Again, Army, Shiites Clash In Abuja, Thousands Stranded

For the second day running, Nigeria’s military and members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, also known as Shiites, clashed on two fronts in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The Shiites who are on a procession dubbed, ‘Arbaeen Symbolic Trek’ to protest the continued detention of their leader, Sheik Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, his wife and thousands of others allegedly killed by the Nigerian government.

On the first day of the protest, Saturday evening, the army admitted to killing three members of the sect, while the IMN insisted it was five.

On Sunday, there was little skirmish as members of the sects numbering hundreds continued on their march to the city center which was stalled by the military.

On Monday, the sect members have advanced from their two fronts of the Abuja-Kubwa Expressway and Abuja-Nyanya Expressway within four kilometers of the city.

At the Kubwa end, the army numbering over 50 as cited by our correspondent, lay in wait at the main entrance into the city while the Shiites had taken over the entire lane of the road.

The protestors forced motorists to make U-turn leading to traffic snarl, while hundreds of passengers were forced to disembark and take to trekking.

At the Nyanya end, soldiers and the Shiites engaged in violence and soldiers shot into the air leading to both motorists and commuters running for their lives.

The situation has left hundreds of passengers stranded at bus stops as buses and cars shun the route.