KANO, Nigeria (AP) — More than 150 people were killed in a series of coordinated attacks by a radical Islamist sect in north Nigeria's largest city, according to an internal Red Cross document seen Sunday by an Associated Press reporter.
Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan also arrived in Kano on Sunday afternoon to pay his condolences, as military helicopters flew overhead.
A spokesman at Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital in Kano, the city's largest hospital, declined to immediately comment Sunday on the latest count. But the toll of the attacks could be seen all around.
Armed police drove by the hospital in a pickup truck with a corpse wrapped in a white burial shroud. Children outside the hospital sold surgical masks. Once used only for the heavy dust in this sprawling city, the masks are now being used by responders going into the hospital's overflowing mortuary.
Soldiers in bulletproof vests carrying assault rifles with bayonets stood guard at roundabouts in areas where the sect had attacked. At the regional police headquarters in Kano, which sustained particularly heavy damage, soldiers refused access to AP reporters.
Friday's attacks by Boko Haram hit police stations, immigration offices and the local headquarters of Nigeria's secret police in Kano, a city of more than 9 million people that remains an important political and religious center in the country's Muslim north.
The coordinated attacks represent the extremist group's deadliest assault since beginning its campaign of terror in Africa's most populous nation.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the multiple attacks, according to a statement.
"The Secretary-General is appalled at the frequency and intensity of recent attacks in Nigeria, which demonstrate a wanton and unacceptable disregard for human life," the statement said.
Ban also expressed "his hope for swift and transparent investigations into these incidents that lead to bringing the perpetrators to justice," according to the statement.
A Boko Haram spokesman using the nom de guerre Abul-Qaqa claimed responsibility for the attacks in a message to journalists Friday. He said the attack came because the state government refused to release Boko Haram members held by the police.
President Goodluck Jonathan also condemned the attacks. But Jonathan's government has repeatedly been unable to stop attacks by Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the Hausa language of Nigeria's north. The group has carried out increasingly sophisticated and bloody attacks in its campaign to implement strict Shariah law and avenge the deaths of Muslims in communal violence across Nigeria, a multiethnic nation of more than 160 million people.
Authorities blamed Boko Haram for at least 510 killings last year alone, according to an AP count, including an August suicide bombing on the U.N. headquarters in the country's capital Abuja. So far this year, the group has been blamed for at least 219 killings, according to an AP count.
Boko Haram recently said it specifically would target Christians living in Nigeria's north, but Friday's attack saw its gunmen kill many Muslims. In a recent video posted to the Internet, Imam Abubakar Shekau, a Boko Harm leader, warned it would kill anyone who "betrays the religion" by being part of or sympathizing with Nigeria's government.
Also Sunday, police say 11 people were killed in an attack in Nigeria's north state of Bauchi.
Bauchi state police commissioner Ikechukwu Aduba said the attack happened overnight. He said the 11 dead included civilians, police and army personnel who were running a checkpoint. Aduba said at least two churches were also attacked in a separate incident in the state.
He did not immediately name who was responsible for the attacks. Bauchi is also a region where Boko Haram has staged attacks before. It is nearly 200 miles (320 kilometers) from Kano.
Monday, January 23, 2012
World crimes court 'accepts Kadhafi son to be tried in Libya'
Libya said Monday the International Criminal Court has accepted that Seif al-Islam, slain dictator Moamer Kadhafi's son, will be tried by Libyans, a claim which was quickly denied by the tribunal.
"The ICC has accepted that Seif al-Islam will be tried in Libya by the Libyan judiciary," Libya's Justice Minister Ali H'mida Ashur told AFP.
"The trial will take place in Libya. The Libyan justice is competent and we gave the file (on Seif) to the ICC on Friday," Ashur added.
The Hague-based ICC, however, denied Ashur's claims.
"The ICC has made no decision on this matter," court spokesman Fadi el-Abdallah told AFP.
Seif, who was arrested on November 19, is in the custody of the military council of Zintan, a town 180 kilometres (110 miles), southwest of Tripoli.
He is also wanted by the ICC on charges of crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the conflict in Libya.
The ICC had given Libya until January 23 to mull the possible handing over of Seif al-Islam.
Last month ICC judges had called on Libya's new leaders to inform them as a matter of urgency if and when they intend to hand over Seif and set a January 10 deadline for a response.
But later in a letter, Libya asked for an extension, citing security situation in the country even as it expressed its intentions to prosecute Seif on Libyan soil.
The New-York based Human Rights Watch, in its World Report 2012, has raised concerns over Libya's judicial system.
"Libya’s interim government and its international supporters should make it an urgent priority to build a functioning justice system and begin legal reform that protects human rights after Moamer Kadhafi," the group said in the report.
Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch said in the report that "independent courts and the rule of law will help ensure stability in a country emerging from four decades of dictatorship and eight months of war."
"The ICC has accepted that Seif al-Islam will be tried in Libya by the Libyan judiciary," Libya's Justice Minister Ali H'mida Ashur told AFP.
"The trial will take place in Libya. The Libyan justice is competent and we gave the file (on Seif) to the ICC on Friday," Ashur added.
The Hague-based ICC, however, denied Ashur's claims.
"The ICC has made no decision on this matter," court spokesman Fadi el-Abdallah told AFP.
Seif, who was arrested on November 19, is in the custody of the military council of Zintan, a town 180 kilometres (110 miles), southwest of Tripoli.
He is also wanted by the ICC on charges of crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the conflict in Libya.
The ICC had given Libya until January 23 to mull the possible handing over of Seif al-Islam.
Last month ICC judges had called on Libya's new leaders to inform them as a matter of urgency if and when they intend to hand over Seif and set a January 10 deadline for a response.
But later in a letter, Libya asked for an extension, citing security situation in the country even as it expressed its intentions to prosecute Seif on Libyan soil.
The New-York based Human Rights Watch, in its World Report 2012, has raised concerns over Libya's judicial system.
"Libya’s interim government and its international supporters should make it an urgent priority to build a functioning justice system and begin legal reform that protects human rights after Moamer Kadhafi," the group said in the report.
Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch said in the report that "independent courts and the rule of law will help ensure stability in a country emerging from four decades of dictatorship and eight months of war."
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Jonathan Orders Probe of Ghanaian Intercepted Arms
President Goodluck Jonathan has ordered the investigation into the lorry load of arms and ammunition intercepted in Ghana, which were allegedly destined for Nigeria.
THISDAY learnt that investigation so far conducted into the arm smuggling has identified one Prince Eugene Uba, a Nigerian, as the brain behind the smashed arms-running gang
Sources said immediately the news of the interception was brought to the notice of the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana, the president was consequently briefed and in turn, decided to personally stay on top of the situation.
Jonathan, according to sources, was appalled at the development and immediately ordered investigation into the incident and that he should be kept abreast of the findings.
Sources said the intercepted arms and ammunition included hundreds of pump action and double-action guns as well as type AA and BB cartridges, among others.
Reacting to the incident, Nigeria's High Commissioner to Ghana, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, told THISDAY that Nigerian and Ghanaian governments had made significant progress on the matter.
"What we are trying to do now is to send the culprits to Nigeria for further investigations and appropriate action," he added.
He said the Nigerian commission was discussing with the Ghanaian authorities and negotiating the release of those in custody to facilitate their transfer back home for further investigations.
Obanikoro, who indicated his concern over the development, said from his interaction with the driver of the lorry that was the second trip they were making recently.
"Only God knows how many of such trips have been successful. If the driver could admit to having had a successful one earlier and that this was his second, then you can be sure he has made several others. "I am therefore worried but consoled by the fact that the security agencies are on top of this particular development," he said.
