Regional News
More women describe having forced abortions in Nigerian Army programme- Source: Reuters. More women describe having forced abortions in Nigerian Army programme (reuters.com)
Testimonies from two women, who said they started bleeding heavily after getting oils and injections, are similar to accounts of more than 30 other women and girls who described having their pregnancies forcibly terminated by the military.
Sahel ‘at a crossroads’ as armed groups gain sway in Africa- Source- Al Jazeera. Sahel ‘at a crossroads’ as armed groups gain sway in Africa: UN | ISIL/ISIS News | Al Jazeera
Efforts to combat armed groups linked to ISIL (ISIS), al-Qaeda, and others have failed to stop their expansion in Africa’s Sahel region, a senior United Nations official has warned.
Without greater international support and regional cooperation, the instability will increase towards West African coastal countries, UN Assistant Secretary-Genesral for Africa Martha Pobee told a Security Council meeting on Tuesday.
Plateau death toll now 85, says community- Source: Daily trust Plateau death toll now 85, says community leader – Daily Trust
The death toll in Tuesday’s attack in Fungzai and Kubwat villages in Kombun District of Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State has risen to 85.
National President of Mwaghavul Development Association, Joseph Gwankat, made this known while speaking to journalists on Wednesday after a security meeting at the palace of the traditional ruler in Mangu.
Chad: 17 civilians killed in southern village attack- Source: Africanews Chad: 17 civilians killed in southern village attack | Africanews
The attack on a village by armed men in southern Chad, near the border with the Central African Republic, left 17 people dead on Monday, the Gore prosecutor’s office said on Thursday, opening an investigation.
The “mass killing” was perpetrated Monday at 5:00 am (4:00 am GMT) when “unidentified armed individuals” attacked the village of Don, located in the province of Logone-Oriental, bordering the Central African Republic, about 500 km south of N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, said Nerambaye Ndoubamian, the prosecutor of Chad in Gore in a statement.
The assailants, armed with “firearms” and “bladed weapons”, arrived on the scene on “motorbikes” and “horses”, and “murdered more than a dozen villagers, set fire to huts, kidnapped oxen, and left several wounded”, who were evacuated to the hospital in Goré, the Prosecutor’s Office explained.
Nigeria: four dead in attack on US convoy in southeast- Source: Africanews Nigeria: four dead in attack on US convoy in southeast | Africanews
Gunmen attacked a U.S. convoy in southeastern Nigeria on Tuesday, killing four non-Americans and kidnapping three others, official sources said.
“No U.S. citizens were in the convoy,” said Nigerian police spokesman Ikenga Tochukwu, who was confirmed by White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
The gunmen “killed two police mobile force officers and two U.S. consulate employees” before setting their vehicle on fire, Tochukwu said.
The attack took place at 3:30 p.m. (1430 GMT) on Tuesday in Ogbaru district of Anambra state, police said.
Villagers chased from their homes by midnight attack in Nigeria’s Plateau State- Source: HumAngle Villagers Chased From Their Homes By Midnight Attack In Nigeria’s Plateau State – HumAngle (humanglemedia.com)
Unidentified attackers have launched a series of armed assaults on villages in Plateau state that have sent villagers running for their lives, many have not yet returned days after the attacks started.
The number of casualties from attacks in communities around Kubwat and Fungzai in Mangu local government area north central Nigeria is not yet known. It is unclear whether the attackers have yet left the area.
The attack started in the early hours of May 16, the assailants went from village to village in the district. Residents were woken by the sounds of shooting nearby and fled their homes.
Standoff at Adamawa displacement camp as residents ‘Just want to leave’- Source: HumAngle Standoff At Adamawa Displacement Camp As Residents ‘Just Want To Leave’ – HumAngle (humanglemedia.com)
A battle of wills has erupted between the management of an internally displaced people’s camp in Adamawa and the residents, who have decided they have had enough and just want to go home, HumAngle has learned.
The IDPs at Malkohi camp in Yola have hired a lorry and have begun loading it with their belongings for the journey home to southern Borno, saying they are “fed up with the poor living conditions.”
But the management of the camp are preventing them from leaving, saying the truck is not safe, and their intended destination in Gwoza, Borno state, is not safe for them either.
