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Biafra protests: Nigeria police in mass arrests | Biafra protests: Nigeria police in mass arrests |
(about 1 hour later) | |
At least 100 people have been charged with treason in south-eastern Nigeria after a march supporting independence for Biafra, their lawyer says. | At least 100 people have been charged with treason in south-eastern Nigeria after a march supporting independence for Biafra, their lawyer says. |
Members of the Biafran Zionist Movement declared independence, raised the Biafran flag and then marched through the region's main town, Enugu. | Members of the Biafran Zionist Movement declared independence, raised the Biafran flag and then marched through the region's main town, Enugu. |
More than one million people died during the 1967-70 Biafran conflict - mostly from hunger and disease. | More than one million people died during the 1967-70 Biafran conflict - mostly from hunger and disease. |
Most of those arrested were young men but some were veterans of the war. | Most of those arrested were young men but some were veterans of the war. |
They were all remanded in custody. | They were all remanded in custody. |
The BZM first gathered on Sunday to mark the birthday of former Biafran leader Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, who died in November 2011 and was buried in March. | |
The BBC's Will Ross in Lagos says that 45 years after the Biafran flag was first raised - an action which sparked Nigeria's civil war - a small number of separatists still keep their dream alive, despite the threat of being charged with treason. | The BBC's Will Ross in Lagos says that 45 years after the Biafran flag was first raised - an action which sparked Nigeria's civil war - a small number of separatists still keep their dream alive, despite the threat of being charged with treason. |
Our correspondent says the war has been put back in the spotlight as the renowned Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe has just released his memoirs of the conflict. | Our correspondent says the war has been put back in the spotlight as the renowned Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe has just released his memoirs of the conflict. |
He also notes that as the novel Half of a Yellow Sun by the author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is being made into a film, this traumatic period of Nigeria's history is set to reach a wider audience. | He also notes that as the novel Half of a Yellow Sun by the author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is being made into a film, this traumatic period of Nigeria's history is set to reach a wider audience. |
The Biafran leaders were mostly from the Igbo ethnic group, whose members were targeted by rioters in northern areas following a 1966 coup seen as being led by Igbo officers. | The Biafran leaders were mostly from the Igbo ethnic group, whose members were targeted by rioters in northern areas following a 1966 coup seen as being led by Igbo officers. |