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Tag: boko haram

  • African leaders meet on Boko Haram

    African leaders meet on Boko Haram

    Leaders of central and West African states will hold a summit next week to draw up a joint strategy against Nigeria’s Boko Haram militants, a statement from organisers said yesterday.

    The April 8 summit will be the first of its kind since Nigeria’s election a week ago which was won by Muhammadu Buhari, a former military leader who has vowed to rid his country of the “terror” of Boko Haram.

    “In the face of the mounting and increasingly bloody attacks by the fundamentalists against Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad and the series of consequences for these countries, and the real reask of destabilising western and central Africa, the two organisations have decided to take action,” a statement from regional bloc ECOWAS said.

    A coalition involving troops from the four countries has been waging offensives against the Islamists in a bid to crush the insurgency, which has now spread across borders from Boko Haram’s stronghold in Nigeria.

    The meeting in Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea, is being jointly organised by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).

    It was not immediately clear if Buhari would be attending as he will not be sworn in as president to succeed incumbent Goodluck Jonathan until May 29.

    The Boko Haram insurgency has led to the deaths of more than 15,000 people dead since since 2009, UN rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said last week.

    “Countless more children, women and men have been abducted, abused and forcibly recruited, and women and girls have been targeted for particularly horrific abuse, including sexual enslavement,” he told the

    “This despicable and wanton carnage, which constitutes a clear and urgent menace for development, peace and security, must be stopped,” Zeid said.

  • Fleeing Boko Haram terrorists kill seven in Chad village attack

    Fleeing Boko Haram terrorists kill seven in Chad village attack

    Fighters from Boko Haram fleeing an offensive by soldiers from Chad and Niger launched a rare attack on Chadian soil, killing seven people, security sources said at the weekend.

    The two armies drove the insurgents from Malam Fatori, one of Boko Haram’s last major footholds along Nigeria’s northern border last week.

    While they faced little resistance as they entered the town on Tuesday, Chad claimed the joint force killed hundreds of Boko Haram fighters in clashes the following day in which nine Chadian soldiers died and another 16 were injured.

    “Some Boko Haram militants fleeing Malam Fatori towards Lake Chad attacked Maidogo, near Ngouboua, on Thursday, killing seven people,” said a Chadian security source.

    The attack on Maidogo, which is located on an island in Lake Chad, was confirmed by other military sources.

  • Boko Haram kills lawmaker, policeman, 10 others in polls attacks

    Boko Haram kills lawmaker, policeman, 10 others in polls attacks

    Suspected members of Boko Haram sect yesterday launched separate attacks on voters in Gombe and Yobe states, killing 10 people including an All Progressives Congress (APC) member seeking re-election into the Gombe State House of Assembly, and a policeman.

    Alhaji Umar Aminu  and five voters  were  shot dead in his Dukku South constituency by the terrorists who were quoted by eye witnesses as saying : ‘Didn’t we warn you about staying away from (the) election?” as they pulled the triggers.

    Three people including the policeman were killed in Birin Bolawa and Birin Fulani villages in Nafada Local government area of the state.

    The insurgents had apparently crossed into the state from Yobe after a similar attack in Ngalda where the state police commissioner Danladi Marcus said one person was killed.

    There was confusion in the areas as some voters left the polling units but others later returned to be accredited, sources said.

    Eye witnesses said the insurgents left on the Dukku-Darazo road after the attack.

    The Police Public Relations Officer in Gombe State, Fwaje Atajiri, confirmed the report, adding that details of the incident would be given after investigations were completed.

    “There was an attack on the outskirts of Nafada in attempt to disrupt the elections,” Mr. Atajiri, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said. “A joint team of military and police officer promptly moved to Dukku and pushed the insurgents to the bush.”

    Mr. Atajiri said elections were going on in the area and other areas of the state as the Special Forces were in control of the situation.

    Reacting to the death of his colleague, member representing Akko North Constituency at the State House of Assembly, Gidado Lawanti, described his death as unfortunate.

