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Subscribe to RSSKANO, Nigeria -- Gunmen on motorbikes shot dead nine health workers who were administering polio vaccinations in two separate attacks in Nigeria's main northern city of Kano Friday, police said.
No one claimed responsibility but Islamist militant group Boko Haram -- a sect which has condemned the use of Western medicine -- has been blamed for carrying out a spate of assaults on security forces in the city in recent weeks.
It is the second time this year that polio workers have come under attack by Islamist militants, after gunmen killed aid workers tackling the disease in Pakistan last month.
Some influential Muslim leaders in Kano openly oppose polio vaccination, saying it is a conspiracy against Muslim children.
The attacks will hit efforts by global health organizations to clear Nigeria's mostly-Muslim north of polio; a virus that can cause irreversible paralysis within hours of infection.
"Gunmen on bikes opened fire on a health center in the Hotoro district killing seven, while an attack on Zaria Road area of the city claimed two lives," said police spokesman Magaji Musa.
"They were working for the state government giving out polio vaccinations at the time of the attack," Musa added.
Kano government banned motorbikes from carrying passengers last month after the Emir of Kano, one of the country's most prominent leaders, was nearly killed when gunmen attacked his convoy, killing four of his aides.
So far nine health workers have been murdered while walking door to door to deliver polio vaccines to children in need because some believe the immunizations are part of a U.S. plot. NBC's Stephanie Gosk reports.
Militants pose serious threat
Boko Haram killed hundreds last year as part of its campaign to impose Islamic law, or sharia, on a country of 160 million, split roughly equally between Christians and Muslims.
The group is seen as the most serious threat to the stability of Africa's top energy producer, and Western governments fear the country could become a base for operations of al-Qaida-linked Islamist groups in the Sahara.
President Goodluck Jonathan has highlighted links between Boko Haram and Saharan Islamists and said that relationship justified his decision to join efforts by French and West African forces to fight militants in Mali last month.
In 2003, northern Nigeria's Muslim leaders opposed polio vaccinations, saying they could cause infertility and AIDS.
Their campaign against the treatments was blamed for a resurgence of the disease in parts of Nigeria and other African countries previously declared polio-free.
Polio, a virus that attacks the nervous system, crippled thousands of people every year in rich nations until the 1950s. As a result of vaccination, it is now only endemic in three countries -- Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan.
According to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, there were 121 new cases of polio in Nigeria last year, compared to 58 in Pakistan and 37 in Afghanistan.
"This is certainly a setback for polio eradication in Nigeria, but not a stop," said Oyewale Tomori, a campaigner for polio eradication in Nigeria. "The best we can do is to work harder and see the end of polio ... so their loss will not end as a useless sacrifice."
At least 16 health workers taking part in polio vaccination drives were killed in attacks in Pakistan in December and January.
Local Taliban militants said they did not carry out those attacks although its leaders have repeatedly denounced the vaccination program as a plot to sterilize people or spy on Muslims.
Related:
Taliban bans Pakistan polio vaccinations over drone strikes
Eight polio workers slain in Pakistan in just 48 hours
Rumors of plot to sterilize Muslims with polio vaccine spark killings in Pakistan
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Bill Gates and his wife should be spending the money on people closer to home.. You know the people that actually helped him make the billions.. Bill, just like the government can't buy friends, neither can you..
If you'd bother to do some research, you'd find out the Gates foundation donates money to fund projects here in the U.S. The polio eradication is also fund by other private donations thru international organizations such as Rotary International, whose members volunteer to go to countries to administer the vaccine at their own expense. The donations that the Gates Foundation makes in on their website. Take a look at it and tell me that they don't donate in the US. I know. I live in Seattle, have friends that work there and bother to check out their site to see what Bill & Melinda Gates are doing with their own money.
Also, just in case you don't know - they sell their products worldwide so the money comes from aevery country on the planet.
bow2me - Just wanted to let you know that "to" and "too" are not interchangeable. Boy, that looks familiar. I think I saw a very similar criticism made by someone else in the vine regarding the Canadian espionage story. Ringing any bells?
Obama administration refused repeatedly to declare these killers (Boko Haran) a terror group as they wipe out Christians all over Nigeria. Apparently they're happy with the work. This is what you voted for Democrats.
Most of the US, British, French, German and influential Europe's politicians are in the pockets of oil rich Sunni rulers, oil companies and their lobbyists.
Or else, why would anybody go to wars in Iraq?
The most ridiculous was the 1991 Iraqi war where US forces freed Kuwaiti ruler with 65 wives at one time and fixed his golden toilets!
To station US forces without Bibles in Saudi Arabia to save House of Saud, their Sunni Slafffi and Wahhabi clerics and their holy places was another worst cheap act!
Why anyone with a little sense will impose sanctions on Iranian oil and manipulate oil prices from $40 in 2009 to current more than $110?
Iranians can get as many nukes as they want from Pakis!
Sunni extremist haters and killers like Boko Haram, al Qaida, Taliban, MB, Salaffi and other label ones are proxies for oil rich Sunni rulers.
When most politicians dance as these oil rich Sunni rulers direct, how can Boko Haram be declared as a terror group?
If anybody deserves to be declared as terrorist nations, they are Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, the fountainheads of Islamic extremism!
bow2me: I give way to you bowing!
