The leader of a
radical Islamist sect has threatened the wives of Nigerian security
agents and government officials in a new Internet video, while denying
his group is in any peace talks to end the violence that has killed
hundreds in the country's north.
In a video uploaded Sunday to YouTube, Abubakar Shekau also denied claims that the spokesman for the sect known as Boko Haram
had been killed by Nigeria's military. He said the group would continue
to "follow our religion" and carry out attacks in Nigeria's
predominantly Muslim north.
The
Associated Press could not immediately authenticate the video Monday,
but it appeared to be from the sect and followed the pattern of other
videos previously released by the group. In the video, Shekau appears relaxed,
wearing a checkered red-and-white Keffiyeh scarf. A Kalashnikov assault
rifle leans against the wall behind him.
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| Abubakar Shekau |
Speaking
in the Hausa language of Nigeria's north, Shekau said that the nation's
military and security agencies have seized 10 women who are wives of
Boko Haram members. He claimed the women had been raped by the captors,
though he did not elaborate on how he knew that. Those arrested by
police in Nigeria often face torture, sexual abuse and the potential of
being killed "extrajudicially," human rights groups have repeatedly
charged.
At one point in the video, Shekau laughed and said: "You should wait and see what's going to happen to your own wives."
Shekau
repeatedly denied that the group is in peace talks with Nigeria's weak
central government and promised more attacks. Officials representing
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan have made that claim several times
in recent weeks, but the only attempt at talks through intermediaries
failed several months ago when details leaked out in local newspaper
reports.
The sect leader
also claimed that the group's spokesman, known as Abul Qaqa, was still alive. Shekau did not give any details on that
claim, which comes after soldiers in Nigeria's north said they killed
the spokesman and another of the sect's operational leaders outside of
the city of Kano.
Boko Haram,
whose name means "Western education is sacrilege" in Hausa, has been
blamed for killing more than 690 people this year alone, according to
an AP count. The group
wants the federal government to release its imprisoned members and
implement strict Shariah law across Nigeria, which is largely divided
into a Christian south and a Muslim north.
The
timing of the video's release coincides with the celebration Monday of
Nigeria's Independence Day. Speaking earlier on state-run broadcasters,
President Jonathan told the nation that Nigeria had "refused to be
broken by sectarian crises."
"Our
security agencies are constantly being strengthened and repositioned
for greater efficiency," Jonathan said. However, Nigeria's military and
police remain almost daily targets of the sect's guerrilla insurgency.
On
Monday in Maiduguri, the spiritual home of Boko Haram, a bomb targeting
a military patrol vehicle exploded in the northeastern city. A witness
later told the AP he saw one dead soldier and several others injured in
the blast. A military spokesman confirmed the attack happened, but
declined to immediately provide details about it.
Meanwhile,
another bomb exploded at mobile phone tower in Maiduguri. Boko Haram
recently claimed responsibility for the destruction of more than 30 of
the phone towers across Nigeria's north, which has created
communications chaos in a nation that relies on mobile phones.
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