     

  • Jonathan warned about Boko Haram ceasefire – Chadian president

    Jonathan warned about Boko Haram ceasefire – Chadian president

    Chadian President Idris Deby has said he warned President Goodluck Jonathan against holding talks with the Boko Haram sect, saying the whole episode was orchestrated by the insurgents to buy time and regroup.

    Deby said President Jonathan dismissed the advice and held talks with the sect, a decision he said was for political reasons.

    The Chadian leader accused his Nigerian counterpart of downplaying the Boko Haram threat.

    “I told President Jonathan not to open negotiations with terrorists but it was a political choice,” AFP quoted Deby as saying in an interview with French magazine, Le Point.

    “It has become something too serious for Nigerians to ignore. The blood of the dead that we have been counting every day for the past few years demands attention.”

    The October ceasefire humiliated the Nigerian government after it claimed to have reached a deal with the insurgents, who are responsible for more than 15,000 deaths.

    At the time, the Nigerian military said the talks were credible and directed its field commanders to immediately suspend hostilities against the sect.

    The talks were reportedly facilitated by the Chadian president, accused earlier of providing safe haven for insurgents.

    Shortly after the announcement, Boko Haram continued its attacks, sacking villages and killing innocent people.

    The Nigerian government initially claimed that the sect’s splinter groups were responsible for the continued fighting, but later blamed the failure on sabotage.

    Mr. Deby said President Jonathan and his military had underestimated Boko Haram for too long.

    “The whole world is asking why the Nigerian army, which is a big arm is not in a position to stand up to untrained kids armed with Kalashnikovs,” he said.

    Speaking about the ongoing war that involves Chad, Niger and Cameroun, the Chadian President said the Nigerian military has not cooperated with his country in fighting the insurgents.

    He said the two sides have not had any direct contact since Chad became involved in the conflict.

    “Two months after the start of this war, we have not had any direct contact with the Nigerian army units on the ground,” he said.

  • Boko Haram: UN Human Rights Council to hold special session

    Boko Haram: UN Human Rights Council to hold special session

    The United Nations Human Rights Council has received a request to host a special session next week on abuses by Boko Haram in Nigeria and neighbouring countries, the council president said Friday.

    The UN’s top rights body received the request late Thursday from Algeria, on behalf of the group of African countries, president Joachim Ruecker told the council.

    If officially accepted by at least one third of the council’s 47 members, the session will go ahead on April 1.

    So far, 19 member states have said they will support the request, indicating it will be accepted.

    The announcement came a day before Nigerians head to the polls, amid calls for tighter security following years of bloody attacks by Boko Haram in the country’s restive northeast.

    The group, which recently pledged allegiance to the Islamic State insurgency, has also increased attacks in neighbouring countries.

     

    The UN Human Rights Council rarely hosts special sessions, with only 22 such events held since the body was created in 2006.

  • ‘Boko Haram kidnaps 500 in Borno’

    ‘Boko Haram kidnaps 500 in Borno’

    Residents of Damasak in Borno State said yesterday that Boko Haram insurgents kidnapped over 400 women and children, as they left the town when it was freed by troops from Niger and Chad, a few days ago.

    “They took 506 young women and children,  killing about 50 of them before leaving,” a trader, Souleymane Ali, told Reuters.

    “We don’t know if they killed others after leaving, but they took the rest with them.”

    Lt.-Col. Toumba Mohamed, the Nigerien commander of the Niger-Chad forces in Damasak, said residents reported between 400 and 500 women and children kidnapped, according to Reuters report.

    Yesterday, the Defence Headquarters said troops took over the control of Pulka, also in Borno State, after a fierce encounter with Boko Haram militias.

    Troops also arrested a male suicide bomber, who was on a mission to attack Kwaya Kusar Market in Borno State.

    A plot by two women suicide bombers was yesterday aborted by troops at Aouno in Borno State.

    The Director, Defence Information, Maj.-Gen. Chris Olukolade, who spoke in a statement in Abuja, said there was no going back on the mission against the insurgents.

    The statement said: “Troops on Monday evening took full control of Pulka in Borno State after a fierce battle with terrorists, who have been operating in the town.

    “The town has been serving as one of their major access to the Mandara mountains and supply route out of the country and link towards Cameroon.