Polio is a horrible disease (poliomyelitis). What is happening on the ground in northern Nigeria- radio channels are spreading the idea of suspicion of polio vaccination is West's contrivance of making people sterile- being a birth control vaccination to control people (the West). When the clinic personnel was in a meeting - the gunmen burst in- opened fire- lit the place up and closed the door shut- burning the aid workers to death. So far in 2 places 9 aid sworkers killed- 8 women and one man. In Pakistan 19. Since the spreading of unfounded rumours is happening in airwaves (Radio channels)- against polio vaccinations in order to eradicate the scourge for their own benefit- these radio jocks can be held responsible for incitement. (or jam their radio channels) Bill and Melinda Gates are doing the greatest service for mankind all over the world in providing vaccinations and medicine for the most vulnerable.
"Islamist militant group Boko Haram -- a sect which has condemned the use of Western medicine -- has been blamed for carrying out a spate of assaults on security forces in the city in recent weeks."
These are the cases in Nigeria, Pakistan and other basket case nations where Islamic extremists are busy doing their cleaning process!
There is something basically wrong in these medical, economic aid and arms help and other business.
Sunni majority Syrian rebels are aided by oil rich Sunni rulers invented, funded and exported Islamic haters and killers like al Qaida, MB and Salaffi.
Many are dancing furiously on the need to help Syrians affected by their own invented civil wars.
These dances and dramas are supported by photos of weeping childreen, wounded killers, daily "world being shattered" like statements, media reports and so on, many politicians joining the chorous on the barbarism of Assad and his team!
UN and its agencies are banging their heads on Syrian refugees!
Oil rich Sunni rulers are hiding and directing all actions sitting in their palaces and harems!
Ironically, how the events are looked from different ends in Syria, Nigeria and Pakistan?
Islam is out of control. Radical idiots protesting 'western medicine' certainly have not managed to come up with anything to combat poliomyelitis, so why not just let their children die of it in the first place? They don't want the vaccine, so don't force it on them.
It is getting harder and harder to support the saving of children who will only be turned into Radical Islamists. In 10-15 years, these very same children who are saved by Western medicine will be committing Jihad against the West in the name of some prophet who cannot be pictured, was a pedophile and who condones the killing of all Infidels and converts.
Yes, it is a conspiracy against moslems. You know the backward ones that condemn their children to a life-time of suffering through fear and ignorance. Prior to that it was a conspiracy against hindus and ignorant Christians. Now their children don't suffer from polio.
I guess it worked.
Just examine what is going on in Nigeria.
We see Muslims inventing problems in most of the non-Muslim nations and many Muslim nations.
Even in the US, we can notice these actions!
For 9/11, Pakis and Saudis were responsible.
In the US, one Muslim from Bangladesh wanted to blow up Fed Reserve. He had come for studies and was hardly twenty! As per his family: "he is pious and he wanted to study."
Many Pakis including the Hadley have been involved in Islamic inspired terror attacks and terror plans have been too many.
One Saudi chemical engineering student wanted to use chemical weapons for this jihad.
When Muslims form more than five percent, downhill march starts.
Muslims are inventing problems in Myanmar, Thailand, Philippines, India and other places.
When they form more than 30 percent then it is Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria, Lebanon (few decades back)
In Muslim majority nations, they are doing genocides of minority Islamic sects like Shiites, Sufis, Ahmedias and other minority tribes.
When Muslims form a major a voting block, some parties support them!!!
Similar things are going on in UK, France and many European nations.
If Saudi Arabia and many Muslim nations do not permit non-Islamic religious places and scriptures, Muslims have no right to have their mosques, hate preaching and killer training centers, in non-Muslim nations.
If non-Muslims can’t live in peace in Muslim nations, Muslims don’t have any right to live in our nations.
We need to change the requirements for immigration to keep out basket case Muslims out and kick out those inventing problems in non-Muslim nations.
babble much??
put a fork in it: Some, who don't understand or like, certainly would comment: "babble much?"
Some are in their own fantasy islands.
They don't understand much except abuse, give spins, tell lies or dramas to fool!
So I can understand your problems when I post realities.
catch them...and inject them with Polio.......and leave them in jail
Look at the bright side; people with polio can't be very effective terrorists. Sick joke, I know, but really why do we waste so much on hopeless societies that collectively don't want to be fixed and let fundamentalists have veto power over everything in their lives?
If the families there want their children vaccinated then they should be prepared to protect the workers and if the government there can not or will not step up to the plate then they must accept the consequences. Too many of our soldiers have died for people who will betray us once they have used us up. Air drop the vaccines and say a prayer beyond that they must learn to stand up for themselves and America should stay out of it. After enough blood is shed they may finally learn that there is a better way than Islam irresponsible birth rate growth and raping the land. Americans also need to learn that their government hasn't been listening to our voice for a long time and to stand up and vote out this two party one agenda system.
Murder for Murder? Yes.
When they refuse to tell you what you are already infected with they are NO BETTER than the criminals who pulled the trigger.
The Medical Mafia murdering us for profits has every Autism baby being born now at the rate of 1 in 29 on their hands along with the all the billions suffering their syndromes/psych/cancers.
Because a VACCINE never protected us from anything after they infected us all with stealth spirochetal gene sharing prion protein infections. And they KNEW it in 1985 when they gave everyone the real cause of AIDS.