Obanikoro, who was optimistic that the arms incident would not be one of many cases usually swept under carpet, said he was hoping that "we'll be able to work with the Ghanaian authorities, and together, we can be on top of situations like this now and in the near future."
The Ghana Police Service which impounded the lorry load of arms last Tuesday said it acted on a tip-off by a resident in the area, adding that five persons - three Ghanaians and two Nigerians - were arrested in connection with the crime.
The suspects, Sunday Eze, Samuel Taiwo and two others are said to be in police custody, assisting with further investigations, the Deputy Commis-sioner of Police for Greater Accra Region, Rose Bio Atinga, said at a press conference
THISDAY learnt that investigation so far conducted into the arm smuggling has identified one Prince Eugene Uba, a Nigerian, as the brain behind the smashed arms-running gang
Sources said immediately the news of the interception was brought to the notice of the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana, the president was consequently briefed and in turn, decided to personally stay on top of the situation.
Jonathan, according to sources, was appalled at the development and immediately ordered investigation into the incident and that he should be kept abreast of the findings.
Sources said the intercepted arms and ammunition included hundreds of pump action and double-action guns as well as type AA and BB cartridges, among others.
Reacting to the incident, Nigeria's High Commissioner to Ghana, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, told THISDAY that Nigerian and Ghanaian governments had made significant progress on the matter.
"What we are trying to do now is to send the culprits to Nigeria for further investigations and appropriate action," he added.
He said the Nigerian commission was discussing with the Ghanaian authorities and negotiating the release of those in custody to facilitate their transfer back home for further investigations.
Obanikoro, who indicated his concern over the development, said from his interaction with the driver of the lorry that was the second trip they were making recently.
"Only God knows how many of such trips have been successful. If the driver could admit to having had a successful one earlier and that this was his second, then you can be sure he has made several others. "I am therefore worried but consoled by the fact that the security agencies are on top of this particular development," he said.
Obanikoro, who was optimistic that the arms incident would not be one of many cases usually swept under carpet, said he was hoping that "we'll be able to work with the Ghanaian authorities, and together, we can be on top of situations like this now and in the near future."
The Ghana Police Service which impounded the lorry load of arms last Tuesday said it acted on a tip-off by a resident in the area, adding that five persons - three Ghanaians and two Nigerians - were arrested in connection with the crime.
The suspects, Sunday Eze, Samuel Taiwo and two others are said to be in police custody, assisting with further investigations, the Deputy Commis-sioner of Police for Greater Accra Region, Rose Bio Atinga, said at a press conference
Ghana TUC calls for inquiry into the attack on journalists
The Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC) has called for an inquiry into the attack on a Daily Guide photographer, Miss Gifty Lawson and others, covering court proceedings at an Accra Human Rights Court in Accra on Thursday.
A statement issued and signed by Mr Kofi Asamoah, Secretary General of the Union and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Sunday said “information reaching the TUC suggests that not only were the journalists arrested, but in the process they were subjected to severe beatings.”
It noted that they were also threatened with death by gun-toting officers of the BNI for doing no more than their duty as journalist.
The statement explained that the news report have it that Gifty Lawson in particular “was roughly handled in a sexist and Chauvinist manner characteristic of male chauvinist that have little respect for womanhood.”
It said the union wished to state clearly that such conduct was not the type of behaviour expected from the BNI or any other security agencies in the country in the performance of their duties.
It therefore called on the authorities to bring the perpetrators to book to serve as a deterrent to all.
It also reiterated that the days when security agencies of the state acts with impunity were long gone and the people would no longer appease impunity. GNA
A statement issued and signed by Mr Kofi Asamoah, Secretary General of the Union and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Sunday said “information reaching the TUC suggests that not only were the journalists arrested, but in the process they were subjected to severe beatings.”
It noted that they were also threatened with death by gun-toting officers of the BNI for doing no more than their duty as journalist.
The statement explained that the news report have it that Gifty Lawson in particular “was roughly handled in a sexist and Chauvinist manner characteristic of male chauvinist that have little respect for womanhood.”
It said the union wished to state clearly that such conduct was not the type of behaviour expected from the BNI or any other security agencies in the country in the performance of their duties.
It therefore called on the authorities to bring the perpetrators to book to serve as a deterrent to all.
It also reiterated that the days when security agencies of the state acts with impunity were long gone and the people would no longer appease impunity. GNA
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Amid tensions, U.S. Navy rescues Iranians from Somali pirates
Just days after Iranian and American military officials traded warnings over a U.S. Navy vessel's departure from the Persian Gulf, the United States Navy has rescued 13 Iranian fishermen and their fishing dhow from Somali pirates in the north Arabian sea, the Pentagon said Friday. And in a side irony that punctuates the rare instance of Iranian-American co-operation, the rescue operation was carried out by a ship belonging to the very U.S. Navy aircraft carrier strike group that Iranian army officials had earlier boasted of evicting from Gulf waters.
"A boarding team from the guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd--part of the John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group--detained 15 suspected pirates aboard the fishing dhow, the Al Molai, according to a statement today from the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs Office," Bloomberg News' Tony Capaccio reported Friday. "The pirates didn't resist and surrendered quickly in the rescue" operation, which occurred on Thursday.
The Iranian fishermen "were held hostage, with limited rations, and we believe were forced against their will to assist the pirates with other piracy operations," Josh Schminky, a Navy Criminal Investigative Service agent aboard the Kidd, explained in the Navy statement, according to the Bloomberg report.
The Navy has posted an unclassified YouTube video of the rescue operation--seemingly eager to play up the good turn the American Navy has done for the Iranian fishermen. (You can watch the video in the clip above.) Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also called the commander of the USS John C. Stennis' Carrier Strike Group, Rear Adm. Craig Fuller, to congratulate him on the "well executed" rescue operation, Pentagon spokesman George Little said Friday.
Secretary Panetta "said, 'When we get a distress signal, we're going to respond,'" Little relayed in a statement sent to Yahoo News. "'That's the nature of what our country is all about.'"
Not to make too much of the opportunity to win Iranian hearts and minds, of course.
Earlier this week, Iran's Army chief Ataolla Salehi asserted that Iranian military exercises had prompted a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier to vacate the Persian Gulf. And he warned the United States about any plans for the carrier's return.
"Iran will not repeat its warning ... the enemy's carrier has been moved to the Sea of Oman because of our drill," Salehi said on Tuesday, according to a Reuters report. "I advise, recommend and warn them over the return of this carrier to the Persian Gulf because we are not in the habit of warning more than once."
Salehi didn't name the American naval vessel in question, "but the USS John C. Stennis leads a task force in the region, and the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet website pictured it in the Arabian Sea last week," Reuters reported.
Pentagon officials promptly pushed back against the Iranian army chief's warning, stressing that the United States simply wants to ensure open traffic in international waters."We are committed to protecting maritime freedoms that are the basis for global prosperity," the Pentagon's Little said Tuesday. "This is one of the main reasons our military forces operate in the region."
Tensions have been rising between the United States and Iran in recent weeks, with Iranian officials issuing a series of erratic threats about their military capacity to control the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy transport hub. On Sunday January 1, President Obama signed legislation that could penalize any institution that does business with Iran's Central Bank--a chief source of Iran's revenues for oil exports. European diplomats also said this week that they're preparing a ban throughout the EU on the import of Iranian oil that would go into place at the end of the month.
Iranian officials have given numerous statements the past week indicating they would like to return to international nuclear talks. But EU officials have told Yahoo News that Iran has not yet formally responded in writing to a proposal issued by European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton in October to resume negotiations.
"A boarding team from the guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd--part of the John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group--detained 15 suspected pirates aboard the fishing dhow, the Al Molai, according to a statement today from the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs Office," Bloomberg News' Tony Capaccio reported Friday. "The pirates didn't resist and surrendered quickly in the rescue" operation, which occurred on Thursday.
