Abuja - The United States Embassy in Nigeria has restricted travels to four northern states after an Islamic radical group attacked a prison, freeing more than 700 inmates and killing five people.
The embassy issued a warning yesterday saying that the attack by the Boko Haram sect and the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks at the World Trade Centre might trigger a wave of violence in the region.
The US mission has stopped its staff temporarily from traveling to the Muslim-dominated states of Bauchi, Borno, Kano and Katsina which are known for frequent violent uprisings.
Suspected members of the Islamic sect Boko Haram freed more than 700 prison inmates, about 150 of them believed to be of their group, while firing shots at prison guards in Bauchi yesterday.
The sect, founded in 2004, commenced an uprising in the oil-rich African country last year which caused the death of more than 800 people.
It says it has bases in Afghanistan.
In recent times, Boko Haram members have been issuing video warnings against western education, which they term as "evil".
The sect wants to enforce Islamic law across Nigeria and has also burnt a number of churches in the process.
Nigeria, an oil-rich country, has a population of about 150 million, comprising mostly of equal numbers of Muslims and Christians.
The embassy issued a warning yesterday saying that the attack by the Boko Haram sect and the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks at the World Trade Centre might trigger a wave of violence in the region.
The US mission has stopped its staff temporarily from traveling to the Muslim-dominated states of Bauchi, Borno, Kano and Katsina which are known for frequent violent uprisings.
Suspected members of the Islamic sect Boko Haram freed more than 700 prison inmates, about 150 of them believed to be of their group, while firing shots at prison guards in Bauchi yesterday.
The sect, founded in 2004, commenced an uprising in the oil-rich African country last year which caused the death of more than 800 people.
It says it has bases in Afghanistan.
In recent times, Boko Haram members have been issuing video warnings against western education, which they term as "evil".
The sect wants to enforce Islamic law across Nigeria and has also burnt a number of churches in the process.
Nigeria, an oil-rich country, has a population of about 150 million, comprising mostly of equal numbers of Muslims and Christians.
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