maiduguri

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As Nigeria claims an early success for its military offensive against Islamist insurgents in the northeast and eases the curfew in the area, local residents voice relief and hope for peace. Full Story: Nigeria relaxed a curfew on Monday (May 20) in parts of the northeast, where its troops are mounting their biggest offensive yet against militants from the Islamist group Boko Haram. A 24-hour curfew had been imposed since Saturday (May 18) over large parts of the city of Maiduguri and other parts of Borno state, at the heart of the Boko Haram insurgency. The curfew had raised fears of a humanitarian crisis if food supplies were unable to get through. But Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa, a spokesman for Nigerian forces in Borno, said the curfew had been relaxed and would start at 6 p.m. and end at 7 a.m. Nura Mohammed, a fish seller in Maiduguri, says locals get caught in the crossfire between militants and soldiers, driving some to support the Islamists. [Nura Mohammed, Fish Seller]: "The danger is that the soldiers in the process, shoot and bully innocent citizens, this frustrates a lot of our people and make some of them join the terrorists." The sect is fighting to carve out an Islamist state in Nigeria, a country of 170 million people where around half are Christians and the other half Muslims. Thousands have been killed since Boko Haram launched its uprising in 2009. The United States, European Union and rights groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, are concerned the state of emergency will enable Nigeria's military to commit abuses against civilians. For more news and videos visit ☛ http://ntd.tv Follow us on Twitter ☛ http://twitter.com/NTDTelevision Add us on Facebook ☛ http://on.fb.me/s5KV2C