Nigeria faces new rift over alleged Shi'ite massacre

Following the skirmishes between the army and Shi'ites and the arrest of most prominent Shi'ite Muslim leader in December, the sect religious leader believed that they were betrayed and dehumanized by the Nigerian government.  

Muhammadu Samaru, a Shi'ite religious leader, said they feel degraded and deceived by the Nigerian government, according to Reuters report. "There can never be any trust and any cordial relations between us and the soldiers unless they change their ways. This is not the first time they are killing us," he added.

The news source recalled on December 12, the army said that members of the Shi'ite movement tried to assassinate Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai while their convoy travelled through Zaria. There was a shootout followed by street battles that forced the army to call for back-up. However, the sect members declared that the army hurled an unjustified attack on civilians. According to the sect, more than 1,000 Shi'ites could have been killed and others are missing.   

Zaria residents told Reuters that bulldozers demolished Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky's residence, a Shi'ite shrine, a prayer hall, clinic, cemetery and offices.

Since 1980's there have been periodic clashes between Shi'ites and security forces in Nigeria. Zakzaky has been jailed several times, often for anti-government rhetoric. Many Shi'ite residents of Zaria said the recent tensions had never been this bad. What fuels the growing anger is the officials' refusal to give a death count or hand over dead bodies as mentioned by Euro News.

News Daily held that concern groups believed that the violence and its consequences could further split a country engaging a northern insurgency by Boko Haram, a secessionist movement in the southeast, militancy in the oil-rich Delta, as well as a growing economic predicament.

Zaria has a population of about 500,000 and is the spiritual focal point of Shi'ite sect in Nigeria. The group is a religious and political crusade motivated by Islamic Revolution in Iran. 

Tags

Shi'ite, Nigeria, Sunni, Zaria, Boko Haram, insurgency, government, Muslim

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