The Iranian fishermen "were held hostage, with limited rations, and we believe were forced against their will to assist the pirates with other piracy operations," Josh Schminky, a Navy Criminal Investigative Service agent aboard the Kidd, explained in the Navy statement, according to the Bloomberg report.
The Navy has posted an unclassified YouTube video of the rescue operation--seemingly eager to play up the good turn the American Navy has done for the Iranian fishermen. (You can watch the video in the clip above.) Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also called the commander of the USS John C. Stennis' Carrier Strike Group, Rear Adm. Craig Fuller, to congratulate him on the "well executed" rescue operation, Pentagon spokesman George Little said Friday.
Secretary Panetta "said, 'When we get a distress signal, we're going to respond,'" Little relayed in a statement sent to Yahoo News. "'That's the nature of what our country is all about.'"
Not to make too much of the opportunity to win Iranian hearts and minds, of course.
Earlier this week, Iran's Army chief Ataolla Salehi asserted that Iranian military exercises had prompted a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier to vacate the Persian Gulf. And he warned the United States about any plans for the carrier's return.
"Iran will not repeat its warning ... the enemy's carrier has been moved to the Sea of Oman because of our drill," Salehi said on Tuesday, according to a Reuters report. "I advise, recommend and warn them over the return of this carrier to the Persian Gulf because we are not in the habit of warning more than once."
Salehi didn't name the American naval vessel in question, "but the USS John C. Stennis leads a task force in the region, and the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet website pictured it in the Arabian Sea last week," Reuters reported.
Pentagon officials promptly pushed back against the Iranian army chief's warning, stressing that the United States simply wants to ensure open traffic in international waters."We are committed to protecting maritime freedoms that are the basis for global prosperity," the Pentagon's Little said Tuesday. "This is one of the main reasons our military forces operate in the region."
Tensions have been rising between the United States and Iran in recent weeks, with Iranian officials issuing a series of erratic threats about their military capacity to control the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy transport hub. On Sunday January 1, President Obama signed legislation that could penalize any institution that does business with Iran's Central Bank--a chief source of Iran's revenues for oil exports. European diplomats also said this week that they're preparing a ban throughout the EU on the import of Iranian oil that would go into place at the end of the month.
Iranian officials have given numerous statements the past week indicating they would like to return to international nuclear talks. But EU officials have told Yahoo News that Iran has not yet formally responded in writing to a proposal issued by European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton in October to resume negotiations.
Nigeria sect kills 15; Christians vow defense
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — A radical Muslim sect attacked a church worship service in Nigeria's northeast during assaults that killed at least 15 people, authorities said Saturday, as Christians vowed to defend themselves from the group's widening sectarian fight against the country's government.
The attacks by the sect known as Boko Haram came after it promised to kill Christians living in Nigeria's largely Muslim north, exploiting long-standing religious and ethnic tensions in the nation of more than 160 million people. The pledge by the leader of an umbrella organization called the Christian Association of Nigeria now raises the possibility of retaliatory violence.
In the last few days alone, Boko Haram has killed at least 44 people, despite the oil-rich nation's president declaring a state of emergency in regions hit by the sect.
Speaking Saturday to journalists, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, vowed the group's members would adequately protect themselves from the sect. He declined to offer specifics, raising concerns about retaliation.
"We have decided to work out means to defend ourselves against these senseless killings," Oritsejafor said.
He later added: "We cannot sit back and watch people being slaughtered like animals every day, going to the church, shooting people, killing them. This is unacceptable."
In Yola, the capital of Adamawa state, gunmen covered their faces with black cloth when they attacked Apostolic Church on Friday night, local police commissioner Ade Shinaba said. Shinaba said at least eight worshippers died in that attack.
At a nearby beauty salon, at least three others were killed in a similar attack.
"Three gunmen with their faces covered with black cloth burst into my salon and started shooting at customers, chanting, 'God is great, God is great,'" said Stephen Tizhe, 35.
Responding to the violence, Adamawa state Gov. Murtala Nyako ordered a 24-hour curfew throughout the rural state. The violence comes ahead of a planned gubernatorial election later this month.
In the town of Potiskum in Yobe state, gunmen set two banks ablaze with gasoline bombs, starting a gunfight with police that lasted three hours Friday, local police commissioner Tanko Lawan said. At least two people were killed in the fight, he said.
On Saturday, sect gunmen also shot and killed two Christian students who attend the University of Maiduguri in nearby Borno state, local police commissioner Simeon Midenda said.
No arrests have been made in any of the attacks, authorities said.
The attacks came after gunmen claimed by Boko Haram attacked a town hall earlier Friday in Mubi, Adamawa state, killing at least 20 people who had gathered for a meeting of the Christian Igbo ethnic group. On Thursday night, the sect also attacked a church in Gombe state, killing at least eight people.
Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the local Hausa language, is responsible for at least 510 killings last year alone, according to an Associated Press count. It has targeted churches in the past in its campaign to implement strict Shariah law across Nigeria.
The group claimed responsibility for attacks that killed at least 42 people in Christmas Day strikes that included the bombing of a Catholic church near Abuja. The group also claimed an August suicide car bombing that targeted the U.N. headquarters in the capital, killing 25 people and wounding more than 100.
Nigeria's central government has been slow to respond to the sect. On Dec. 31, President Goodluck Jonathan declared regions of Borno, Niger, Plateau and Yobe states to be under a state of emergency, meaning authorities can make arrests without proof and conduct searches without warrants. He also ordered international borders near Borno and Yobe state to be closed.
However, the areas where the recent church and town hall attacks happened are not in the areas marked by the president.
Boko Haram promised to begin attacking Christians in Nigeria's north several days before the recent violence. The new killings have sparked fears among Christians living in the north about the group and caused some to flee. There also has been at least one report of retaliatory violence against Muslims living in Nigeria's mostly Christian south in recent days as well.
The attacks by the sect known as Boko Haram came after it promised to kill Christians living in Nigeria's largely Muslim north, exploiting long-standing religious and ethnic tensions in the nation of more than 160 million people. The pledge by the leader of an umbrella organization called the Christian Association of Nigeria now raises the possibility of retaliatory violence.
In the last few days alone, Boko Haram has killed at least 44 people, despite the oil-rich nation's president declaring a state of emergency in regions hit by the sect.
Speaking Saturday to journalists, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, vowed the group's members would adequately protect themselves from the sect. He declined to offer specifics, raising concerns about retaliation.
"We have decided to work out means to defend ourselves against these senseless killings," Oritsejafor said.
He later added: "We cannot sit back and watch people being slaughtered like animals every day, going to the church, shooting people, killing them. This is unacceptable."
In Yola, the capital of Adamawa state, gunmen covered their faces with black cloth when they attacked Apostolic Church on Friday night, local police commissioner Ade Shinaba said. Shinaba said at least eight worshippers died in that attack.
At a nearby beauty salon, at least three others were killed in a similar attack.
"Three gunmen with their faces covered with black cloth burst into my salon and started shooting at customers, chanting, 'God is great, God is great,'" said Stephen Tizhe, 35.
Responding to the violence, Adamawa state Gov. Murtala Nyako ordered a 24-hour curfew throughout the rural state. The violence comes ahead of a planned gubernatorial election later this month.
In the town of Potiskum in Yobe state, gunmen set two banks ablaze with gasoline bombs, starting a gunfight with police that lasted three hours Friday, local police commissioner Tanko Lawan said. At least two people were killed in the fight, he said.
On Saturday, sect gunmen also shot and killed two Christian students who attend the University of Maiduguri in nearby Borno state, local police commissioner Simeon Midenda said.
