THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
At least 50 people have died in north-eastern Nigeria’s biggest mass killing this year. A suicide bomber targeted a mosque in the town of Mubi in Adamawa State, as the region faces a renewed insurgency by Islamist militant group Boko Haram.
The Adamawa Police said a young boy was responsible for the blast which occurred during the early morning Muslim prayer on Tuesday.
“We have 50 dead and we are now trying to get the exact number of those injured,” the command’s Public Relations Officer, Othman Abubakar, said.
The attack happened in Dazala area of Mubi town in Adamawa around 5 am.
The incident was the first in three years since the liberation of Mubi town from Boko Haram insurgents in 2014.
The police spokesperson said there were fears the death toll would increase as some were seriously injured in the blast.
It’s the highest loss of life in the state since December, when two schoolgirl suicide bombers killed 56 in a crowded market.
Boko Haram has killed nearly 400 people in Nigeria and Cameroon since April.
The terror group based in north-eastern Nigeria has increased its use of suicide bombers, often using young women and girls to carry and detonate explosives in crowded areas.
Amnesty International said at least 381 civilians have been killed in five months.
The surge in attacks has claimed double the amount of lives than in the previous five months.
Amnesty said at least 223 people have died in Nigeria since April, while at least 158 civilians have been killed at the hands of Boko Haram in Cameron in the same period.
More than one suicide attack has been carried every week out in Nigeria and Cameroon since April.
Alioune Tine, Amnesty International’s director for West and Central Africa, said: “Boko Haram is once again committing war crimes on a huge scale, exemplified by the depravity of forcing young girls to carry explosives with the sole intention of killing as many people as they possibly can.”
Mrs Tine also called on governments in Nigeria and Cameroon to “take swift action to protect them from this campaign of terror.”
At least 20,000 people have been killed in violence caused by Boko Harm and more than 2.6 million people have been left homeless since 2009.
Kola Tella with agency reports
