Nigerian police arrest 100 in separatists march
Nov 5, 2012, 5:48 PM
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) – Police in southeast Nigeria say they arrested about 100 separatists who were marching and waving the flag of the failed breakaway Republic of Biafra.
Police spokesman Ebere Amaraizu said the arrests happened early Monday as unarmed members of the Biafra Zionist Movement marched near Enugu city.
The spokesman said the marchers carried the rising sun flags of the Biafran republic and wore military-style berets and armbands. He said he did not know what charges the men would face.
In 2011, a similar march saw participants face treason charges that were later dismissed.
The Republic of Biafra declared its independence from Nigeria in 1967. That sparked a civil war that killed 1 million people and nearly tore the oil-rich nation apart.
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