No arrests have been made in any of the attacks, authorities said.
The attacks came after gunmen claimed by Boko Haram attacked a town hall earlier Friday in Mubi, Adamawa state, killing at least 20 people who had gathered for a meeting of the Christian Igbo ethnic group. On Thursday night, the sect also attacked a church in Gombe state, killing at least eight people.
Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the local Hausa language, is responsible for at least 510 killings last year alone, according to an Associated Press count. It has targeted churches in the past in its campaign to implement strict Shariah law across Nigeria.
The group claimed responsibility for attacks that killed at least 42 people in Christmas Day strikes that included the bombing of a Catholic church near Abuja. The group also claimed an August suicide car bombing that targeted the U.N. headquarters in the capital, killing 25 people and wounding more than 100.
Nigeria's central government has been slow to respond to the sect. On Dec. 31, President Goodluck Jonathan declared regions of Borno, Niger, Plateau and Yobe states to be under a state of emergency, meaning authorities can make arrests without proof and conduct searches without warrants. He also ordered international borders near Borno and Yobe state to be closed.
However, the areas where the recent church and town hall attacks happened are not in the areas marked by the president.
Boko Haram promised to begin attacking Christians in Nigeria's north several days before the recent violence. The new killings have sparked fears among Christians living in the north about the group and caused some to flee. There also has been at least one report of retaliatory violence against Muslims living in Nigeria's mostly Christian south in recent days as well.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Five dead due to broken down equipment at Komfo Anokye hospital
Doctors at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital are refusing to admit patients in critical condition due to broken down life-support equipment at the Intensive Care Unit.
They are threatening to suspend operations outright until management fixes the faulty ventilators, which have been down for the past four months.
Nhyira Fm’s Ohemeng Tawiah’s under-cover investigations at the ICU reveal five people have died within the last four days as a result of the malfunctioning equipments.
The deceased suffered from brain injuries sustained in accidents as well as other conditions.
The latest victim was a middle aged nursing mother of a one-month-old baby who was referred to the hospital only to pass away an hour later due to the broken down equipments.
Ohemeng Tawiah reveals that nine out of eleven ventilators at the ICU have broken down forcing patients to queue for treatment. The remaining two are said to be supporting patients.
Doctors at the Hospital are therefore unwilling to perform any surgeries for fear that the patients’ ailments might worsen at their hands. Officials of the hospital however insist that they cannot be held responsible for the deaths.
The Public Relations Officer of the hospital, Kwame Frimpong, told Nhyira News “this Intensive Care Unit has been encountering some challenges… It must be stressed that Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital is not directly responsible for the repairs of the equipment at the ICU Centre. The maintenance of the equipment is in the hands of a private company that has been contracted by the Ministry of Health.”
Mr. Frimpong said management has drawn the attention of Gertec Technologies to the broken down machines and apologized to the families of those who have died and patients who have been turned away as a result of the broken down machines.
Nhyira News’ investigation reveals that the Ministry of Health awarded a five year maintenance contract to Germany-based Gertec Technologies in 2010. The same contractor constructed the Accident and Emergency Centre of the Hospital in 2005.
Further inquiries into the matter indicate that management of the hospital have, in the past, registered its displeasure at the maintenance works of the contractor.
They are threatening to suspend operations outright until management fixes the faulty ventilators, which have been down for the past four months.
Nhyira Fm’s Ohemeng Tawiah’s under-cover investigations at the ICU reveal five people have died within the last four days as a result of the malfunctioning equipments.
The deceased suffered from brain injuries sustained in accidents as well as other conditions.
The latest victim was a middle aged nursing mother of a one-month-old baby who was referred to the hospital only to pass away an hour later due to the broken down equipments.
Ohemeng Tawiah reveals that nine out of eleven ventilators at the ICU have broken down forcing patients to queue for treatment. The remaining two are said to be supporting patients.
Doctors at the Hospital are therefore unwilling to perform any surgeries for fear that the patients’ ailments might worsen at their hands. Officials of the hospital however insist that they cannot be held responsible for the deaths.
The Public Relations Officer of the hospital, Kwame Frimpong, told Nhyira News “this Intensive Care Unit has been encountering some challenges… It must be stressed that Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital is not directly responsible for the repairs of the equipment at the ICU Centre. The maintenance of the equipment is in the hands of a private company that has been contracted by the Ministry of Health.”
Mr. Frimpong said management has drawn the attention of Gertec Technologies to the broken down machines and apologized to the families of those who have died and patients who have been turned away as a result of the broken down machines.
Nhyira News’ investigation reveals that the Ministry of Health awarded a five year maintenance contract to Germany-based Gertec Technologies in 2010. The same contractor constructed the Accident and Emergency Centre of the Hospital in 2005.
Further inquiries into the matter indicate that management of the hospital have, in the past, registered its displeasure at the maintenance works of the contractor.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Senegalese banned from carrying arms over electoral period
Senegal's Interior Minister Ousmane Ngom on Friday banned the carrying of firearms for a period of four months which will include presidential elections, after recent violent political clashes.
"Between January 4, 2012 and April 30, 2012 the carrying of arms, ammunition and explosive devices of all categories is banned across the national territory," read a decree issued by Ngom.
"During this period, no weapon regardless of its category or nature, may be transported outside of homes or workplaces. This ban applies to nationals and foreigners holding permits to carry or hold arms," said the decree.
An interior minister official, speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP that carrying a weapon under normal circumstances was permitted with special authorisation from the ministry, while another permit allowed gun-owners to keep weapons at home or in their office.
He said the measure would apply only to civilians, and not defence and security forces who use their arms as part of their work.
Senegal holds a first-round presidential election on February 26 in which President Abdoulaye Wade is seeking a controversial third term which the opposition says is unconstitutional.
Considered one of Africa's most democratic nations, Senegal has been riven by tensions in recent months and clashes between opponants and ruling party supporters left one dead and three injured on December 22.
Maryland abortion doctors charged with murder
BALTIMORE (Reuters) - Two doctors have been charged with murder after an investigation into a botched abortion uncovered 35 fetuses in a Maryland clinic's freezer, authorities said on Friday, calling the case the first of its kind in the state.
The doctors, Steven Chase Brigham, 55, and Nicola Irene Riley, 46, were arrested on fugitive warrants on Wednesday, police in Elkton, Maryland said.
"They have been indicted based upon a fetal homicide statute. This is probably the first case that Maryland has ever seen with this factual scenario using this statute. It's a unique situation," Cecil County State's Attorney Ellis Rollins told Reuters in an interview.
Brigham is charged with five counts of first-degree murder, five counts of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, Elkton police said.
Riley is charged with one count each of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
Brigham was arrested on Wednesday in Voorhees, New Jersey, according to a statement by the Elkton Police Department.
Riley was arrested at her home in Salt Lake City, Utah, without incident, according to Lt. Justin Hoyal, spokesman for the Unified Police of Greater Salt Lake.
Prosecutors were expected to seek their extradition back to Maryland.
The investigation began in August 2010, when a young woman sought an abortion from the pair.
The abortion was induced in New Jersey, and the patient was then transported across state lines into Maryland, according to the Elkton police statement.
FETUSES FOUND IN FREEZER
The operation was botched with both Brigham and Riley present, Elkton police said, although the statement did not elaborate on the nature of complications.
Riley took the woman to a nearby hospital, police said. The woman, who was not identified by authorities, survived and was later moved to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
Rollins declined to say why he believed the frozen fetuses were being kept at the clinic or what specifically led to the murder charges, saying that his office would not comment on pending litigation.
Riley had her medical licenses suspended by the state of Maryland, according to the Maryland State Board of Physicians.
