Fans gathered to watch matches from the World Cup finals in Brazil in the state capital of Yobe flee after explosion with hospitals reporting an influx of casualties
An explosion ripped through a football
viewing centre in Damaturu, northern Nigeria on Tuesday, police and
residents said, as fans gathered to watch the World Cup.
The blast at the Crossfire venue, in the
Nayi-Nawa area of the state capital of Yobe, happened shortly after
tournament hosts Brazil kicked off against Mexico at 8:00pm local time.
There were no immediate reports of deaths, but hospitals were reporting casualties being brought in, medical sources said.
Sanusi Ruf'ai, police commissioner for
Yobe state, told AFP: "There was an explosion outside a soccer viewing
centre here in Damaturu at around 8:15pm.
"Our men have deployed to the scene but it's too early for us to give details."
One resident said the area had been cordoned off as police and soldiers were sent to the scene.
The blast comes after at least two
states banned viewing centres on security grounds following previous
attacks blamed on Boko Haram militants, whose five-year insurgency in
northern Nigeria has claimed thousands of lives.
Yobe is one of three northeastern states that has been under a state of emergency since last May.
The authorities in Adamawa, in northeast
Nigeria, last week closed viewing centres, where large crowds gather to
watch matches on the big screen, while the central state of Plateau
followed suit days later.
Earlier this month, at least 40 people
were killed when a bomb went off after a football match in the town of
Mubi in Adamawa. The apparent target was fans trying to leave after the
final whistle.
In May, three people were killed in a
blast outside a viewing centre showing the European Champions League
final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in Jos, the capital of
Plateau state.
In April, suspected Boko Haram gunmen
stormed a packed venue in Potiskum, in northeast Yobe state, shooting
dead two people as they watched Champions League quarter-final matches.
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has
previously preached against football as part of the Islamist group's
agenda to impose strict Islamic law in northern Nigeria.
In several video clips, he described football and music as a Western ploy to distract Muslims from their religion.
Football is Nigeria's national sport and
has a fanatical following, and the Brazil tournament should normally
spell weeks of revelry as crowds gather in giant, often open-air venues
to cheer on their heroes.
But many people in the north have said they would watch the World Cup at home because of fears of Boko Haram attacks.
"I'm not comfortable going to any
viewing centre due to the Boko Haram threats," Kano resident Danlami
Ma'azu told AFP last week.
Similar fears have also put east African
nations on high alert over possible attacks by Somalia's
Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab rebels during football screenings.
Britain has released warnings to
citizens in several east African nations – including Ethiopia, Djibouti
and Kenya, who all have troops in Somalia – speaking of the threat of
attacks at public screenings of the World Cup.
"Previous terrorist attacks in the
region have targeted places where football matches are being viewed,"
the Foreign Office said, adding that crowded areas including "transport
hubs, hotels, restaurants and bars" are also possible targets.
Edited by Steve Wilson
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