Thursday, July 30, 2009

More news from Nigeria

Interesting and revealing to compare the NY Times and Al Jazeera coverage of the latest events in Nigeria.

The NY Times report from Senegal starts by saying, "The leader of a fundamentalist Islamic sect was captured and killed after he fled a climactic gun battle with the Nigerian military, news reports said Thursday."

The Al Jazeera report begins, "Nigerian police have claimed the killing of Mohammed Yusuf, the leader of an Islamic group Boko Haram while in detention." But later in the story,

Al Jazeera's Yvonne Ndege, reporting from Borno state in northern Nigeria, said: "One cannot be a hundred per cent sure of what the police are saying about the capture and death of Mohammed Yusuf for two reason.

"One, the military and police are under sustained political pressure to root out Boko Haram. Two, on Wednesday we were told that Yusuf and at least 300 of his supporters fled Maiduguru as they were being pursued by Nigerian security forces.

"What we have asked the Nigerian police force for is evidence that they have actually captured Mohammed Yusuf but we have not got it."

Props to Al Jazeera for not simply relying upon "news reports." I thought the NY Times WAS the news reports. Grumble, grumble.

BBC news also has a report here.

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