Brigham was ordered in 2010 to cease and desist from practicing medicine in the state of Maryland without a license, according to the state medical board.
Documents show that Brigham also had his license suspended by the New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners in October 2010 after officials found that he had performed second- and third-trimester abortions without authorization.
The board further noted that Brigham was not an obstetrician-gynecologist, and that his actions had endangered his patients.
The board's stated decision for the revocation "focused on his practice of starting late-term abortions in New Jersey, where he was not authorized to perform them, and finishing them in Maryland, where he was not licensed to practice medicine," according to a report by the state attorney general.
Brigham has performed approximately 50 such cross-state abortions, according to documents on the Maryland state medical board's website.
Officers who searched the Elkton clinic found several fetuses in a freezer, police said.
A source who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said there were 35 fetuses found in the clinic freezer.
An Elkton Police spokesman deferred further questions to Kerwin Miller, the assistant state's attorney for Cecil County who is prosecuting the case.
Miller could not be reached for comment.
Attorneys for Riley and Brigham also could not be reached for comment on Friday afternoon.
The doctors, Steven Chase Brigham, 55, and Nicola Irene Riley, 46, were arrested on fugitive warrants on Wednesday, police in Elkton, Maryland said.
"They have been indicted based upon a fetal homicide statute. This is probably the first case that Maryland has ever seen with this factual scenario using this statute. It's a unique situation," Cecil County State's Attorney Ellis Rollins told Reuters in an interview.
Brigham is charged with five counts of first-degree murder, five counts of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, Elkton police said.
Riley is charged with one count each of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
Brigham was arrested on Wednesday in Voorhees, New Jersey, according to a statement by the Elkton Police Department.
Riley was arrested at her home in Salt Lake City, Utah, without incident, according to Lt. Justin Hoyal, spokesman for the Unified Police of Greater Salt Lake.
Prosecutors were expected to seek their extradition back to Maryland.
The investigation began in August 2010, when a young woman sought an abortion from the pair.
The abortion was induced in New Jersey, and the patient was then transported across state lines into Maryland, according to the Elkton police statement.
FETUSES FOUND IN FREEZER
The operation was botched with both Brigham and Riley present, Elkton police said, although the statement did not elaborate on the nature of complications.
Riley took the woman to a nearby hospital, police said. The woman, who was not identified by authorities, survived and was later moved to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
Rollins declined to say why he believed the frozen fetuses were being kept at the clinic or what specifically led to the murder charges, saying that his office would not comment on pending litigation.
Riley had her medical licenses suspended by the state of Maryland, according to the Maryland State Board of Physicians.
Brigham was ordered in 2010 to cease and desist from practicing medicine in the state of Maryland without a license, according to the state medical board.
Documents show that Brigham also had his license suspended by the New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners in October 2010 after officials found that he had performed second- and third-trimester abortions without authorization.
The board further noted that Brigham was not an obstetrician-gynecologist, and that his actions had endangered his patients.
The board's stated decision for the revocation "focused on his practice of starting late-term abortions in New Jersey, where he was not authorized to perform them, and finishing them in Maryland, where he was not licensed to practice medicine," according to a report by the state attorney general.
Brigham has performed approximately 50 such cross-state abortions, according to documents on the Maryland state medical board's website.
Officers who searched the Elkton clinic found several fetuses in a freezer, police said.
A source who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said there were 35 fetuses found in the clinic freezer.
An Elkton Police spokesman deferred further questions to Kerwin Miller, the assistant state's attorney for Cecil County who is prosecuting the case.
Miller could not be reached for comment.
Attorneys for Riley and Brigham also could not be reached for comment on Friday afternoon.
'Synthetic' marijuana is problem for US military
SAN DIEGO (AP) — U.S. troops are increasingly using an easy-to-get herbal mix called "Spice," which mimics a marijuana high, is hard to detect and can bring on hallucinations that last for days.
The abuse of the substance has so alarmed military officials that they've launched an aggressive testing program that this year has led to the investigation of more than 1,100 suspected users.
So-called "synthetic" pot is readily available on the Internet and has become popular nationwide in recent years, but its use among troops and sailors has raised concerns among the Pentagon brass.
"You can just imagine the work that we do in a military environment," said Mark Ridley, deputy director of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, adding, "you need to be in your right mind when you do a job. That's why the Navy has always taken a zero tolerance policy toward drugs."
Two years ago, only 29 Marines and sailors were investigated for Spice. This year, the number topped 700, the investigative service said. Those found guilty of using Spice are kicked out, although the Navy does not track the overall number of dismissals.
The Air Force has punished 497 airmen so far this year, compared to last year's 380, according to figures provided by the Pentagon. The Army does not track Spice investigations but says it has medically treated 119 soldiers for the synthetic drug in total.
Military officials emphasize those caught represent a tiny fraction of all service members and note none was in a leadership position or believed high while on duty.
Spice is made up of exotic plants from Asia like Blue Lotus and Bay Bean. Their leaves are coated with chemicals that mimic the effects of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, but are five to 200 times more potent.
More than 40 states have banned some of its chemicals, prompting sellers to turn to the Internet, where it is marketed as incense or potpourri. In some states, Spice is sold at bars, smoke shops and convenience stores.
Sellers based in the United States and Europe advertising the incense on the Internet did not respond to emails or calls seeking comment.
The packets often say the ingredients are not for human consumption and are for aromatherapy. They are described as "mood enhancing" and "long lasting." Some of the sellers' Web sites say they do not sell herbal mixes containing any illegal chemicals and say they are offering a "legal high."
Service members preferred it because up until this year there was no way to detect it with urine tests. A test was developed after the Drug Enforcement Administration put a one-year emergency ban on five chemicals found in the drug.
Manufacturers are adapting to avoid detection, even on the new tests, and skirt new laws banning the main chemicals, officials say.
"It's a moving target," said Capt. J.A. "Cappy" Surette, spokesman for the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.
The military can calibrate its equipment to test for those five banned chemicals "but underground chemists can keep altering the properties and make up to more than 100 permutations," Surette said.
Complicating their efforts further, there are more than 200 other chemicals used in the concoctions. They remain legal and their effects on the mind and body remain largely unknown, Navy doctors say.
A Clemson University scientist created many of the chemicals for research purposes in 1990s. They were never tested on humans.
Civilian deaths have been reported and emergency crews have responded to calls of "hyper-excited" people doing things like tearing off their clothes and running down the street naked.
Navy investigators compare the substance to angel dust because no two batches are the same. Some who smoke it like a marijuana cigarette may just feel a euphoric buzz, but others have suffered delusions lasting up to a week.
While the problem has surfaced in all branches of the military, the Navy has been the most aggressive in drawing attention to the problem.
It produced a video based on cases to warn sailors of Spice's dangers and publicized busts of crew members on some of its most-storied ships, including the USS Carl Vinson, from which Osama bin Laden's was dropped into the sea.
Two of the largest busts this year involved sailors in the San Diego-based U.S. Third Fleet, which announced last month that it planned to dismiss 28 sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan.
A month earlier, 64 sailors, including 49 from the Vinson, were accused of being involved in a Spice ring.
Many of the cases were discovered after one person was caught with synthetic pot, prompting broader investigations.
Lt. Commander Donald Hurst, a fourth-year psychiatry resident at San Diego's Naval Medical Center, said the hospital is believed to have seen more cases than any other health facility in the country.
Doctors saw users experiencing bad reactions once a month, but now see them weekly. Users suffer everything from vomiting, elevated blood pressure and seizures to extreme agitation, anxiety and delusions.
Hurst said the behavior in many cases he witnessed at first seemed akin to schizophrenia. Usually within minutes, however, the person became completely lucid. Sometimes, the person goes in and out of such episodes for days.
