In Nigeria, an Insurgency Leaves a Heavy Toll

The landscape of this scarred metropolis attests to a heavy human toll.

Burned, razed and bullet-pocked buildings mark where troops mounted their bloody assault against a strict Islamic sect last week. Residents remain in barracks and police stations, afraid to return to what is left of their homes.And security forces continue going door to door in search of sect members, perpetuating the city’s sense of fear.

“Once they find anyone who they believe is a member, they just execute them right there, and this is something that started over the weekend,” said one resident, Ibrahim Nijdda, contending that his uncle had been killed in the fighting.
(nytimes.com; August 3, 2009)

傷痕累累的城市場(chǎng)景見(jiàn)證了它所遭受的重創(chuàng)。這里到處都被燒毀了，已被夷為平地，建筑物上都是彈痕。上周軍隊(duì)在這里進(jìn)行了反伊斯蘭教的血腥攻擊，當(dāng)?shù)鼐用褚琅f待在兵營(yíng)和警察局里，不敢回到他們被遺棄的家。安全部隊(duì)繼續(xù)門(mén)挨門(mén)地尋找教派成員，使得城市的恐怖氣氛依然存在。一位當(dāng)?shù)鼐用穹Q，從周末開(kāi)始，部隊(duì)一旦發(fā)現(xiàn)教派成員，就會(huì)當(dāng)場(chǎng)處決。他的叔叔也死在這場(chǎng)戰(zhàn)斗中。