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WORLD NEWS Friday 15 February 2019

Car bomb kills 33 Indian soldiers, wounds 20 in Kashmir

By AIJAZ HUSSAIN smoke billowed from the
Associated Press damaged vehicles. Debris
SRINAGAR, India (AP) — and body parts littered the
At least 33 soldiers were road.
killed and about 20 oth- Authorities closed the high-
ers wounded Thursday in way following the blast.
a car bomb attack on a Police officer Khan said sol-
paramilitary convoy along diers and counterinsurgen-
a key highway in Indian- cy police reinforcements
controlled Kashmir, security were deployed in the area
officials said. It was one of and were conducting
the deadliest car bombings searches.
in the disputed region's his- The Greater Kashmir news-
tory. paper reported that mili-
Officials said a local Kash- tant group Jaish-e-Moham-
miri militant rammed an ex- med claimed responsibility
plosive-laden van into the for the attack.
convoy, targeting a bus A pre-recorded nine-min-
carrying at least 35 soldiers. ute video, circulated on
Senior police officer social media sites, showed
Muneer Ahmed Khan said the purported attacker in
the attack occurred as the Indian paramilitary soldiers carry the remains of colleagues at the site of an explosion in Pampore, combat clothes and sur-
convoy reached southern Indian-controlled Kashmir, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. rounded by guns and gre-
Lethpora town on the out- Associated Press nades.
skirts of the main city of Sri- Later Thursday, thousands
nagar. He said the bus was man for India's paramili- powerful that one cannot he said. of people, chanting slo-
destroyed and at least five tary Central Reserve Po- recognize whether the ve- Videos circulated by lo- gans such "Go India, go
other vehicles were dam- lice Force, said many of hicle was a bus or a truck. cal news groups showed back," marched to the mili-
aged by the blast. the injured were in critical Just pieces of mangled ambulances rushing to the tant's village in solidarity.
Sanjay Sharma, a spokes- condition. "The blast was so steel remain of the vehicle," site and people running as q

Ahead of Nigeria election, opposition alleges ghost voters

By RODNEY MUHUMUZA longer trust with the trajec- The opposition and some
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Ni- tory and growth of democ- election observers also
geria's main opposition racy and nation," he said. have expressed concern
party charged Thursday He also alleged "a coordi- about military deployments
that the election commis- nated approach to register in part of southeastern Ni-
sion has kept more than 1 foreigners" as voters. geria where separatists are
million ghost voters on the The People's Democratic active.
national register, raising Party, whose presidential Buhari and Abubakar re-
fears of vote rigging ahead candidate is Atiku Abuba- newed a pledge for a
of Saturday's presidential kar, is Nigeria's main op- peaceful poll on Wednes-
election. position party. Allegations day. Both leaders vowed
The electoral commission of ghost voters are bound to contribute to a free and
"did not in fact do a clean- to raise tensions in what is fair election in Africa's most
up of the register of voters" widely seen as a close con- populous country and re-
before publishing it, Uche test between Abubakar, a frain from "religious incite-
Secondus, chairman of the former vice president, and ment" or ethnic profiling. Nigerian women attend an inter-faith prayer rally organized by
opposition People's Demo- President Muhammadu Bu- The push for candidates to the Freedom and Justice Party in Abuja, Nigeria, Thursday Feb.
cratic Party, told a news hari. publicly renew their peace 14, 2019.
conference in the capital, The electoral commission vow, first made in Decem- Associated Press
Abuja. says 84 million people are ber, picked up in recent
"A sick narrative has registered to vote in this days after the governor of Buhari was elected to his were full of optimism.
emerged, one of systemic country of 190 million. Kaduna state declared on first term in 2015, the first But his government now
and systematic rigging, A spokesman for the elec- television that anyone who time in Nigerian history that faces widespread discon-
manipulation of the true re- toral commission did not came to Nigeria to inter- an opposition party demo- tent over rising unemploy-
cord of the voters' register respond to requests for a vene in the election "would cratically won power, and ment and insecurity in some
and a cabal you can no comment. go back in body bags." his first few months in office parts of the country.q