Monday, May 19, 2014
Video - Discussion about African leaders declaring total war on Boko Haram
African leaders agree to join forces and declare war on the armed group in Nigeria. Kamahl Santamaria speaks to Phil Rees, a filmmaker with the Al Jazeera Investigative Unit and author of 'Dining with Terrorists', Max Gbanite, a Strategic Security consultant and defence analyst and Aliyu Musa, an independent researcher on War and Conflict Study.
Related stories: Video - Nigerian Senator disgusted with Government's failure to find kidnapped schoolgirls
Video - The state of Nigerian governance and Boko Haram
Suicide bomber kills 4 in Kano, Nigeria
A suicide blast in a street full of bars and restaurants in the northern Nigerian city of Kano has killed four people, police say.
One of those killed was a girl aged 12, they say.
Witnesses say the explosion was caused by a bomb in a car in the mainly Christian area of Sabon Gari.
The area has previously been targeted by Boko Haram Islamist militants but it is the first attack on Nigeria's second biggest city for several months.
More than 1,000 people have been killed in Boko Haram attacks this year but the government has said it has pushed the militants back into their strongholds in the north-eastern Borno state.
This is where they seized more than 200 girls last month, in a case which shocked the world and prompted foreign powers to send military advisors to assist Nigeria's army tackle the insurgency.
The street in Sabon Gari was full of revellers and street hawkers when a car exploded.
The BBC's Will Ross in Nigeria says that Sunday's blast was so powerful that all that remains of the car is its engine. The blast could be heard from several miles away.
"At about 22:00 [21:00 GMT], we heard an explosion and immediately mobilised to the scene where we discovered a suicide bomber... Five people, including the bomber, were killed," Kano Police Commissioner Adelere Shinaba said.
He said that the victims were "three men and a girl of about 12".
Kano is the largest city in the mainly Muslim north of Nigeria.
The bars and alcohol-sellers in its Sabon Gari area have been targeted on numerous other occasions.
In January 2012, about 150 people died there in a series of co-ordinated attacks by Boko Haram.
The group is fighting to overthrow the Nigeria government and create an Islamic state.
But it has often attacked Muslims, including preachers who disagree with its interpretation of Islam.
The Nigerian authorities are continuing the search for the kidnapped schoolgirls kidnapped.
The abducted schoolgirls, who include Christians and Muslims, were seized on 14 April.
Boko Haram released a video last week showing more than 100 of the girls and offering an exchange for prisoners.
African leaders meeting in Paris at the weekend agreed to wage "war" on Boko Haram, pledging to share intelligence and co-ordinate action against the group.
French President Francois Hollande called Boko Haram a "major threat to West and Central Africa", and said it had links with al-Qaeda's North-African arm and "other terrorist organisations".
The unrest in Nigeria has not just been confined to the north.
Earlier this month a car bomb in the capital Abuja killed at least 19 people and injured 60 more.
The explosion happened close to a bus station where at least 70 people died in a bomb blast on 14 April.
BBC
Related stories: Video - Fatality count in Abuja bomb blast rises to 75
Boko Haram attack market - 150 dead
Video - Muslims in Nigeria condemn Boko Haram's kidnapping of schoolgirls
One of those killed was a girl aged 12, they say.
Witnesses say the explosion was caused by a bomb in a car in the mainly Christian area of Sabon Gari.
The area has previously been targeted by Boko Haram Islamist militants but it is the first attack on Nigeria's second biggest city for several months.
More than 1,000 people have been killed in Boko Haram attacks this year but the government has said it has pushed the militants back into their strongholds in the north-eastern Borno state.
This is where they seized more than 200 girls last month, in a case which shocked the world and prompted foreign powers to send military advisors to assist Nigeria's army tackle the insurgency.
The street in Sabon Gari was full of revellers and street hawkers when a car exploded.
The BBC's Will Ross in Nigeria says that Sunday's blast was so powerful that all that remains of the car is its engine. The blast could be heard from several miles away.
"At about 22:00 [21:00 GMT], we heard an explosion and immediately mobilised to the scene where we discovered a suicide bomber... Five people, including the bomber, were killed," Kano Police Commissioner Adelere Shinaba said.
He said that the victims were "three men and a girl of about 12".
Kano is the largest city in the mainly Muslim north of Nigeria.
The bars and alcohol-sellers in its Sabon Gari area have been targeted on numerous other occasions.
In January 2012, about 150 people died there in a series of co-ordinated attacks by Boko Haram.
The group is fighting to overthrow the Nigeria government and create an Islamic state.
But it has often attacked Muslims, including preachers who disagree with its interpretation of Islam.
The Nigerian authorities are continuing the search for the kidnapped schoolgirls kidnapped.
The abducted schoolgirls, who include Christians and Muslims, were seized on 14 April.
Boko Haram released a video last week showing more than 100 of the girls and offering an exchange for prisoners.
African leaders meeting in Paris at the weekend agreed to wage "war" on Boko Haram, pledging to share intelligence and co-ordinate action against the group.
French President Francois Hollande called Boko Haram a "major threat to West and Central Africa", and said it had links with al-Qaeda's North-African arm and "other terrorist organisations".
The unrest in Nigeria has not just been confined to the north.
Earlier this month a car bomb in the capital Abuja killed at least 19 people and injured 60 more.
The explosion happened close to a bus station where at least 70 people died in a bomb blast on 14 April.
BBC
Related stories: Video - Fatality count in Abuja bomb blast rises to 75
Boko Haram attack market - 150 dead
Video - Muslims in Nigeria condemn Boko Haram's kidnapping of schoolgirls
Video - Nigerian Senator disgusted with Government's failure to find kidnapped schoolgirls
The Senator for Nigeria's Borno state said he is disappointed with how the government is dealing with the threat from Boko Haram. The armed group is behind the kidnapping of more then 200 school girls. There has been growing frustration with the slow pace of efforts to rescue them.
Related stories: Video - The state of Nigerian governance and Boko Haram
President Goodluck Jonathan cancels trip to Chibok, where schoolgirls were kidnapped
Friday, May 16, 2014
Video - Muslims in Nigeria condemn Boko Haram's kidnapping of schoolgirls
Muslims around the world have condemned the kidnappings of more than 200 Nigerian girls from their school in Chibok village on April 15.Muslim leaders said groups like Boko Haram, who have claimed responsibility for the abductions, are a disgrace to their religion.The Nigerian government has come under fire for its response to the girls' abduction, but one of the overlooked aspects has been its minimal regulation of preaching and places of worship.Clerics complain that there is no proper mechanism for certifying imams at mosques, allowing some preachers to spread their ideas unchecked.
Related stories: Video - The state of Nigerian governance and Boko Haram
Video - Nigerian government starts cooperating with international community to find kidnapped schoolgirls
President Goodluck Jonathan cancels trip to Chibok, where schoolgirls were kidnapped
Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan has called off a visit the town where more than 200 schoolgirls were abducted, officials say.
Sources had told the BBC he would stop in Chibok, in the north-east, on his way to a conference in France on the threat from Boko Haram militants.
But the visit was called off for security reasons, the officials said.
The president - under pressure over his government's failure to rescue the girls - will fly direct to Paris.
The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse in Nigeria says the cancellation of this visit underlines just how fragile the security situation is in the north-east.
On Thursday, relatives of the girls called for their unconditional release by Boko Haram.
Mr Jonathan is said to have ruled out negotiations over a possible release of prisoners.
Nothing was seen of the girls for almost a month after they were taken from Chibok.
But on Monday the group released a video showing more than 100 of them and offering an exchange for prisoners.
UK Africa Minister Mark Simmonds said Mr Jonathan had "made it very clear that there will be no negotiation" at a meeting on Wednesday.
