Dozens killed in clashes in northern Nigeria

Dec 24, 2011, 14:38 GMT

Johannesburg/Abuja - Clashes between a militant Islamist group and government security forces in two states in north-east Nigeria have killed dozens, local officials said on Saturday.

The fighting in Damaturu and Maiduguri cities has been ongoing since Thursday. At least 20 people were confirmed dead in each city, with several others reportedly killed in a nearby town.

Civilians are believed to be among the dead, though the government says many Boko Haram fighters were killed. Several police officers and soldiers also died.

Boko Haram, an Islamist group that wants to impose strict Sharia law in northern Nigeria, has claimed several grenade and bomb attacks over the past two days, as well as shootings.

Spokesmen for the group were quoted by local media as saying they would keep up the fighting.

Nigeria is Africa's most-populous nation, with more than 150 million people. Christians predominately live in the south, while the north is mainly Muslim.

Government forces have been conducting raids against the Islamist group, and expelling local residents in the process, according to witnesses.

Other residents have chosen to leave the volatile north-eastern cities, after blasts were heard continuously for hours on Thursday and Friday.

The military has in the past been accused of carrying out human rights abuses while cracking down in Boko Haram, which has been staging attacks against government institutions since 2009.

While the group was initially defeated by the military, it resurfaced in 2010 with even larger attacks.

There are also signs of divides emerging within Boko Haram, whose name in the local dialect roughly translates as 'Western education is prohibited.'

This year, the United Nations' offices in Abuja were blown up, killing at least 24 people, in an attack that has been blamed on Boko Haram.