Nigeria, the largest country in Africa, split apart at dawn Tuesday when the Eastern region seceded and proclaimed itself the independent and sovereign Republic of Biafra. The act may mean civil war. Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon, the head of the federal military government, denounced the secession "as an act of rebellion which will be crushed." He immediately ordered a general mobilization of troops and warned that Nigerians now face "considerable hardship and possible loss of life." There were unconfirmed reports that two battalions of federal troops have already moved toward the East. Gowon also ordered all foreign ships to stop calling at ports in the Eastern region. "Appropriate measures will be taken by the Nigerian navy," he added, thus hinting that he meant to blockade the East. According to reports from Enugu, the capital of the East, there was jubilation in the city as Lt. Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu, the military governor of the East, proclaimed the secession...

related Stanley Meisler articles by topic: