Mansour Confirms Lebanese Community in Nigeria Safe

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour assured on Saturday that the Lebanese community in Nigeria is safe, noting that they were not harmed by the security incidents in that country.

According to the National News Agency, Mansour telephoned Lebanese ambassador to Nigeria Iman Younis inquiring about the situation.

Younis stressed that the Lebanese community is taking precautions in order to remain safe.

“I’ve demanded the ambassador to stay in contact with the Lebanese community and to inform me about developments in case any urgent event took place,” Mansour said.

Bomb attacks targeting security forces and gun battles killed at least 162 people in Nigeria's second-largest city of Kano as bodies littered the streets on Saturday.

A curfew was imposed on Kano in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north after it exploded into violence on Friday evening, with eight police and immigration offices or residences targeted.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency on December 31 in parts of four states hard hit by attacks attributed to Islamist group Boko Haram.

Most of the recent major attacks have taken place in the country's northeast.

The state of emergency has not stopped attacks, and the areas targeted have spread beyond the locations covered by the decree.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation and largest oil producer, is roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south.