Iran MPs condemn Shia Muslims killing in Nigeria
Over 200 Iranian lawmakers have condemned the “brutal” killing of Shia Muslims in Nigeria by the African country’s military, calling for the formation of an ad hoc committee to investigate the matter.
In a Tuesday statement, 214 members of Iran’s parliament (Majlis) said the "brutal killing of the oppressed Shias" in Nigeria has "hurt the feelings of hundreds of millions of Muslims and freedom-seeking people" across the world.
“Such a crime is undoubtedly the continuation of the deviant stream’s massacre of Muslims by the ignorant Takfiri Salafi sect that has been committing such crimes for some time in Africa and other parts of the world,” the statement read.
It added that the US and the Israeli regime are covertly supporting the crimes in Nigeria.
The Iranian lawmakers said setting fire to the house of a prominent Shia cleric and the killing of his family members along with hundreds of other Shia Muslims indicated "the lack of foresight" on the part of the Nigerian government in running the country's affairs.
They called on Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari to set up an ad hoc committee to investigate the crime and bring the perpetrators to justice.
Reports said soldiers on Saturday opened fire on Shia Muslims attending a ceremony in Hussainiyyah Baqeeyatullah, a religious center in Zaria. The Shias had reportedly stopped the convoy of Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai as Ibrahim al-Zakzaky, the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, was planning a speech in the religious center. Several Muslims were killed in the attacks.
Following the incident, Nigerian forces raided the home of the top Shia cleric and arrested him after reportedly killing hundreds of those protecting him, including one of the group’s senior leaders and its spokesman.
The Islamic Movement of Nigeria has confirmed that Zakzaky has been apprehended by government troops.
Nigerian authorities accuse Zakzaky of trying to assassinate the Nigerian army chief, a charge that he has vehemently rejected.
The fate of the top Shia Nigerian cleric remains unknown since his arrest.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Monday summoned Nigeria's charge d'affaires to receive Iran’s protest after the deadly attacks by the African country’s government troops against Shia Muslim community.
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