Police say dozens of people were killed in an attack on a mosque in northern Nigeria. Many are blaming the extremist group Boko Haram, though police have not formally speculated as to the motive for the attack.
Image: picture-alliance/dpaD. Yake
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Dozens of people died on Tuesday when two suicide bombers detonated their explosives at a mosque and a market in Mubi, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) by road from Yola in northeast Nigeria.
Abdullahi Yerima, police commissioner in Adamawa state, said a suicide bomber had struck at the mosque shortly after 1 p.m. (1200 UTC) and a second attacker detonated a device about 200 meters (660 feet) away as worshippers fled. Bomb squads and security personnel have cordoned off the scene.
Striking health workers returned to the hospital to attend to the victims. "We have evacuated dozens of dead and injured people to the hospital," Habu Saleh, who was volunteering in the aftermath of the explosion, told the news agency AFP. "And the rescue operation is still ongoing."
Boko Haram, which briefly held control of Mubi in 2014 as part of its nine-year insurgency, has repeatedly targeted the town with deadly attacks. The fighting has left more than 20,000 people dead and forced about 2 million to flee their homes nationwide. On Thursday, the group carried out an attack in Maiduguri, the capital of the neighboring Borno state, that killed four people.
On November 21, a suicide bomber killed at least 50 people in a mosque during early morning prayers in the Unguwar Shuwa area of Mubi. In 2014, about 40 football supporters died in a bomb attack after a match in the Kabang area of the town. At least 40 people died in a 2012 attack on student housing in Mubi widely blamed on Boko Haram.
Freed Boko Haram hostages: 'The pain is still there'
Almost 300 women and children held captive by Boko Haram have been freed by the Nigerian army. They are staying temporarily in a refugee camp. But their suffering is far from over.
Image: DW/Jan-Philipp Scholz
Traumatic experiences
"You notice one thing straightaway - the children here hardly ever laugh," says a helper at Malkohi camp, close to the Nigerian city of Yola. The camp now accommodates almost 300 people who were liberated in early May from Boko Haram captivity. About half are under 18 years old. Every third child is malnourished.
Image: DW/Jan-Philipp Scholz
Starting life in a refugee camp
Lami Musa is the mother of probably the camp’s youngest resident. One day before she was rescued by soldiers, she gave birth to a baby girl. During the army’s liberation operation, several women were killed by the terrorists. "I just held my daughter tight and protected her with my body," the young mother said.
Image: DW/Jan-Philipp Scholz
A mother's loss
Halima Hawu was less fortunate. One of her three children was run over and killed as they were being abducted by the terrorists. During the army operation, she was shot in the leg by a Nigerian soldier, as Boko Haram members used the women as human shields. "The pain is still there but perhaps the worst is now behind us," she hopes.
Image: DW/Jan-Philipp Scholz
Not enough food for the children
Three-year-old Babaka spent six months in capitivity. Food was provided irregularly. There was just some maize for the children every now and then, former captives say. When the soldiers came, the little boy was close to death from starvation. Babaka is still extremely weak. He has not yet received adequate medical care in the camp.
Image: DW/Jan-Philipp Scholz
A narrow escape
Babaka’s mother was taken to the nearby hospital in Yola, together with about 20 other seriously injured people. Someone who had been in front of them as they fled trod on a landmine. The massive explosion badly injured the woman and killed a baby she was carrying.
Image: DW/Jan-Philipp Scholz
Need for aid
Apart from some donated clothing, little international aid has reached the women and children at Malkohi camp. Much is in short supply, especially medical personnel. There is no trace of the doctor who was supposed to be on duty. The provisional clinic is being run by just two nurses and a midwife.
Image: DW/Jan-Philipp Scholz
Relying on voluntary aid
"I don’t understand why our national emergency agency doesn’t do more," says social worker Turai Kadir (seen here). She acted on her own initiative and found a doctor to take care of the children worst affected by malnutrition. That is really the task of NEMA, the Nigerian Emergency Management Agency, but it is totally overwhelmed.
Image: DW/Jan-Philipp Scholz
'Unbelievable strength'
Regina Musa recently returned from the US to teach psychology at Yola University. Now she is helping provide psychological care for the women and children in the camp. "The women have demonstrated unbelievable strength," Musa said. During the traumatic period of captivity many cared for children who were not their own. "We have to help them understand how important that was."