18 killed in car bomb blast at UN in Nigeria
Source: Agencies |
August 27, 2011, Saturday
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A CAR laden with explosives rammed through two gates and blew up at the United Nations' offices in Nigeria's capital Abuja yesterday, killing at least 18 people and shattering part of the concrete structure.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called it "an assault on those who devote their lives to helping others."
The attack, carried out as the four-story UN offices teemed with staff, came as Africa's most populous nation faces the growing threat of both homegrown and international terrorism.
A spokesman for a radical Muslim sect in Nigeria known locally as Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Boko Haram, which means "Western education is sacrilege," has carried out a series of bombings and assassinations in northern Nigeria in the past year, including a car bombing that struck Nigeria's federal police headquarters in June killing at least two people.
Militants from the sect from northeast Nigeria have carried out attacks in the country's capital, though never on a foreign target.
Boko Haram, which is said to have links to al-Qaida, wants to implement a strict version of Shariah law in the nation and is vehemently opposed to Western education and culture.
Witnesses said the car rammed through two separate gates at the UN compound as guards tried to stop the vehicle. The suicide bomber inside crashed the car into the main reception area and detonated the explosives, inflicting the most damage possible, a spokesman for the Nigerian National Emergency Management Agency said.
"I saw scattered bodies," said Michael Ofilaje, a UNICEF worker at the building, which he said shook with the explosion. "Many people are dead." The Nigerian Red Cross reported at least 18 people died in the attack, with at least 11 others injured, said Umar Mairiga, the organization's disaster management director.
Nigerian Health Minister Mohammad Ali Pate made a public appeal for blood donations, saying there were at least 60 injured people at the National Hospital in Abuja.
The buildings, known as UN House, had offices for about 400 employees working for 26 UN humanitarian and development agencies. Authorities were still trying to account for everyone in the building at the time of the blast.
"We condemn this terrible act, utterly," Ban told reporters. "We do not yet have precise casualty figures but they are likely to be considerable. A number of people are dead; many more are wounded."
The building, located in the same neighborhood as the US Embassy and other diplomatic posts in Abuja, houses offices of a number of UN agencies including the UN Development Program, UNICEF and the UN Population Fund.
The explosion punched a huge hole in the building. Workers brought three large cranes to the site within hours of the attack, trying to pull away the concrete and rubble to find survivors. Others at the site stood around, stunned, as medical workers began carrying out what appeared to be the dead.
"This is getting out of hand," said a UN staffer who identified himself as Bodunrin. "If they can get into the UN House, they can reach anywhere."
Ali Tikko, who was in a building 100 meters from the site of the blast, said: "I heard one big boom. I see a number of people lying on the floor - at least four or five.
"I cannot see if they are dead. There are a lot of security around."
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan's office called the attack "barbaric, senseless and cowardly."
The statement also promised to increase security in the nation's capital.
"President Jonathan reaffirms the federal government's total commitment to vigorously combat the incursion of all forms of terrorism into Nigeria, and wishes to reassure all Nigerians and the international community that his administration will spare no effort to bring the perpetrators to justice," the statement read.
Nigeria, a nation of 150 million, is split between a largely Christian south and Muslim north. In recent months, the country has faced an increasing threat from Boko Haram.
Earlier this month, the commander of US military operations in Africa said Boko Haram may be trying to join with two al-Qaida-linked groups in other African countries to mount attacks.
General Carter Ham said "multiple sources" indicated that Boko Haram made contacts with al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, which operates in northwest Africa, and with al-Shabab in Somalia.
"I think it would be the most dangerous thing to happen not only to the Africans, but to us as well," Carter said.
Last year, militants from the Niger Delta, blew up car bombs in Abuja during a 50th independence anniversary ceremony, killing at least 12.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called it "an assault on those who devote their lives to helping others."
The attack, carried out as the four-story UN offices teemed with staff, came as Africa's most populous nation faces the growing threat of both homegrown and international terrorism.
A spokesman for a radical Muslim sect in Nigeria known locally as Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Boko Haram, which means "Western education is sacrilege," has carried out a series of bombings and assassinations in northern Nigeria in the past year, including a car bombing that struck Nigeria's federal police headquarters in June killing at least two people.
Militants from the sect from northeast Nigeria have carried out attacks in the country's capital, though never on a foreign target.
Boko Haram, which is said to have links to al-Qaida, wants to implement a strict version of Shariah law in the nation and is vehemently opposed to Western education and culture.
Witnesses said the car rammed through two separate gates at the UN compound as guards tried to stop the vehicle. The suicide bomber inside crashed the car into the main reception area and detonated the explosives, inflicting the most damage possible, a spokesman for the Nigerian National Emergency Management Agency said.
"I saw scattered bodies," said Michael Ofilaje, a UNICEF worker at the building, which he said shook with the explosion. "Many people are dead." The Nigerian Red Cross reported at least 18 people died in the attack, with at least 11 others injured, said Umar Mairiga, the organization's disaster management director.
Nigerian Health Minister Mohammad Ali Pate made a public appeal for blood donations, saying there were at least 60 injured people at the National Hospital in Abuja.
The buildings, known as UN House, had offices for about 400 employees working for 26 UN humanitarian and development agencies. Authorities were still trying to account for everyone in the building at the time of the blast.
"We condemn this terrible act, utterly," Ban told reporters. "We do not yet have precise casualty figures but they are likely to be considerable. A number of people are dead; many more are wounded."
The building, located in the same neighborhood as the US Embassy and other diplomatic posts in Abuja, houses offices of a number of UN agencies including the UN Development Program, UNICEF and the UN Population Fund.
The explosion punched a huge hole in the building. Workers brought three large cranes to the site within hours of the attack, trying to pull away the concrete and rubble to find survivors. Others at the site stood around, stunned, as medical workers began carrying out what appeared to be the dead.
"This is getting out of hand," said a UN staffer who identified himself as Bodunrin. "If they can get into the UN House, they can reach anywhere."
Ali Tikko, who was in a building 100 meters from the site of the blast, said: "I heard one big boom. I see a number of people lying on the floor - at least four or five.
"I cannot see if they are dead. There are a lot of security around."
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan's office called the attack "barbaric, senseless and cowardly."
The statement also promised to increase security in the nation's capital.
"President Jonathan reaffirms the federal government's total commitment to vigorously combat the incursion of all forms of terrorism into Nigeria, and wishes to reassure all Nigerians and the international community that his administration will spare no effort to bring the perpetrators to justice," the statement read.
Nigeria, a nation of 150 million, is split between a largely Christian south and Muslim north. In recent months, the country has faced an increasing threat from Boko Haram.
Earlier this month, the commander of US military operations in Africa said Boko Haram may be trying to join with two al-Qaida-linked groups in other African countries to mount attacks.
General Carter Ham said "multiple sources" indicated that Boko Haram made contacts with al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, which operates in northwest Africa, and with al-Shabab in Somalia.
"I think it would be the most dangerous thing to happen not only to the Africans, but to us as well," Carter said.
Last year, militants from the Niger Delta, blew up car bombs in Abuja during a 50th independence anniversary ceremony, killing at least 12.
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