Armed bandits attacked a hospital in northwestern Nigeria on Tuesday, AFP learned from official sources, the day after an attack on a health center in the same region denounced by Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
The attack on the Abdussalam-Abubakar General Hospital in Gulu, in Niger State (north-west Nigeria), was simply confirmed to AFP by the police chief of this state, Emmanuel Umaru, who said he was waiting for a full report on what happened there.
According to Adam Egiworo, a resident of the city joined by AFP, the armed men stormed the hospital around 1:30 am and
"opened fire indiscriminately"
, killing
"two people".
20 people taken hostage
The assailants also took
“about 20 people” hostage,
including several members of the medical profession, probably so that they
“treat their wounded comrades in their camps”,
added Adam Egiworo.
In a message posted on Twitter, MSF also condemned Tuesday the
"unacceptable"
attack by an armed group, the day before, of a health center supported by this NGO in the district of Gummi, in the state of Zamfara ( North West).
The armed group abducted an elderly member of the medical staff, according to MSF, before
"destroying medicines and therapeutic food".
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Insecurity in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is widespread.
Every day, the country is bruised by violence perpetrated by criminal or jihadist groups, and the authorities, accused of being among the most corrupt in the world, are unable to stem it.
The north and center of Nigeria are the scene of the activities of criminal groups, known locally as
"bandits"
, who attack and loot villages, kill their inhabitants or kidnap them against the payment of ransoms.
These bandits, declared as
“terrorists”
by the federal government, are only motivated by the lure of profit.
But analysts are concerned about growing ties with jihadist groups in the northeast, leading an insurgency for 13 years.
