Nigeria is facing a "high risk" of a terrorist attack over the
Easter holiday, the United Kingdom warned its citizens on Thursday, as
the US issued a similar warning to those living in the West African
nation that sees near-daily attacks by a radical Islamist sect.
The
UK foreign office and the US embassy in Nigeria's capital Abuja issued
the updated travel warnings on Thursday, noting that a radical Islamist
sect in Nigeria known as Boko Haram carried out attacks on Christmas
Day.
A sect-claimed car bombing at a Catholic church outside of Abuja that day killed at least 44 people.
The
UK also advised its citizens to avoid travel to Borno, Niger, Kaduna,
Kano, Katsina, Sokoto and Yobe states, part of Nigeria's Muslim north.
"There is a high threat of terrorist attack during religious festivals," the UK warning read.
The
US warning noted the near-daily attacks now hitting Nigeria and that
there have been "continued threats, including several that mention US
interests".
The warning also noted that personnel from the US
embassy no longer travel to northern Nigeria, a rule put in place after
a Boko Haram attack on the city of Kano in January killed at least 185
people.
"The US embassy continues to monitor closely the ongoing
threats posed by Nigerian extremist and criminal groups, and their
stated intentions to carry out attacks against the Nigerian government
and western interests and targets in Nigeria," the message read.
Boko
Haram, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the Hausa
language of Nigeria's north, is waging an increasingly bloody fight with
security agencies and the public.
More than 380 people have been killed in violence blamed on the sect this year alone, according to an AP count.
The
sect, employing suicide bombers and assault-rifle shootouts, has
attacked both Christians and Muslims, as well as the United Nations'
headquarters in Nigeria.
The sect has rejected efforts to begin
indirect peace talks with Nigeria's government. Its demands include the
introduction of strict Shariah law across the country, even in Christian
areas, and the release of all imprisoned followers.
The sect was
blamed for an attack Wednesday on a market in the northeast city of
Maiduguri that killed at least seven Christian traders there.
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