Nigerian bombing rocks UN compound

(CH) At least ten people were reportedly killed and 60 injured when a bomb exploded United Nations building in the Nigerian capital of Abuja.

The building housed numerous diplomats and foreigners and at the time of the attack several hundred people were inside the building complex.

According to eyewitnesses a suicide bomber drove a car or a truck with a bomb to the UN compound and then rammed into the building at around 11am. It is unclear however how the man managed to overcome the guarded security gates.

The UN remains unclear whether Islamists are behind this morning's attack.

“I saw many dead,” said UNICEF staff Michael Ocilaje. No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing yet. In the past, radical Islamists had repeatedly committed deadly attacks in the densely populated African country.

A BBC reporter said many of the injured were in critical condition. Hospitals are urging the population to donate blood meanwhile the Nigerian government has described the bombing as an “attack on the international community”.

The BBC reported that the explosion completely destroyed the ground floor of the building and severely damaged the first floor. All the windows were shattered. Many rescue workers tried to salvage survivors out of the ruins. The entire building was evacuated.

Not much has been discovered yet about the circumstances and background of the attack. In the past, radical Islamist group Boko Haram claimed responsibility for several terrorist attacks in Nigeria. About 30 people were killed in a series of attacks in Abuja in 2011. Members of the Haram Boko also perpetrated attacks on police stations in several cities.

Especially violent conflicts between Muslims and Christians have claimed hundreds of casualties in recent years. Christians and Muslims each represent half of the population.