Nigeria Car Bomb: Kaduna Blast Near Churches Kills 38

People gather at the site of a bomb explosion at a road in Kaduna, Nigeria on Sunday, April 8, 2012. (AP Photos/Emma Kayode)

LAGOS, Nigeria — A suicide car bomber detonated his explosives Sunday morning on a busy road after apparently turning away from attacking Nigerian churches holding Easter services, killing at least 38 people in a massive blast that rattled a city long at the center of religious, ethnic and political violence in the nation.

The blast struck Kaduna, the capital of Kaduna state, leaving charred motorcycles and debris strewn across a major road in the city where many gather to eat at informal restaurants and buy black market gasoline. Nearby hotels and homes had their windows blown out and roofs torn away by the force of the powerful explosion, which engulfed a group of motorcycle taximen.

The explosion damaged the nearby All Nations Christian Assembly Church and the ECWA Good News Church as churchgoers worshipped at an Easter service, the possible target of the bomber. Witnesses said it appeared the explosive-laden car attempted to go into the compound of the churches before it detonated, but was blocked by barriers in the street and was turned away by a security guard as police approached.

"We were in the holy communion service and I was exhorting my people and all of a sudden, we heard a loud noise that shattered all our windows and doors, destroyed our fans and some of our equipment in the church," Pastor Joshua Raji said.

While no one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, suspicion immediately fell on a radical Islamist sect blamed for hundreds of killings in the oil-rich nation this year alone. And some fear the attack could further inflame tensions around Kaduna, a region on the dividing line between Nigeria's largely Christian south and Muslim north.

At least 38 people were killed in the blast, said Abubakar Zakari Adamu, a spokesman for the Kaduna state Emergency Management Agency. Others suffered serious injuries and were receiving treatment at local hospitals, Adamu said.

A witness, Augustine Vincent, said he was riding a motorcycle just behind the car when it exploded.

"God saw our heart and saved us," he said.

Churches have been increasingly targeted by violence on holy days in Nigeria, a nation of more than 160 million people of Christians and Muslims. A Christmas Day suicide bombing of a Catholic church in Madalla near Nigeria's capital killed at least 44 people.

Police and soldiers quickly cordoned off the blast site, though citizens looked on at the flames and damage. Authorities said they had no immediately suspects in the attack, though a radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram has claimed similar attacks in the past.

Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the Hausa language of Nigeria's north, is waging an increasingly bloody fight with security agencies and the public. More than 380 people have been killed in violence blamed on the sect this year alone, according to an Associated Press count.

The sect, employing suicide bombers and assault-rifle shootouts, has attacked both Christians and Muslims, as well as the United Nations' headquarters in Nigeria.

The sect has rejected efforts to begin indirect peace talks with Nigeria's government. Its demands include the introduction of strict Shariah law across the country, even in Christian areas, and the release of all imprisoned followers.

The near-daily attacks by the sect – and Nigeria's weak central government's inability to thwart them despite public promises – has sparked anger and fear about the group's reach. The United Kingdom and the United States had warned its citizens living in the country that violence was likely over the Easter holiday. Nigeria's government dismissed the warning, with local newspapers quoting presidential spokesman Reuben Abati saying: "Easter will be peaceful for all."

Abati did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday. In his Easter speech at the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI mentioned the ongoing violence in Nigeria. Catholic churches have been targeted in previous attacks.

"To Nigeria, which in recent times has experienced savage terrorist attacks, may the joy of Easter grant the strength needed to take up anew the building of a society which is peaceful and respectful of the religious freedom of its citizens," he said.

Britain's Africa Minister Henry Bellingham condemned the attack, calling it a "horrific act."

Meanwhile, authorities said an explosion struck the city of Jos in neighboring Plateau state on Sunday night, another city where religious and ethnic violence has killed hundreds in past years. Yushau Shuaib, a spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency, said there were some injuries in the blast, but had no other details. State police commissioner Emmanuel Dipo Ayeni said the cause of blast was still being investigated.

Kaduna, on Nigeria's dividing line between its largely Christian south and Muslim north, was at the heart of postelection violence in April 2011. Mobs armed with machetes and poison-tipped arrows took over streets of Kaduna and the state's rural countryside after election officials declared President Goodluck Jonathan the winner. Followers of his main opponent, former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim, quickly alleged the vote had been rigged, though observers largely declared the vote fair.

Across the nation, at least 800 people died in that rioting, Human Rights Watch said. In the time since, heavily armed soldiers remain on guard on roadways throughout Kaduna. In December, an explosion at an auto parts market in Kaduna killed at least seven people. Though authorities said it came from a leaking gas cylinder, the Nigerian Red Cross later said in an internal report the blast came from a bomb.

In February, bombs exploded at two major military bases near the city, injuring an unknown number of people.


