News / Politics

Iranian lawmakers urge action on Nigeria Shias

Tuesday, 15 December 2015 9:23 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 15 December 2015 9:23 AM ]

(From Left) Iranian MPs Mohammad-Reza Pour-Ebrahimi, Hossein-Ali Haji-Deligani, and Ahmad Salek

Three Iranian lawmakers have called for action amid the deadly violence against the Shia community in Nigeria at the hands of the African country’s military.

Nigerian soldiers on Saturday opened fire on Shia Muslims attending a ceremony at a religious center in the country’s northern city of Zaria, in Kaduna State. The Shias had reportedly stopped the convoy of Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai as Ibrahim al-Zakzaky, the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, was planning a speech in the religious center. A number of Muslims were killed in the attack.

Nigerian forces raided the house of the Shia leader the next day and arrested him after reportedly killing several individuals attempting to protect him, including one of the movement’s senior leaders and its spokesman. Nigerian authorities accuse Zakzaky of trying to assassinate the country’s army chief, a charge he has vehemently rejected.

Nigerian Shia leader Ibrahim al-Zakzaky (file photo)

On Tuesday, the chairman of the Iranian Parliament (Majlis)’s Cultural Commission, Ahmad Salek, demanded that the legislature adopt an appropriate position vis-à-vis the developments.

Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani responded by saying, “Some measures are being taken in this regard.”

Mohammad-Reza Pour-Ebrahimi, another lawmaker, demanded that immediate efforts be made in order to assist the Nigerian Shias, suggesting that inter-parliamentary capacities be tapped toward meeting that purpose.

Meanwhile, MP Hossein-Ali Haji-Deligani has urged that the Shia leader be compensated for the oppression he has been subjected to and advised against indifference toward the bloodshed of Shias in Nigeria.

Iran's Foreign Ministry on Monday summoned Nigeria’s charge d’affaires to convey to him Tehran’s objection to the incidents.

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