    “Cordon and search have begun after the air and land operation that overpowered the terrorists.

    ”Also in the mission area, a male terrorist suspect, who disguised as a lady dressed in hijab, was nabbed by vigilant troops, as he made for a mission to kill innocent citizens in Kwaya Kusar Market in Borno State, on Saturday.

    “He is in custody of the troops and has given information on the mode of their operations.

    ”In another development, the mission of two women suicide bombers was yesterday aborted by troops in Aouno, also in Borno State.

    “But they succeeded in blowing themselves up with no military or civilian casualty, as they apparently intended to. The mission against terror continues.”

     

  • Sani: Jonathan not interested in stopping Boko Haram

    Sani: Jonathan not interested in stopping Boko Haram

    Civil rights activist and a senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in  Kaduna State, Mallam Shehu Sani,  has said the President Goodluck Jonathan administration has never been interested in ending the Boko Haram insurgency.

    He said the President frustrated efforts to end the insurgency.

    Sani, who spoke at a sensitisation workshop organised by the Buhari/Osinbajo Youths Support Groups and the Proud Talakawa Movement (PTM), said when effort was being made to end the insurgency, it became clear that the Jonathan administration was an obstacle to it.

    He alleged that the country had witnessed looting of public treasury and killings of innocent citizens since the Jonathan administration came into office.

    Sani said: “For the last 16 years, it has been a case of waste, of corruption, of mass murder of innocent citizens by the ineptitude and incompetence of the ruling party.

    “From the sidelines, as a citizen, I did my best to see how we could bring an end to the Boko Haram insurgency. That informed my decision, in September 2011, to go to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, to join in the struggle to end Boko Haram insurgency.

    “We have all done our best. But it is very clear that the obstacle to end this insurgency is Jonathan’s government. It had reached a point where I told the Boko Haram people to stop calling my phone because we were completely frustrated. There was no interest on the side of the government to end the insurgency.

    “We all have a stake in democratic government. We have done all these because we believe that Nigeria can be great again. I don’t have to stand here and sing the praises of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari because he lives in Kaduna like me. So we leave those praises.

    “But we know his potentialities and what he is capable of doing for Nigeria. But we should also know that he is not an Abraham Lincoln who will be contesting election every day. We have to do all we can on March 28. We have made that very clear in Kaduna, to the sitting Vice-President that the 3.1million registered voters in Kaduna are prepared to be killed.

    “The Jonathan administration is an affliction. It is a curse on Nigeria. They have looted over $45billion in the last six years he served as a President. Over 65,000 Nigerians have been killed. We have seen how a government openly supported terrorism. They keep giving oil pipeline contracts to the Tompolos, the Asari Dokubos, the Gani Adams and so on”.

    He asked the electorate to be vigilant and ensure that their votes count.

    Prof. Babalola Borisade, who represented former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, asked the participants to do all they can to protect the change that is coming, adding that the fact that the ruling party has been doing everything possible to prevent the election from holding is an admittance of failure.

     

     

  • Chadian helicopters bomb Boko Haram locations

    Two Chadian army helicopters bombed Nigerian Boko Haram positions on Sunday, killing several dozen militants near a village on the border with Niger, a senior Niger military official told Reuters.

    Niger and Chadian soldiers have been fighting the insurgents in a joint mission with Nigeria and Cameroon since March 2, in a bid to end Boko Haram’s six-year insurgency in northern Nigeria that is threatening regional stability.

    The helicopters destroyed several vehicles and motorcycles carrying fighters in the Nigerian village of Djaboullam, which lies east across the border from the Niger town of Diffa, the Niger officer said.

    “Niger and Chad had received intelligence that a group of Boko Haram fighters had gathered in the border village,” the officer said.

    The Niger military officer, who requested anonymity, said Boko Haram fighters had moved to Djaboullam after they were chased from other towns by the Nigerian army. Militants were also gathering in other border towns from where they routinely launch mortar rounds into Niger, he said.

    “We know they are massing in Malam Fatori, waiting for us to come,” he said, referring to another northeast Nigerian town about three kilometres (two miles) from Bosso, the nearest town across the border in Niger.