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Analysts: New Burmese Parliament to look closely at China relations

Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy secured a landslide victory in Burma’s recent elections, and the opposition party will make its parliamentary debut in two weeks. Among the many questions the election results are raising is the possible impact they could have on Burma’s relations with its biggest investor – China.

The Irrawaddy-Myitsone bridge south of the Myitsone hydropower dam site under construction in 2011. The 600-meter long, 300-ton capacity suspension bridge links the dam's project supply headquarters in Tengchong, China, to the Myitsone dam site. Photo: KDNG

China has long been a key ally of the Burmese government and, according to official estimates, has already pumped at least $15 billion in investments into Burma.

But, as Burma – which is also known as Myanmar – has begun to enact reforms over the past year, releasing hundreds of political prisoners, holding talks with ethnic minority rebels, and easing censorship, it also appears to be trying to lessen China's influence on its economy.

"The China relationship was clearly a factor in the military government's decision to move toward democracy, but with Aung San Suu Kyi and sort of an opposition group in parliament, I suspect you'll see a lot more discussion about issues like that," Bower said. Ernest Bower is the director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

"We know from interviews with Myanmar leaders and the business community that there was a feeling of claustrophobia in the country related to China's dominance," Bower said.

Analysts say President Thein Sein's decision last year to call off the construction of a major Chinese hydropower project in northern Burma because of local opposition was in part an example of the desire to ease China's influence.

Originally, the Myitsone Dam was slated for completion in 2017 and was expected to provide energy-hungry cities in China with power to meet their ever-growing demands. Now, the fate of the project remains uncertain.

David Steinberg, a Burma expert at Georgetown University, says he expects China will continue to play a very important role in Burma's economy, but the Burmese president’s Myitsone Dam decision shows there are limits.

“I think it’s in China’s interest to play its cards very, very carefully. They didn’t on the Myitsone Dam, but they may have learned a lesson. They really didn’t believe that there was public opinion that could change the government in Myanmar, the government’s position. And they have found out that there was in fact that,” Steinberg said.

China should also be concerned, Steinberg says, about the impact too much investment in Burma could have on Burmese national sentiment. He says there have been anti-China riots in the past, and foreign control of the economy has long been a sensitive issue there.

“If they [the Burmese people] feel that the economy is once again under Chinese control, there could be a nationalist reaction. Already there is anti-Chinese sentiment growing in the country, and China recognizes the problem and must be careful,” Steinberg said.

Meanwhile, Burma is looking elsewhere for investment. In recent weeks, Burma has taken steps to loosen regulations for foreign investors in the country. This, Bower says, will not only increase investment opportunities, but will give Burma more options.

"Clearly one of the objectives of the government in opening was to enact economic reforms that would follow the political opening so that countries could bring new technology and capital into the country," Bower said.

Analysts say Burma is very interested in making sure the United States and Europe are involved in that process and that the participation of Asean countries, Japan and Europe is broadened as well. But getting the investment into Burma from the U.S., as well as other countries, remains problematic because of sanctions.



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Suu Kyi prepares for Parliament opening on 23rd

Rangoon (Mizzima) – With only two weeks before the NLD’s debut at the opening session of the Burmese Parliament, Aung San Suu Kyi is preparing her party’s goals for the session.

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi speaks to supporters in Myitkyina in February 2012. Photo: Mizzima

Nyan Win, the National League for Democracy spokesperson, said the government informed political parties that the 4th legislative session would commence on April 23. The two-month third session ended on March 26.

“The day is very near, so we are very busy,” said Nyan Win.

During her political campaign, Suu Kyi repeatedly told her supporters it would be necessary to forge support with other opposition groups, and to work with USDP and military lawmakers in Parliament.

Newly elected NLD Lower House MP Phyu Phyu Thin of Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township said she knows what the residents of her township need.

“Now, I know the difficulties that people in the township have,” she said, noting their concerns about jobs, the economy, education and health care.

On April 8, NLD chairman Aung San Suu Kyi said NLD MPs-elect would hold a pre-session meeting on April 19 and 20 to plan legislative strategies. Decisions would be arrived at through majority votes, she said.

Thiha Saw, the chief editor of Myanmar Dana and the Open News Journal, said “I don’t think they will get many chances to put forward bills. Many bills have been put forward to the bill committee. For instance, the land ownership law has been put forward. But, they will have many chances to vote and debate when the bills are put to a vote.”

The NLD won 43 parliamentary seats in the recent by-elections: 37 Lower House seats; four Upper House seats; and two region/state assembly seats. With MP Dr. Myat Nyarna Soe, who resigned from the NDF and joined the NLD, the NLD now holds five seats in the Upper House. The NLD party comprises 6.4 per cent of Parliament.



 Src  :  Mizzima