Suicide Bomber Attacks U.N. Building in Nigeria
Afolabi Sodtunde/Reuters
A victim of a blast that ripped through the United Nations offices on Friday in Abuja was carried into an ambulance.
Afolabi Sodtunde/Reuters
A victim of a blast that ripped through the United Nations offices on Friday in Abuja was carried into an ambulance.
By SENAN MURRAY and RICK GLADSTONE
Published: August 26, 2011
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ABUJA, Nigeria — A suicide bomber driving a vehicle packed with explosives rammed the United Nations headquarters in the Nigeria capital of Abuja on Friday, blasting an enormous hole in the building with a thunderous explosion, witnesses and officials said. As many as 400 people may have been inside at the time of the attack, the first time the United Nations offices have been a bombing target in Nigeria.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but an aide to President Goodluck Jonathan confirmed at least 18 dead and United Nations officials said the total number of dead and wounded was likely to rise considerably. Abuja hospitals issued a call for blood donors as the police and fire and rescue squads scrambled to seal off the area and pull survivors and bodies from the wreckage, which destroyed at least two floors of the seven-story structure.
“We condemn this terrible act, utterly,” Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations Secretary General, said in a statement delivered at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
Twenty-six United Nations agencies, including the United Nations Development Program, Unicef and the United Nations Population Fund, maintained offices in the building, which is close to the United States Embassy and the Nigerian national defense headquarters.
The Nigerian government has come under repeated attack by insurgents in the restive north and south of the country, and foreign oil companies and their workers have been a common target of rebels in the Niger Delta in the south, who demand a greater share in the nation’s oil profits. But the deadly strike on international humanitarian organizations was a surprising turn in the violence that has sporadically gripped the country, and left many guessing what the motive could have been.
The blast came against a backdrop of rising concern about a shadowy Islamist insurgency group, known as Boko Haram, that has conducted near-daily shootings and bombings in the north. Western officials have expressed alarm over evidence that the group appears to have has started collaborating with Al Qaeda affiliates in northern Africa. Boko Haram, which advocates a stricter interpretation of Sharia law in the largely Muslim north, took responsibility for bombing the national police headquarters in June.
Farhan Haq, a United Nations deputy spokesman, said the suicide bomber’s car rammed through two gates surrounding the building at around 11 a.m local time as guards attempted to stop the vehicle. Witnesses said a huge explosion sent billows of smoke over the area and spread panic.
Adebayo Jelil, a security guard at the building, said in an interview that he saw a big jeep-like vehicle drive through the exit gate of the building, head straight for reception area and explode. He said at least three floors of the building were heavily damaged, with walls blasted away and cables and rods protruding.
Michael Ofilaje, a United Nations worker at the building, was quoted by The Associated Press as saying he saw scattered bodies. “Many people are dead,” he said.
Photographs posted on the Internet from the News Agency of Nigeria showed what it said was the mangled wreckage of the suicide bomber’s vehicle and rescue workers clambering up ladders into an enormous hole in the building’s edifice. In recent years, United Nations offices have been the targets of lethal attacks in Iraq, Algeria and Afghanistan, but this is the first time the organization’s operations in Nigeria have been attacked, Mr. Haq said.
An aide to president Goodluck Jonathan, Ken Wiwa Jr., said in a telephone interview that there had been no claim of responsibility for the blast. He said 18 had been confirmed dead so far.
“Obviously there are issues in the north,” Mr. Wiwa said. “It’s something that’s exercised the president. It’s the priority item. A lot of resources have been devoted to tackle the problems of the north. There have been behind the scenes attempts to have dialogue with Boko Haram. We don’t know who is behind this.”
“Suicide bombers can strike anywhere,” he added. “We’ve been able to tackle some of the gravest problems in the Niger Delta. This is a new thing in Nigeria.”