He recalled one especially bizarre case of a sailor who came in with his sobbing wife.
"He stood their holding a sandwich in front of him with no clue as to what to do," he said. "He opened it up, looked at it, touched it. I took it and folded it over and then he took a bite out it. But then we had to tell him, 'you have to chew.'"
An hour later when Hurst went back to evaluate him, he was completely normal and worried about being in trouble.
"That's something you don't see with acute schizophrenic patients," he said. "Then we found out based on the numbers of people coming in like this, that OK there's a new drug out there."
Hurst decided to study 10 cases. Some also had smoked marijuana or drank alcohol, while others only smoked Spice.
Of the 10, nine had lost a sense of reality. Seven babbled incoherently. The symptoms for seven of them lasted four to eight days. Three others are believed to now be schizophrenic. Hurst believed the drug may have triggered the symptoms in people with that genetic disposition. His findings were published in the American Journal of Psychiatry in October.
He said there are countless questions that still need answering, including the designer drug's effects on people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or traumatic brain injuries.
What the research has confirmed, he said, is: "These are not drugs to mess with."
The abuse of the substance has so alarmed military officials that they've launched an aggressive testing program that this year has led to the investigation of more than 1,100 suspected users.
So-called "synthetic" pot is readily available on the Internet and has become popular nationwide in recent years, but its use among troops and sailors has raised concerns among the Pentagon brass.
"You can just imagine the work that we do in a military environment," said Mark Ridley, deputy director of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, adding, "you need to be in your right mind when you do a job. That's why the Navy has always taken a zero tolerance policy toward drugs."
Two years ago, only 29 Marines and sailors were investigated for Spice. This year, the number topped 700, the investigative service said. Those found guilty of using Spice are kicked out, although the Navy does not track the overall number of dismissals.
The Air Force has punished 497 airmen so far this year, compared to last year's 380, according to figures provided by the Pentagon. The Army does not track Spice investigations but says it has medically treated 119 soldiers for the synthetic drug in total.
Military officials emphasize those caught represent a tiny fraction of all service members and note none was in a leadership position or believed high while on duty.
Spice is made up of exotic plants from Asia like Blue Lotus and Bay Bean. Their leaves are coated with chemicals that mimic the effects of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, but are five to 200 times more potent.
More than 40 states have banned some of its chemicals, prompting sellers to turn to the Internet, where it is marketed as incense or potpourri. In some states, Spice is sold at bars, smoke shops and convenience stores.
Sellers based in the United States and Europe advertising the incense on the Internet did not respond to emails or calls seeking comment.
The packets often say the ingredients are not for human consumption and are for aromatherapy. They are described as "mood enhancing" and "long lasting." Some of the sellers' Web sites say they do not sell herbal mixes containing any illegal chemicals and say they are offering a "legal high."
Service members preferred it because up until this year there was no way to detect it with urine tests. A test was developed after the Drug Enforcement Administration put a one-year emergency ban on five chemicals found in the drug.
Manufacturers are adapting to avoid detection, even on the new tests, and skirt new laws banning the main chemicals, officials say.
"It's a moving target," said Capt. J.A. "Cappy" Surette, spokesman for the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.
The military can calibrate its equipment to test for those five banned chemicals "but underground chemists can keep altering the properties and make up to more than 100 permutations," Surette said.
Complicating their efforts further, there are more than 200 other chemicals used in the concoctions. They remain legal and their effects on the mind and body remain largely unknown, Navy doctors say.
A Clemson University scientist created many of the chemicals for research purposes in 1990s. They were never tested on humans.
Civilian deaths have been reported and emergency crews have responded to calls of "hyper-excited" people doing things like tearing off their clothes and running down the street naked.
Navy investigators compare the substance to angel dust because no two batches are the same. Some who smoke it like a marijuana cigarette may just feel a euphoric buzz, but others have suffered delusions lasting up to a week.
While the problem has surfaced in all branches of the military, the Navy has been the most aggressive in drawing attention to the problem.
It produced a video based on cases to warn sailors of Spice's dangers and publicized busts of crew members on some of its most-storied ships, including the USS Carl Vinson, from which Osama bin Laden's was dropped into the sea.
Two of the largest busts this year involved sailors in the San Diego-based U.S. Third Fleet, which announced last month that it planned to dismiss 28 sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan.
A month earlier, 64 sailors, including 49 from the Vinson, were accused of being involved in a Spice ring.
Many of the cases were discovered after one person was caught with synthetic pot, prompting broader investigations.
Lt. Commander Donald Hurst, a fourth-year psychiatry resident at San Diego's Naval Medical Center, said the hospital is believed to have seen more cases than any other health facility in the country.
Doctors saw users experiencing bad reactions once a month, but now see them weekly. Users suffer everything from vomiting, elevated blood pressure and seizures to extreme agitation, anxiety and delusions.
Hurst said the behavior in many cases he witnessed at first seemed akin to schizophrenia. Usually within minutes, however, the person became completely lucid. Sometimes, the person goes in and out of such episodes for days.
He recalled one especially bizarre case of a sailor who came in with his sobbing wife.
"He stood their holding a sandwich in front of him with no clue as to what to do," he said. "He opened it up, looked at it, touched it. I took it and folded it over and then he took a bite out it. But then we had to tell him, 'you have to chew.'"
An hour later when Hurst went back to evaluate him, he was completely normal and worried about being in trouble.
"That's something you don't see with acute schizophrenic patients," he said. "Then we found out based on the numbers of people coming in like this, that OK there's a new drug out there."
Hurst decided to study 10 cases. Some also had smoked marijuana or drank alcohol, while others only smoked Spice.
Of the 10, nine had lost a sense of reality. Seven babbled incoherently. The symptoms for seven of them lasted four to eight days. Three others are believed to now be schizophrenic. Hurst believed the drug may have triggered the symptoms in people with that genetic disposition. His findings were published in the American Journal of Psychiatry in October.
He said there are countless questions that still need answering, including the designer drug's effects on people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or traumatic brain injuries.
What the research has confirmed, he said, is: "These are not drugs to mess with."
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Islamic school attack in Nigeria's south wounds 7
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Attackers threw homemade explosives inside an Islamic school in a predominantly Christian city where some 50 children had gathered for an Arabic class, wounding six pupils and a teacher, authorities said Wednesday.
The rare attack in Nigeria's oil-rich southern delta comes just days after radical Islamist militants launched a series of explosions across the country on Christmas, leaving at least 39 dead and dozens wounded.
Analysts say it is too early to speak of retaliation following the attacks by Boko Haram, but worry about what such violence could mean. The school was attacked Tuesday in Sapele, Delta State police spokesman Charles Muka said.
"Sapele just seems like the most unlikely place for a retaliatory attack to take place," criminologist Innocent Chukwuma said. "But if it is, this would play right into Boko Haram, which has been looking to escalate the conflict to make the country ungovernable."
Nigeria, which is Africa's most populous nation, is largely divided into a Muslim north and Christian south, though members of the two faiths live everywhere across the country, do business together and intermarry.
Thousands, though, have died in recent years in communal fighting pitting machete-wielding neighbors against each other. Earlier this year, at least 800 were killed across Nigeria's north in postelection violence after a Christian candidate was elected president.
Tensions are particularly high in the nation's "middle belt," where the two regions meet. On Tuesday night, authorities say assailants shot a Christian couple and their 1-year-old child Tuesday night, said Plateau state spokesman Pam Ayuba.
Authorities believe the attack in a village near the city of Jos was carried out by Muslim herdsmen.
