Many injured as police, Shiites clash in Bauchi

Police Shiite clash in Abuja

Police and members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) have clashed in Bauchi during the Ashura procession on Tuesday.

The incident was said to have occurred at the Central Market Roundabout and Tashan Babiye area of Bauchi, the state capital.

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Reports say the police fired teargas and shots to disperse the Shiites.

It is also alleged that several members of the group were arrested.

The procession went without violence in Abuja as men, women, and children, marched from Berger Roundabout to Wuse.

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In Kaduna, the group accused the police of killing three of its members.

The Day of Ashura is marked as the tenth day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar.

It is observed annually by Shiite Muslims worldwide to commemorate the death of Husayn ibn Ali in the Battle of Karbala in Iraq.

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Husayn, known as the third Shia Imam, was the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and son of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first Shia Imam.

Husayn was said to have died during the Battle of Karbala on October 10, 680 between his army and the army of the second Umayyad caliph Yazid I.