Naomi Daudu, a displaced woman in the camp located in the capital city of Adamawa, told HumAngle she and other displaced people simply want to leave.
Peace and Security
Chad: 11 authorities of foiled “coup” will soon be pardoned- Source: Africanews Chad: 11 authors of a foiled “coup” will soon be pardoned | Africanews
Eleven perpetrators of a “coup” that the authorities claimed to have foiled in December in Chad have been sentenced to 20 years in prison, the public prosecutor of the N. ‘Djamena, and will be pardoned, according to the presidency.
In early January, the government announced the arrest of ten officers and a human rights activist, Baradine Berdei Targuio, presented as the mastermind of an “attempt to destabilize” the “constitutional order” and ” institutions of the Republic”.
Mr. Berdei Targuio, president of the Chadian Human Rights Organization (OTDH), is a well-known human rights defender and a virulent critic of the Déby father and son regimes.
Mali denies UN mass murder allegations- Source: TRT Afrika.Mali denies UN mass murder allegations – TRT Afrika
Mali’s military have called a UN report accusing it of executing at least 500 people during a 2022 anti-militant operation, “fictitious” and “biased”.
The army said the UN had used satellites to gather information for its report, and announced an investigation into “espionage”.
The reaction came on Saturday, a day after the UN released its report into the events that unfolded in the central town of Moura between March 27-31, 2022.
Government spokesperson, Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga, in statement read on TV, said “No civilian from Moura lost their life during the military operation.”
Casualties recorded in attack on United States Embassy convoy in Southeast Nigeria- Source: HumAngle. Casualties Recorded In Attack On United States Embassy Convoy In Southeast Nigeria – HumAngle (humanglemedia.com)
The White House on Tuesday confirmed a deadly attack on a convoy moving United States (US) Embassy staffers in Nigeria’s southeastern state of Anambra.
The diplomatic convoy was moving in Ogbaru Local Government Area of the state when it came under a gunfire attack.
John Kirby, the spokesperson for the National Security Council in his briefing disclosed that no American casualty was recorded in the attack.
“But we are aware of some casualties, perhaps even some killed, but I don’t want to get too far ahead of where we are right now,” the National Security Council Spokesman told reporters.
Two arrested over killing of US embassy staff, policemen- Source: Daily trust. Two arrested over killing of US embassy staff, policemen – Daily Trust
Anambra State Police Command says the security operatives in the state have arrested two people linked to the murder and abduction of staff of American Embassy on Tuesday along Atani/Osamela Road in Ogbaru Local Government Area of the state.
The state Commissioner for Police, CP Echeng Echeng, gave the information on Thursday at the police headquarters in Awka, while briefing journalists on efforts to arrest the perpetrators of the crime.
Amnesty report concludes Russian Wanger involvement in Moura killings in Mali- Source: Afrcianews Amnesty report concludes Russian Wagner involvement in Moura killings in Mali | Africanews
Amnesty International has welcomed a UN report accusing the Malian army and “foreign” fighters of having executed over 500 people in 2022 during anti-jihadi operations in the Moura region.
The figures by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) amount to the worst atrocity the Sahel country has experienced since a jihadist insurgency flared in 2012.
It is also the most damning document yet against Mali’s armed forces and their foreign allies.
French army in spotlight over journalist’s abduction in northern Mali in 2021- Source: Africanews French army in spotlight over journalist’s abduction in northern Mali in 2021 | Africanews
Could the French antiterrorist force in the Sahel have prevented the kidnaping of French journalist Olivier Dubois? French media reported Wednesday (May. 17) that French forces tried to use a journalist’s visit to northern Mali to track a jihadist leader but failed to prevent the reporter from being kidnapped by the militant.
Based on French and Malian judicial documents from the probe, the report said a fixer working with Dubois had informed France’s anti-jihadist Barkhane force of his plans to interview a jihadist leader.
Barkhane planned to track the leader back to his base but abandoned the operation last minute, it said.
The report comes amid an investigation into what happened to journalist Olivier Dubois, 48, who was abducted in the northern Malian town of Gao in April 2021.
African leaders to visit Ukraine, on peace mission- Source: TRT Afrika African leaders to visit Ukraine, Russia on peace mission – Ramaphosa – TRT Afrika
A group of six African leaders plan to travel to Ukraine and Russia “as soon as is possible” to help find a resolution to the war, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Tuesday.
