[ad_1]
Nigerian security forces fired tear gas and live bullets into the air on Tuesday to disperse Shia Muslim protesters in Abuja, the capital, a day after the death of at least eight people in clashes. during a similar event.
Scattered groups of supporters of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), a Shiite sect, have attempted to demonstrate in the center of the city, but some 50 soldiers and police have blocked access to the scene, a spokesman said. AFP reporter.
According to Mohamed Sodje, an IMN member, several people were injured, but the group has so far made no official statement.
Tensions are high in Abuja after the clashes on Monday that left at least six people dead, as well as a police officer and a journalist, at an IMN protest demanding the release of the cleric Ibrahim Zakzaky.
Police opened fire with live ammunition and tear gas, while protesters threw gasoline bombs at police officers.
IMN said Monday's death toll was higher – with 11 dead – but accused the police of removing the corpses in vehicles.
Amnesty International condemned the police action as "reckless use of force".
Zakzaky, a member of the pro-Iranian clergy, has been arrested by the authorities since December 2015 for terrorism, among others.
He is still in detention despite a court ordering his release, with the government filing new criminal charges.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday offered his condolences to the families of the deceased policeman and journalist, but did not mention the deaths of Shiite protesters.
The IMN, which became a student movement in the late 1970s, was inspired by the Islamic revolution in Iran.
The sect meets hostility in Nigeria, whose Muslim population is mainly Sunni.
Clashes between security forces and IMN supporters have been frequent in recent years.
Zakzaky, who had previously called for an Iranian-style Islamic Revolution in secular Nigeria, was arrested after violence during a religious procession in the state of Kaduna, northern Nigeria, in December 2015.
According to human rights groups, some 350 Shia protesters, mostly unarmed, were killed by the Nigerian army and buried in mbad graves.
The army denied the claims.
Source link
