Metro

Several feared killed after bandits in Nigeria bomb Abuja-Kaduna train

Published

10 months ago

March 29, 2022

Several passengers on board an Abuja-Kaduna train, were feared killed after bandits attacked the train with bombs and IED explosives on Monday night.

The train which had about 970 passengers on board, was said to have departed Abuja at 6pm and was expected to arrive at Kaduna at 8pm, but was attacked by the bandits at about 7.45pm between Katari and Rijana train stations, a few kilometers from Kaduna.

The train reportedly derailed after the explosive device planted by the bandits went off, giving the terrorists the leeway to shoot sporadically at the train, leading to the death and injuries to some passengers, while several others were allegedly kidnapped.

However, in a statement issued by the Kaduna State Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, the government said the situation had been brought under control.

Parts of Aruwan’s statement said:

“The Kaduna State Government received multiple reports of an attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train service at around Kateri-Rijana general areas.

“Relevant action agencies were urgently contacted, and robust deployments of personnel were swiftly made to the area to secure the passengers on board.

“Security agencies have reported to the Kaduna State Government that the military has secured the Kaduna bound train from Abuja trapped by terrorists.

“Efforts are ongoing to convey the passengers from the location and others that sustained injuries have been rushed to hospitals for urgent medical attention.

“The Government of Kaduna State will be liaising with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to ascertain the list from the passengers’ manifest for efficient tracking.

“This is to acquire an accurate inventory of all passengers and their actual status.

“Governor Nasir El-Rufa’i who has been in constant touch with the security forces, commended them for their prompt response, and thanked them for successfully securing the train and passengers on board.”

In October 2021, the NRC had announced the immediate suspension of rail service operations on the same Abuja-Kaduna route following the detonation of explosives on the train track by bandits.

The attacks which was sustained for two night, left some passengers killed and others injured after the attackers fired live rounds into driver and VIP compartments of the train.

Related Topics:#bandits Abuja-Kaduna Train Featured Train Attack

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Metro

M23 rebels take control of Kitshanga in eastern DR Congo

Published

20 hours ago

January 28, 2023

Akanimoh Etim

The M23 rebels have announced that its fighters have seized control of the strategic town of Kitshanga, in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), after days of intense fighting.

The DRC military authorities also confirmed in a statement late on Friday that its forces have withdrawn from the town in a tactical move to protect civilians in the face of a renewed offensive by the rebel militia.

“We have tactically withdrawn from the city in order to attract these genocidal forces deep into the city and avoid the worst for our people in Kitshanga,” spokesman for the military governor of North Kivu, Lieutenant-Colonel Guillaume Ndjike, said in the statement.

“We are making every effort to dislodge this enemy,” he added.

Videos then emerged on social media showing the M23 fighters celebrating and claiming they had captured the town.

The M23 rebels said it took control of Kitshanga town on Thursday night after capturing several villages on the road linking the town of about 60,000 people to the provincial capital, Goma.

In an earlier statement, M23′s spokesman, Lawrence Kanyuka, has accused government troops of attacking civilians in Kitchanga and elsewhere, and said the rebel group was “obliged to intervene and stop another genocide”.

While condemning the recent development, the UN peacekeeping mission (MONUSCO), said more than 500 people, including women and children, are seeking refuge at its base in the town of Kitshanga.

MONUSCO spokesperson, Ndeye Khady Lo, said civilians fleeing from Kitchanga have been given tents, food, water and first aid.

Metro

237 African migrants rescued off Libyan coast

Published

20 hours ago

January 28, 2023

Akanimoh Etim

Not less than 237 African migrants were on Friday, rescued after their makeshift boat capsized off the Libyan coast while navigating the dangerous Mediterranean Sea, on their way to Europe.

French medical charity, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which carried out the rescue mission, said the migrants were rescued by its chartered rescue vessel, Geo Barents, which was sailing in the Mediterranean Sea, north of the country’s capital Tripoli, when it received a distress call.

“The Geo Barents ship encountered other overcrowded rubber dinghies with migrants attempting to reach Europe and took them on board,” the NGO said.

“Following instructions by the maritime rescue coordination centre, the ship then sailed towards the northern Italian port of La Spezia.l,” it added.

The MSF and other NGOs operating rescue vessels off Africa’s northern coast have accused the Italian government of deliberately assigning far away ports to discourage their operations, an accusation the Italian Interior Ministry had denied.