There is not specific timeline for the visit or other details of the initiative drawn up by Zambia, Senegal, the Republic of Congo, Uganda, Egypt and South Africa, Reuters news agency reports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have welcomed it and “agreed to receive the mission and the African heads of state, in both Moscow and Kyiv,” Ramaphosa said during a media briefing with visiting Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
My father-in-law, husband’s four siblings killed in Plateau attack- survivor- Source: Daily trust. My father-in-law, husband’s four siblings killed in Plateau attack – Survivor – Daily Trust
Survivors of the Tuesday’s attack on villages in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State have recounted their experiences during the incident.
Daily Trust reported that many lives, including women and children, were lost during the attack and many houses.
According to the National President, Mwaghavul Development Association, Joseph Gwankat, the death toll in the attack has risen to 85.
Reverend Jesse Joshua Jwanle, of Assembly of God Church in Gaude village is one of the victims of the Tuesday’s attack.
Humanitarian
Nigeria troops receive another escaped Chibok schoolgirl- Source: HumAngle. Nigerian Troops Receive Another Escaped Chibok School Girl – HumAngle (humanglemedia.com)
The Nigerian military has recently received another Chibok schoolgirl who was abducted by Boko Haram terrorists nine years ago during the infamous Chibok abduction.
This is the latest in a series of rescues carried out by the military recently, including one done two weeks ago.
Saratu Dauda was 15 when she was abducted. She revealed that she had been forced to marry two terrorist leaders and had three children with one of them during her captivity. The children are now aged seven, five, and two.
Niger: more than 18,000 displaced return home after violence- Source- Africanews Niger: more than 18,000 displaced return home after violence | Africanews
More than 18,000 people living mainly on islands in the Niger River in the Tillabéri region (western Niger) have started to return to their homes after fleeing recent violence partly linked to clashes between communities, learned on Monday AFP from official sources.
“There are some who already left on their own two days ago and a voluntary return operation ‘ was launched ‘ this morning (Monday) by the government,” said Moussa Douma, mayor of Ayorou, town located 200 km from Niamey where thousands of women and children had found refuge.
As a prelude to these returns, “armed forces have been deployed” in the islands “to guarantee security”, he assured.
25,380 PHC centres lack skilled birth attendants- Source: Daily trust. 25,380 PHC centres lack skilled birth attendants – NPHCDA – Daily Trust
The National Primary Health Care Development Agency says only 463 of the 25,843 primary healthcare facilities in Nigeria have the minimum number of required Skilled Birth Attendants (SBA).
NPHCDA Executive Director, Faisal Shuaib, disclosed this Wenesday in Abuja during a briefing on the Community-Based Health Research Innovative Training and Services Program (CRISP).
Stabilization and economic development
FG to resume oil exploration in Lake Chad Basin- Source Thisdaylive. FG to Resume Oil Exploration in Lake Chad Basin – THISDAYLIVE
The federal government last Wednesday said the crude oil exploration in the Lake Chad Basin will commence soon.
The oil exploration in the area was suspended by the Nigerian Government in July 2017 after suspected members of Boko Haram sect attacked a team of geological engineers from the University of Maiduguri who were engaged by Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to carry out a survey of the Lake Chad region in Borno State towards the commencement of oil exploration.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Timipre Sylva, while addressing journalists after a closed-door meeting in Maiduguri with the military and chief executive officers in the oil sector, said the area is now peaceful enough to commence the oil exploration.
Sylvia said the relative peace in Borno State and the Lake Chad basin informed the decision to move in for exploration and drilling activities in the oil rich region.
Are global financial systems failing Africa?- Source: Al Ja zeera IMF’s Georgieva: Are global financial systems failing Africa? | International Monetary Fund | Al Jazeera
MF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on how the African Continental Free Trade Area could reduce extreme poverty.
For centuries, Africa has been plundered by foreign powers, who have seized territory and reaped the benefits of profitable trade routes.
Despite Africa’s abundant natural resources, it remains the poorest continent.
A new report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) supports an African Union initiative to remove trade barriers to increase the flow of goods among African nations. It says the African Continental Free Trade Area could reduce extreme poverty
