Nigeria triple suicide attack kills 13

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria: Three female suicide bombers killed 13 people and wounded 16 in the northeastern city of Maiduguri on Sunday, security sources said.

The first bomber detonated her explosive belt around 9.45pm (2045 GMT) in front of a small restaurant in the capital of Borno state “when people were buying their dinner,” a military source said on condition of anonymity, giving the death toll.

The two other bombers followed minutes later, resulting in the injured, an armed militia leader said, noting that the attack came “hours after reports of sighting of a lot of Boko Haram members outside the city.”

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

The Boko Haram conflict has left at least 20,000 dead and forced more than 2.6 million others to flee their homes since 2009.

Roads to and from Maiduguri are nominally open to traffic, but in reality, vehicles require a military escort because of the risk of attack.

Nigeria’s military and government maintain that Boko Haram is a spent force as a result of sustained counterinsurgency operations against the militants since early 2015.

Deadly attacks have dropped in recent weeks, which security sources attribute to renewed military offensives after the end of the rainy season in September. — AFP

Malawi police arrest 140 over ‘vampires’ bloodsucking claim

LILONGWE: Police in Malawi say they have arrested 140 people after the killing of least nine people in a violence over reports of ‘vampires’ sucking blood of residents.

An epileptic man was reportedly burned to death and another person was stoned to death in the country’s second-biggest city, Blantyre. The assault begun in September when rumors of ‘bloodsuckers’ on the loose spread ,and the police say the situation is out of control.

According to local media reports, the Inspector General of Police, Lexten Kachama said currently, they have found no tangible evidence yet to incriminate those alleged to be bloodsuckers or even prove they exist.

‘‘Firstly, we discovered that in Phalombe ,two people sent phone messages telling others that they were coming to suck their blood. They have been arrested.

“As for incidents in Blantyre, they were simply thieves. People are initiating the issue of blood sucking so that they take advantage of the violence that erupts to steal,” said Kachama.

Some residents ,including health officials, teachers and traditional leader, in the Southern African nation say their homes have been destroyed following speculation they were looking after ‘vampires’.

The police announced that a committee made up of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security, Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Ministry of Civic Education and Culture and the Ministry of Health to investigate the matter. — Bernama