Boko Haram has carried out increasingly sophisticated and bloody attacks in its campaign to implement strict Shariah law across Nigeria. The group, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the local Hausa language, is responsible for at least 504 killings this year alone, according to an Associated Press count.
While initially targeting Islamic and Christian clerics, politicians, policemen and soldiers via hit-and-run assassinations from the back of motorbikes after the 2009 riot, violence by Boko Haram now has a new sophistication and apparent planning that includes high-profile attacks with greater casualties.
The rare attack in Nigeria's oil-rich southern delta comes just days after radical Islamist militants launched a series of explosions across the country on Christmas, leaving at least 39 dead and dozens wounded.
Analysts say it is too early to speak of retaliation following the attacks by Boko Haram, but worry about what such violence could mean. The school was attacked Tuesday in Sapele, Delta State police spokesman Charles Muka said.
"Sapele just seems like the most unlikely place for a retaliatory attack to take place," criminologist Innocent Chukwuma said. "But if it is, this would play right into Boko Haram, which has been looking to escalate the conflict to make the country ungovernable."
Nigeria, which is Africa's most populous nation, is largely divided into a Muslim north and Christian south, though members of the two faiths live everywhere across the country, do business together and intermarry.
Thousands, though, have died in recent years in communal fighting pitting machete-wielding neighbors against each other. Earlier this year, at least 800 were killed across Nigeria's north in postelection violence after a Christian candidate was elected president.
Tensions are particularly high in the nation's "middle belt," where the two regions meet. On Tuesday night, authorities say assailants shot a Christian couple and their 1-year-old child Tuesday night, said Plateau state spokesman Pam Ayuba.
Authorities believe the attack in a village near the city of Jos was carried out by Muslim herdsmen.
Boko Haram has carried out increasingly sophisticated and bloody attacks in its campaign to implement strict Shariah law across Nigeria. The group, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the local Hausa language, is responsible for at least 504 killings this year alone, according to an Associated Press count.
While initially targeting Islamic and Christian clerics, politicians, policemen and soldiers via hit-and-run assassinations from the back of motorbikes after the 2009 riot, violence by Boko Haram now has a new sophistication and apparent planning that includes high-profile attacks with greater casualties.
Senegal presidency appeals for calm ahead of polls
Senegal's presidency said Wednesday that deadly political clashes in the capital last week should lead to soul-searching and called for calm with presidential polls only two months away.
Clashes between the ruling party and opposition last Thursday which left one dead were "a sign that must lead us to reflect and realise that violence does not solve any problem," said presidential spokesman Serigne Mbacke Ndiaye.
Ndiaye said "panic" had gripped the country ahead of February 26 elections but all efforts were being taken to ensure the day after the vote "we shake hands and return to work."
The clashes erupted on the eve of rival rallies by supporters of President Abdoulaye Wade, 85, and opposition protesters angered by his bid for a third term.
According to opposition Socialist Party spokesman Abdoulaye Wilane, five vehicles filled with armed Wade supporters attacked a local council in a Dakar neighbourhood.
The party's youth wing leader, Barthelemy Dias, returned fire and fatally shot one man, but was acting in self-defence, Wilane said.
Wade's third term bid has raised tensions in the capital of a country long considered one of Africa's most democratic nations.
Wade's first term lasted seven years, and he was reelected in 2007 for five years after a constitutional reform shortened presidential terms.
The seven-year stint was reintroduced in another constitutional amendment in 2008, prompting the opposition to argue that Wade's fresh bid was illegal and that he had exhausted the two-term limit.
Clashes between the ruling party and opposition last Thursday which left one dead were "a sign that must lead us to reflect and realise that violence does not solve any problem," said presidential spokesman Serigne Mbacke Ndiaye.
Ndiaye said "panic" had gripped the country ahead of February 26 elections but all efforts were being taken to ensure the day after the vote "we shake hands and return to work."
The clashes erupted on the eve of rival rallies by supporters of President Abdoulaye Wade, 85, and opposition protesters angered by his bid for a third term.
According to opposition Socialist Party spokesman Abdoulaye Wilane, five vehicles filled with armed Wade supporters attacked a local council in a Dakar neighbourhood.
The party's youth wing leader, Barthelemy Dias, returned fire and fatally shot one man, but was acting in self-defence, Wilane said.
Wade's third term bid has raised tensions in the capital of a country long considered one of Africa's most democratic nations.
Wade's first term lasted seven years, and he was reelected in 2007 for five years after a constitutional reform shortened presidential terms.
The seven-year stint was reintroduced in another constitutional amendment in 2008, prompting the opposition to argue that Wade's fresh bid was illegal and that he had exhausted the two-term limit.
U.S. Fifth Fleet says won't allow disruption in Hormuz
DUBAI (Reuters) - The U.S. Fifth Fleet said on Wednesday it will not allow any disruption of traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, after Iran threatened to stop ships moving through the strategic oil route.
"The free flow of goods and services through the Strait of Hormuz is vital to regional and global prosperity," a spokesperson for the Bahrain-based fleet said in a written response to queries from Reuters about the possibility of Iran trying to close the waterway.
"Anyone who threatens to disrupt freedom of navigation in an international strait is clearly outside the community of nations; any disruption will not be tolerated."
Asked whether it was taking specific measures in response to the threat to close the Strait, the fleet said it "maintains a robust presence in the region to deter or counter destabilizing activities," without providing further detail.
"The free flow of goods and services through the Strait of Hormuz is vital to regional and global prosperity," a spokesperson for the Bahrain-based fleet said in a written response to queries from Reuters about the possibility of Iran trying to close the waterway.
"Anyone who threatens to disrupt freedom of navigation in an international strait is clearly outside the community of nations; any disruption will not be tolerated."
Asked whether it was taking specific measures in response to the threat to close the Strait, the fleet said it "maintains a robust presence in the region to deter or counter destabilizing activities," without providing further detail.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Nigeria: Boko Haram Militants Strike on Christmas Day
Nigeria's Christmas from hell began around 7:30 a.m. at St. Theresa's Church in Madalla, a suburb of the capital Abuja, just as worshippers spilled outside from the popular service. "A man with a motorbike dropped a bag just outside the church," a church member told TIME. "One of our officials went to check what was in the bag and at the same time he reached it -- that was when there was an explosion. Everybody started running. You can imagine how many people were running around. We thought the explosion was from one car that was parked outside, but we now discover it was actually the bag that my colleague went to check." The blast partially destroyed the church roof and shattered glass in nearby buildings. It turned out to be part of a wave of bomb blasts striking packed churches and towns across Nigeria as Islamist militants launched a Christmas Day bombing spree that left at least 39 dead and scores more wounded in Africa's most populous nation.
"With my own two eyes, I saw a whole family, five of them, perish in their car which was next to the explosion," Idriss, a 43-year-old truck driver, told TIME over the phone. "I counted 27 bodies. Not only in the church, outside there were two drivers dead on top of their okadas [the local motorcycles used to navigate the area's choked streets]." Among the dead were three policemen stationed to guard the church, the police area commander told TIME. Security has been beefed up in churches nationwide amid repeated threats from the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. (See photos of Boko Haram's August bombing in Nigeria.)
Angry Christian youths, furious over the attack, initially refused to let the dead bodies be cleared away from the smoldering rubble, demanding that President Goodluck Jonathan personally see what had taken place. Officials from the National Emergency Management Agency struggled with a shortage of ambulances. Policemen eventually cordoned off the area and dispersed the mob by reportedly firing live rounds into the air.
It was not the first bombing in the capital region. Boko Haram members allegedly detonated Nigeria's first ever suicide bombing in August at the U.N. compound, killing 24. The group, which draws inspiration from Afghanistan's Taliban movement, is fighting for a strict interpretation of Shari'a across Nigeria's 160 million–strong population, which is roughly split between Muslim and Christian. Boko Haram (which -- in Hausa, a language in northern Nigeria -- roughly means Western Education Is Sacrilege) is believed to have been behind four subsequent explosions.
