Muslim community in the country, accused authorities on Sunday of failing to protect citizens from Boko Haram extremists.

In a statement, the group called on Muslims to "take all defensive measures within the purview of the laws to protect themselves since government has clearly failed".

Female bombers

Also on Monday, more than 10 people were killed when two female suicide bombers blew themselves up at a crowded market in the northern city of Maiduguri.

Goni Abba, a witness at the scene, said: "I counted 10 dead bodies and over 20 others have injuries."

On June 18, 21 football fans were killed when a bomb exploded as they watched a World Cup finals match at a public viewing center.

Boko Haram claimed responsibility for an Oct 24 attack on Damaturu, in which four police buildings were attacked with guns and explosives, followed by a long gunbattle with the security forces. Thirty people, all thought to be soldiers, were killed.

Yobe was one of three states worst-affected by the violence that was placed under a state of emergency in May 2013.

Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan last month requested an extension to the special powers but a deadline for its renewal has passed.

AFP - Xinhua - Reuters

(China Daily 12/02/2014 page12)