Kano, Nigeria (AFP) Gunmen abducted 19 Muslim worshippers after attacking a mosque in the restive northwest of Nigeria, police said Sunday. The attackers stormed the mosque in Maigamji village, in Katsina state, during evening prayers Saturday and carried out the kidnappings after shooting and wounding the imam and another worshipper, said local police spokesman Gambo Isah. “Our men mobilised and went after the bandits and succeeded in rescuing six of the worshippers from their […]
Tag: unrest
World Cup riots in Brussels after Morocco beat Belgium
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) Police used water cannon and teargas after coming under attack from football supporters who brought havoc to the centre of Brussels on Sunday following Morocco’s shock 2-0 World Cup win over Belgium in Qatar. Dozens of fans smashed shop windows, threw fireworks and torched vehicles. Police said that 11 people had been arrested with one remaining in custody. Even before the end of the match, “dozens of people, including some wearing hoodies, […]
M23 rebels say Rwanda-DR Congo ceasefire deal does not affect them
GOMA, DR Congo (AFP) — The M23 rebel group said Thursday that a ceasefire announced a day earlier “doesn’t really concern us,” while calling for “direct dialogue” with Democratic Republic of Congo’s government. “M23 has seen the document on social media… There was nobody in the summit (from M23) so it doesn’t really concern us,” Lawrence Kanyuka, political spokesman for the M23 (March 23) movement, told AFP. “Normally when there is a ceasefire it is […]
Rights group says hundreds massacred in Mali by Islamic State jihadists
Niamey, Niger | AFP | Armed groups affiliated with the Islamic State group have massacred hundreds of people in northeast Mali this year, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Thursday, adding the state was not doing enough to protect civilians. Tens of thousands of villagers from the Menaka and Gao regions have fled their homes after losing their livestock and belongings in attacks since March, the rights group said in a report. The abuses have […]
Thai doctor recounts Mali kidnap ordeal
Bangkok, Thailand | AFP | A Thai plastic surgeon on Thursday described drinking pond water to survive during three weeks of captivity at the hands of gun-toting kidnappers in Mali. Nopparat Rattanawaraha, who also runs a popular YouTube channel where he posts travel clips, returned to Thailand after being released on payment of a reported $150,000 ransom. The 49-year-old was back at work just a day after flying back to the kingdom, and recounted the […]
Burkina recruits 50,000 civilians to help battle jihadists
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AFP) — Burkina Faso this week launched a drive to recruit 50,000 civilian defense volunteers to help the army fight jihadists, the authorities said. The country, one of the world’s poorest, has been battling a deadly jihadist insurgency since 2015. Burkina Faso has been rocked by two coups since the start of the year, with each new leader accusing the previous of having failed to quell the violence. Captain Ibrahim Traore was […]
Fury at FIFA chief’s kickabout in Indonesia after stadium tragedy
Jakarta, Indonesia | AFP | Photos of FIFA’s president laughing and high-fiving in a football match with local officials weeks after a stadium disaster killed 133 people in Indonesia sparked online fury in the country on Wednesday. More than 40 children were among those killed in the stampede on October 1, one of the deadliest disasters in football history. Police had fired tear gas to quell a pitch invasion after a match in East […]
One dead in unrest at Argentina soccer match
Buenos Aires, Argentina | AFP | One person died Thursday following violent clashes that started outside a soccer match on the outskirts of Buenos Aires before spilling into the stadium and onto the pitch, authorities said. Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas as they attempted to stop fans attending the match between top-flight teams Boca Juniors and Gimnasia y Esgrima from pushing into the already crowded venue. The unrest outside the Carmelo Zerillo stadium […]
North Korea fires two ballistic missiles, slams UN meet
by Sunghee Hwang Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea fired two ballistic missiles Thursday, Seoul’s military said, as the UN Security Council met to discuss Pyongyang’s earlier, highly provocative launch of a missile over Japan. The launch is Pyongyang’s sixth in less than two weeks, and comes two days after it fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan, prompting Tokyo to issue a rare evacuation warning. South Korea’s military said it had […]
Indonesia orders stadium disaster ‘perpetrators’ punished
by Marchio GORBIANO Agence France-Presse MALANG, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia’s government called on the country’s police Monday to identify and punish whoever was responsible for a stadium stampede that left 125 people dead, as anger mounted over one of the deadliest disasters in the history of football. The tragedy on Saturday night in the city of Malang also saw 323 people injured after officers fired tear gas in a packed stadium to quell a pitch […]
Anger grows against Indonesia police over football stadium tragedy
Malang, Indonesia | AFP | by Marchio GORBIANO Anger against police mounted in Indonesia on Monday after at least 125 people were killed in one of the deadliest disasters in the history of football, when officers fired tear gas in a packed stadium, triggering a stampede. The tragedy on Saturday night in the city of Malang also saw 323 people injured. The incident unfolded when fans of home team Arema FC stormed the pitch at […]
Police under fire after 125 killed in Indonesia stadium stampede
Malang, Indonesia (AFP) by Marchio Gorbiano with Dessy Sagita in Jakarta Indonesian police came under mounting criticism Sunday after at least 125 people died in a stampede at a football stadium where officers fired teargas on angry fans invading the pitch. The tragedy on Saturday night in the city of Malang, which also left 323 injured according to police, was one of the world’s deadliest sporting stadium disasters. Arema FC supporters at the Kanjuruhan […]