Senan Murray reported from Abuja, Nigeria, and Rick Gladstone from New York. Reporting was contributed by Adam Nossiter from Dakar, Senegal, Dan Bilefsky from the United Nations and Nick Cumming-Bruce from Geneva
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Published: August 26, 2011
=================================================
ABUJA, Nigeria — A suicide bomber driving a vehicle packed with explosives rammed the United Nations headquarters in the Nigeria capital of Abuja on Friday, blasting an enormous hole in the building with a thunderous explosion, witnesses and officials said. As many as 400 people may have been inside at the time of the attack, the first time the United Nations offices have been a bombing target in Nigeria.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but an aide to President Goodluck Jonathan confirmed at least 18 dead and United Nations officials said the total number of dead and wounded was likely to rise considerably. Abuja hospitals issued a call for blood donors as the police and fire and rescue squads scrambled to seal off the area and pull survivors and bodies from the wreckage, which destroyed at least two floors of the seven-story structure.
“We condemn this terrible act, utterly,” Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations Secretary General, said in a statement delivered at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
Twenty-six United Nations agencies, including the United Nations Development Program, Unicef and the United Nations Population Fund, maintained offices in the building, which is close to the United States Embassy and the Nigerian national defense headquarters.
The Nigerian government has come under repeated attack by insurgents in the restive north and south of the country, and foreign oil companies and their workers have been a common target of rebels in the Niger Delta in the south, who demand a greater share in the nation’s oil profits. But the deadly strike on international humanitarian organizations was a surprising turn in the violence that has sporadically gripped the country, and left many guessing what the motive could have been.
The blast came against a backdrop of rising concern about a shadowy Islamist insurgency group, known as Boko Haram, that has conducted near-daily shootings and bombings in the north. Western officials have expressed alarm over evidence that the group appears to have has started collaborating with Al Qaeda affiliates in northern Africa. Boko Haram, which advocates a stricter interpretation of Sharia law in the largely Muslim north, took responsibility for bombing the national police headquarters in June.
Farhan Haq, a United Nations deputy spokesman, said the suicide bomber’s car rammed through two gates surrounding the building at around 11 a.m local time as guards attempted to stop the vehicle. Witnesses said a huge explosion sent billows of smoke over the area and spread panic.
Adebayo Jelil, a security guard at the building, said in an interview that he saw a big jeep-like vehicle drive through the exit gate of the building, head straight for reception area and explode. He said at least three floors of the building were heavily damaged, with walls blasted away and cables and rods protruding.
Michael Ofilaje, a United Nations worker at the building, was quoted by The Associated Press as saying he saw scattered bodies. “Many people are dead,” he said.
Photographs posted on the Internet from the News Agency of Nigeria showed what it said was the mangled wreckage of the suicide bomber’s vehicle and rescue workers clambering up ladders into an enormous hole in the building’s edifice. In recent years, United Nations offices have been the targets of lethal attacks in Iraq, Algeria and Afghanistan, but this is the first time the organization’s operations in Nigeria have been attacked, Mr. Haq said.
An aide to president Goodluck Jonathan, Ken Wiwa Jr., said in a telephone interview that there had been no claim of responsibility for the blast. He said 18 had been confirmed dead so far.
“Obviously there are issues in the north,” Mr. Wiwa said. “It’s something that’s exercised the president. It’s the priority item. A lot of resources have been devoted to tackle the problems of the north. There have been behind the scenes attempts to have dialogue with Boko Haram. We don’t know who is behind this.”
“Suicide bombers can strike anywhere,” he added. “We’ve been able to tackle some of the gravest problems in the Niger Delta. This is a new thing in Nigeria.”
Senan Murray reported from Abuja, Nigeria, and Rick Gladstone from New York. Reporting was contributed by Adam Nossiter from Dakar, Senegal, Dan Bilefsky from the United Nations and Nick Cumming-Bruce from Geneva
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nytimes.com/2011/08/27/world/africa/27nigeria.html
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