On Christmas Day, a person claiming to speak on behalf of Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the Madalla church attack and another attempted explosion that struck the central city of Jos -- an ethnic and religious melting pot that has borne the brunt of Nigeria's sectarian violence. "A police patrol car sighted three men on a motorbike. There was exchange of gunfire and the men threw the bomb into the church compound," a Jos state official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. He said the policeman died on the way to hospital, but no other casualties were reported. In Jos, traditional celebrations and planned family reunions had already been scrapped in the run-up to Christmas amid painful memories of a Christmas Eve bomb that killed some 32 people last year, residents said. "The streets are so empty it's like it's not even Christmas. Nobody wants to go out even to buy cigarettes because of all this fear," said Chidi Emweku, 31, a university student.
Meanwhile explosions struck two other towns in Yobe, one of the impoverished northeastern states where Boko Haram traditionally operates. One was in a church in Damaturu, according to residents. The police commissioner said details were not immediately available. (See why Boko Haram is al-Qaeda's new friend in Africa.)
Earlier in the week, the Nigerian chief of army staff, Azubuike Ihejirika, said three soldiers were killed when police raided a suspected Boko Haram bombmaking factory in Damaturu. "There was a major encounter with the Boko Haram in Damaturu," Ihejirika said. "In the encounter, we lost three of our soldiers, seven were wounded. But we killed over 50 of their members." Hospital and morgue workers who spoke to TIME said almost all the 50 bodies they saw were civilians. Critics say the army's frequent incursions into areas where Boko Haram has popular support has fueled the cycle of violence. The group's fierce antigovernment rhetoric has also earned support in the arid, predominantly Muslim northeastern states of Yobe and Borno, where unemployment and poverty far exceed that in the oil-rich south, where Christians abound.
Experts are anxiously monitoring Boko Haram's ability to strike regularly beyond Yobe and Borno, amid claims from the group that its members have traveled to neighboring Chad and as far east as Somalia for training and financing. A December 2011 report from the U.S. Congress said the organization -- along with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which operates just north of Nigeria's Sahel desert -- posed a growing threat to American interests.
Activist Shehu Sani, president of Civil Rights Congress of Nigeria, said several attempts to broker a cease-fire between the group and the government collapsed amid mutual mistrust. "The only option is dialogue. For as long as the group has foot soldiers willing to use their bodies, using force will not work against them," he said. The violence prompted condemnations from around the world, including a statement from the White House, which called the attacks "senseless" and pledged to work with Nigerian officials to bring those responsible to justice.
President Jonathan said there was "no reason" for what he called "an ugly incident." "This is one of the challenges of this Administration. This will not be forever, it will end one day," he said in a statement. But many Nigerians wonder when it will end. Idriss, standing amid the wreckage in Madalla, said he had fled Jos earlier in the week after news of gun battles day after day in the north of the country filtered through. "I just wanted to be somewhere safe, but look what happened," he said as sirens wailed in the background.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
$3bn Chineses Loan Crucial For Dev - CEPA
The Executive Secretary of CEPA, Dr Joseph Abbey, was reacting to the unanimous endorsement by the Executive Board of the IMF of a new borrowing limit for Ghana in Accra Thursday.
He told the Daily Graphic in an interview that pledges made in the 2012 Budget needed to be followed with commitment in the best interest of the country.
“It is important to put our gas reserves to good use because natural gas is a major substitute for oil which is bought at a high cost to run the thermal plants that generate electricity for the country,” he said.
He noted that natural gas would complement LPG supplies which sometimes fell short of demand, a situation which had become a bane for the country in recent times, adding that natural gas would help reduce the reliance on firewood, whose production had a negative impact on the country’s forest reserves.
On Wednesday, December 14, 2011, the Executive Board of the IMF unanimously endorsed a limit of US$3.4 billion on non-concessional borrowing for Ghana. That decision was part of the board’s completion of the fifth review of Ghana’s economic and financial programme under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement.
The implication of that decision is that Ghana can source for non-concessional loans up to a limit of US$3.4 billion, which is unprecedented in the history of the fund’s programmes with Ghana and with several other countries.
During an IMF staff mission to Ghana in October 2011, the government requested its Executive Board to modify the initial conditionality of limiting non-concessional borrowing by Ghana from the current limit of US$800 million to US$3.4 billion.
Dr Abbey said the government, after going into a new agreement with the IMF in 2009, sought to ensure that the economy was better managed to place it in a better stead to make it more attractive to the rest of the world.
To him, the approval was to be expected, in view of the country’s position as a lower middle-income country and the major projects that the government intended to undertake.
“The IMF knows that under the present circumstance of the government, it will not be the best to keep a lower cap on the country when it has demonstrated an ability to pay back non-concessional loans,” he said.
Dr Abbey maintained that it was in the interest of the country to borrow at non-concessional rates to be able to undertake major projects.
“The issue still remains that while we borrow, we only need to ensure that the funds are used for their intended purposes to benefit taxpayers whose money will be used to defray the cost,” he said.
He said the performance of the economy in 2011 had been good because, among other things, the huge arrears were reduced, the country’s import cover was increased drastically, while interest rates, among other macroeconomic indicators, including inflation, had remained on a downward trend.
Dr Abbey said staying with such agencies as the IMF was necessary and noted that any attempt to wean the country off the fund’s conditionalities would be detrimental to the state.
He told the Daily Graphic in an interview that pledges made in the 2012 Budget needed to be followed with commitment in the best interest of the country.
“It is important to put our gas reserves to good use because natural gas is a major substitute for oil which is bought at a high cost to run the thermal plants that generate electricity for the country,” he said.
He noted that natural gas would complement LPG supplies which sometimes fell short of demand, a situation which had become a bane for the country in recent times, adding that natural gas would help reduce the reliance on firewood, whose production had a negative impact on the country’s forest reserves.
On Wednesday, December 14, 2011, the Executive Board of the IMF unanimously endorsed a limit of US$3.4 billion on non-concessional borrowing for Ghana. That decision was part of the board’s completion of the fifth review of Ghana’s economic and financial programme under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement.
The implication of that decision is that Ghana can source for non-concessional loans up to a limit of US$3.4 billion, which is unprecedented in the history of the fund’s programmes with Ghana and with several other countries.
During an IMF staff mission to Ghana in October 2011, the government requested its Executive Board to modify the initial conditionality of limiting non-concessional borrowing by Ghana from the current limit of US$800 million to US$3.4 billion.
Dr Abbey said the government, after going into a new agreement with the IMF in 2009, sought to ensure that the economy was better managed to place it in a better stead to make it more attractive to the rest of the world.
To him, the approval was to be expected, in view of the country’s position as a lower middle-income country and the major projects that the government intended to undertake.
“The IMF knows that under the present circumstance of the government, it will not be the best to keep a lower cap on the country when it has demonstrated an ability to pay back non-concessional loans,” he said.
Dr Abbey maintained that it was in the interest of the country to borrow at non-concessional rates to be able to undertake major projects.
“The issue still remains that while we borrow, we only need to ensure that the funds are used for their intended purposes to benefit taxpayers whose money will be used to defray the cost,” he said.
He said the performance of the economy in 2011 had been good because, among other things, the huge arrears were reduced, the country’s import cover was increased drastically, while interest rates, among other macroeconomic indicators, including inflation, had remained on a downward trend.
Dr Abbey said staying with such agencies as the IMF was necessary and noted that any attempt to wean the country off the fund’s conditionalities would be detrimental to the state.
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