    The regional offensive launched this year comes as Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and biggest economy, prepares to hold elections on March 28.

    The offensive has succeeded in driving the militants from several towns and districts they previously held. Chad and Niger forces captured the town of Damasak from the militants last week.

     

  • Boko Haram insurgency is world’s fourth deadliest conflict, says report

    Boko Haram insurgency is world’s fourth deadliest conflict, says report

    The Boko Haram insurgency recorded the fourth deadliest conflict in the world in 2014 with 11,529 deaths, according to a study released by the Project for the Study of the 21st Century think tank.

    The figure is almost three times those killed in 2013, the report said.

    Syria led the pack with more than 76,000 deaths, followed by Iraq with 21,000 deaths and Afghanistan with 14,638.

    Altogether, the death toll in the world’s most brutal conflicts last year was more than 28% higher than the previous year, with bloodshed in Syria worse than all others for the second year running.

    Data from sources including the United States military, the United Nations, the Syria Observatory for Human Rights and Iraq Body Count showed more than 76,000 people were killed in Syria last year, up from 73,447 in 2013.

    Many of the most violent wars involved radical Islamist groups. Around 21,000 lives were lost in Iraq as the government fought with Islamic State (Isis), followed by Afghanistan with 14,638 and Nigeria on 11,529, according to the analysis that the think tank said could easily underestimate the actual figures.

    15: Conflict in India claimed 976 lives in 2014, up from 885 in 2013.

    14: Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo claimed 1,235 lives, down from 1,976 in 2013.

    13: Fighting in Yemen claimed 1,500 lives in 2014, up from 600 in 2013. The advance of the Iranian-backed Houthis into the capital in September and to other regions, mainly in central and eastern Yemen, has been met with resistance from armed Sunni tribes, some of whom are backed by al-Qaeda militants.

    12: The Israel-Palestinian conflict claimed 2,365 lives in 2014, a massive increase in the region following 2013.

    11: Fighting between rival groups in Libya claimed 2,825 people in 2014, up from 643 in 2013. Islamist militants who have allied themselves to IS that controls parts of Iraq and Syria have recently spread their reach in the divided country, posing a challenge to the Tripoli-based government and its allied factions which have engaged them in battle.

  • Nigeria unrest causing ‘tremendous suffering’: UN official

    Violence by Boko Haram insurgents has led to staggering levels of misery and hardship in northeastern Nigeria, ranging from food shortages to families torn apart by relentless attacks, a top UN official said.

    “We’re seeing tremendous suffering,” UN Assistant Secretary General Robert Piper told AFP in an interview.

    The Boko Haram terror has claimed more than 13 000 people since 2009 and forced some 1.5 million others to flee their homes.

    The military, with help from troops from Chad, Cameroon and Niger, has claimed major gains against the Islamists in recent weeks, recapturing many towns held by the rebels.

    But the impact of the fighting and violence has caused the humanitarian situation in the area to deteriorate rapidly over the past year, said Piper, who coordinates the UN’s humanitarian work in Africa’s Sahel region.

    The violence has among other things cut millions of households off from access to their farms, causing surging food insecurity.

    “We estimate that only about 20 percent of agricultural land in Borno State (the hardest-hit area) was harvested last season,” Piper said, pointing out that “that leaves a massive deficit.”

    At the same time, there are “dramatic rates of acute malnutrition” among the displaced children in Nigeria, he said.

    A recent survey of displaced children around Maiduguri, the Borno State capital State, showed more than 35 percent of them were acutely malnourished, Piper said, stressing that that is “very, very high.”

    But even as the humanitarian needs balloon, the security situation is making it far more difficult for aid workers to get in.

    “We’ve had to pull back because of fighting,” Piper lamented, acknowledging that large parts of northeastern Nigeria and even areas in neighbouring countries hosting Nigerian refugees were out of reach.

    “It is simply too dangerous,” he said, adding that the UN in the next couple of weeks hoped to establish a “humanitarian air corridor” to make it easier and safer to move aid workers in and out of the northeast.