At least 10 pro-Biafra supporters were killed during protests on Monday as they marked the anniversary of the 1967 declaration of their breakaway republic, according to Nigerian police.


A police spokesman in Anambra state told AFP that five bodies had been recovered in Onitsha town, adding to the five already confirmed dead from the violence in Asaba (see earlier entry), which lies just across the other side of the River Niger.

Two police officers were also killed in Asaba.

Police say that protesters from the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement opened fire on them first, forcing them to retaliate. 

IPOB denies this and says that least 35 members of the group were killed in Onitsha alone on Monday.