This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-26338041
The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 7 | Version 8 |
---|---|
Nigeria school raid in Yobe state leaves 29 dead | |
(35 minutes later) | |
At least 29 students have been killed after suspected Boko Haram militants attacked a boarding school in north-east Nigeria. | |
The BBC's Will Ross in Lagos says the remote school in Yobe state was attacked overnight when students were in their dormitories. | |
All the victims were teenage boys and 11 others were seriously injured. Most of the school was burned to the ground. | |
Islamist militants have attacked dozens of schools in north-east Nigeria. | |
Last September, 40 students were killed at an agricultural college during another night-time raid. | |
Teachers at the school in Buni Yadi said the gunmen gathered the female students together before telling them to go away and get married and to abandon their education. | |
The name Boko Haram means Western education is sin. | |
The group says it aims is to replace Nigeria's political leadership and establish a new state under strict Islamic law. | |
Nigeria's military said on Tuesday it was pursuing the attackers. | |
"We assure all law-abiding citizens that we will continue to do what is necessary to protect lives and property," a statement said. | |
President Goodluck Jonathan condemned the killings, calling them "heinous, brutal and mindless". | |
Our correspondent says Nigeria's armed forces are facing increasing criticism for failing to protect civilians or to respond to raids by the militants. | |
Yobe state Governor Ibrahim Gaidam said more troops were needed to contain the militants. | |
"It is unfortunate that up to five hours when this massacre took place, there were no security agents around to stop or contain the situation," he said in a statement. | |
"I have also been informed that the military here in Yobe state lack adequate number of troops on the ground." | |
This year close to 300 people have been killed in large-scale Boko Haram attacks. | |
The BBC's Isa Sanusi, from the Hausa service, says Boko Haram tends to attack schools that teach Nigeria's national curriculum, which the militants consider to be Western. | |
Earlier this month, militants claimed responsibility for killing a prominent northern Nigerian Islamic scholar, Sheikh Mohammed Awwal Albani, because he said the group's actions were un-Islamic. | |
Thousands of people have been killed since 2009, when Boko Haram launched its campaign to install Islamic law. | Thousands of people have been killed since 2009, when Boko Haram launched its campaign to install Islamic law. |
The latest offensive, ordered by President Jonathan in May, has been blamed for triggering reprisals by militants against civilians. | |
Addressing a news conference on Monday, the president defended the army's record, saying it had achieved some successes against Boko Haram and that the militants had been contained to a small area of north-east Nigeria close to the border with Cameroon. | Addressing a news conference on Monday, the president defended the army's record, saying it had achieved some successes against Boko Haram and that the militants had been contained to a small area of north-east Nigeria close to the border with Cameroon. |
He said the two countries were working together to stop the militants from staging attacks in Nigeria and then escaping over the border. | |
Correspondents say Yobe has been relatively peaceful this year, unlike neighbouring Borno state, where at least 250 people have been killed in a series of large scale attacks by the militants. | |