English 中文网 漫画网 爱新闻iNews 翻译论坛
中国网站品牌栏目(频道)
当前位置: Language Tips > 每日播报

Bombings in Nigeria claim at least 118 lives

[ 2014-05-22 10:59] 来源:中国日报网     字号 [] [] []  
免费订阅30天China Daily双语新闻手机报:移动用户编辑短信CD至106580009009

Get Flash Player

Download

Back-to-back bomb blasts killed at least 118 people and wounded 45 in the crowded business district of the central Nigerian city of Jos on Tuesday, in an attack that appeared to bear the hallmarks of Boko Haram insurgents, emergency services said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. But Boko Haram, which has set off bombs across the north and center of Nigeria in an increasingly bloody campaign for an Islamic state, is seen as the prime suspect in what would rank among their deadliest attacks in five years of insurrection.

Boko Haram grabbed world headlines by abducting more than 200 schoolgirls on April 14 from the northeastern village of Chibok. Britain, the United States and France have pledged to help rescue them.

If the Jos attack was the handiwork of Boko Haram, it would show the militant group's growing reach in Africa's top oil-producing country, striking out beyond their heartland in Nigeria's semi-arid and weakly governed northeast. Several bombs have exploded outside that region over the past month.

It was also likely calculated to stoke civil strife in Nigeria's most combustible ethnic and sectarian tinderbox. Jos and the surrounding Plateau state have seen thousands killed in tit-for-tat violence between largely Christian Berom farmers and Muslim Fulani cattle herders over the past decade.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan swiftly condemned the attack, calling it a "tragic assault on human freedom" and condemning the perpetrators as "cruel and evil".

A Reuters reporter saw 10 bodies burned beyond recognition at the bomb site opposite a hospital at Terminus, the downtown area of Jos which houses shops, some offices and a market.

"We've now recovered 118 bodies from the rubble," said Mohammed Abdulsalam, coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency in Jos. "This could rise by morning, as there is still some rubble we haven't yet shifted."

"The first explosive went off around 3 pm. The second was about3:30, while people gathered to help the victims," he said by telephone. "This is a very busy area of the Jos metropolis."

The back-to-back blast tactic, meant to maximize civilian casualties, has also been used by militants in Iraq and other places.

Jos has been relatively free of attacks by Boko Haram, but the group claimed responsibility for a bomb in a church in the highland city, as well as two other places, on Christmas Day 2011.

The city is in the heart of Nigeria's volatile Middle Belt, where its largely Christian south and mostly Muslim north meet, and the surrounding Plateau state is often a flashpoint for violence, although the Christmas bombing failed to trigger more.

But in a sign it could, a mob of Christian youths armed with clubs advanced toward a Muslim part of Jos before police held them back, police spokeswoman Felicia Anselm said by telephone.

On Wednesday, details emerged of two attacks by Boko Haram gunmen that killed 30 people near Chibok, the northeast Nigerian town where the Islamists kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls last month.

The first attack on Monday afternoon killed 10 in the village of Shawa, some seven kilometers from Chibok, a number of residents told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Gunmen then stormed the nearby village of Alagarno late on Tuesday and stole food, razed homes and fired on fleeing civilians. "It was a sudden attack," said resident Haruna Bitrus, in an account supported by other locals.

"They began shooting and set fire to our homes. We had to flee to the bush. They killed 20 of our people," he added.

(中国日报网英语点津 Julie 编辑)

Bombings in Nigeria claim at least 118 lives

About the broadcaster:

Bombings in Nigeria claim at least 118 lives

Lance Crayon is a videographer and editor with China Daily. Since living in Beijing he has worked for China Radio International (CRI) and Global Times. Before moving to China he worked in the film industry in Los Angeles as a talent agent and producer. He has a B.A. in English from the University of Texas at Arlington.

 
中国日报网英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“中国日报网英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883631联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。
 

关注和订阅

人气排行

翻译服务

中国日报网翻译工作室

我们提供:媒体、文化、财经法律等专业领域的中英互译服务
电话:010-84883468
邮件:translate@chinadaily.com.cn