President Jonathan has been criticised for not visiting the town - more than a month after the girls were seized.
The president will travel to Paris to take part in a summit convened by French President Francois Hollande to discuss Boko Haram.
The leaders of Nigeria's neighbours - Benin, Cameroon, Niger and Chad - are scheduled to attend the summit on Saturday, which will also include representatives from the UK, US and EU.
A statement said delegates at the meeting will "discuss fresh strategies for dealing with the security threat posed by Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in west and Central Africa".
'Troubling atrocities'
Meanwhile, US officials on Thursday criticised the speed of Nigeria's response to the threat from Boko Haram.
Alice Friend, director for African affairs at the US defence department, said its security forces had been "slow to adapt with new strategies and new tactics".
She also said the US was unable to offer aid to Nigeria's military because of "troubling" atrocities perpetrated by some units during operations against Boko Haram.
"We cannot ignore that Nigeria can be an extremely challenging partner to work with," Ms Friend said.
State of emergency
US drones and surveillance aircraft have been deployed to assist in the search for the schoolgirls, while the UK has sent a military team to the capital, Abuja, to work alongside US, French and Israeli experts.
The lower house of Nigeria's parliament, the House of Representatives, approved an extension of the state of emergency in the north-east states of Yobe, Borno and Adamawa on Thursday.
President Jonathan had requested a six-month extension, calling the security situation in the region "daunting" and saying he was concerned by the mounting loss of life among civilians.
The state of emergency, which still needs to be approved by the Senate, gives the military widespread powers such as detaining suspects, imposing curfews and setting up roadblocks.
On Thursday, there were reports of fresh attacks by suspected Boko Haram militants in Borno state.
A witness told the BBC's Hausa Service that there had been explosions in Gamboru Ngala, were some 300 people were killed last week in a massacre blamed on Boko Haram.
BBC
Related stories: President Goodluck Jonathan states no negotiations with Boko Haram for kidnapped schoolgirls
US commence aerial search for kidnapped schoolgirls in Nigeria
Villagers take matters into their own hands and kill suspected Boko Haram militants
Sources had told the BBC he would stop in Chibok, in the north-east, on his way to a conference in France on the threat from Boko Haram militants.
But the visit was called off for security reasons, the officials said.
The president - under pressure over his government's failure to rescue the girls - will fly direct to Paris.
The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse in Nigeria says the cancellation of this visit underlines just how fragile the security situation is in the north-east.
On Thursday, relatives of the girls called for their unconditional release by Boko Haram.
Mr Jonathan is said to have ruled out negotiations over a possible release of prisoners.
Nothing was seen of the girls for almost a month after they were taken from Chibok.
But on Monday the group released a video showing more than 100 of them and offering an exchange for prisoners.
UK Africa Minister Mark Simmonds said Mr Jonathan had "made it very clear that there will be no negotiation" at a meeting on Wednesday.
President Jonathan has been criticised for not visiting the town - more than a month after the girls were seized.
The president will travel to Paris to take part in a summit convened by French President Francois Hollande to discuss Boko Haram.
The leaders of Nigeria's neighbours - Benin, Cameroon, Niger and Chad - are scheduled to attend the summit on Saturday, which will also include representatives from the UK, US and EU.
A statement said delegates at the meeting will "discuss fresh strategies for dealing with the security threat posed by Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in west and Central Africa".
'Troubling atrocities'
Meanwhile, US officials on Thursday criticised the speed of Nigeria's response to the threat from Boko Haram.
Alice Friend, director for African affairs at the US defence department, said its security forces had been "slow to adapt with new strategies and new tactics".
She also said the US was unable to offer aid to Nigeria's military because of "troubling" atrocities perpetrated by some units during operations against Boko Haram.
"We cannot ignore that Nigeria can be an extremely challenging partner to work with," Ms Friend said.
State of emergency
US drones and surveillance aircraft have been deployed to assist in the search for the schoolgirls, while the UK has sent a military team to the capital, Abuja, to work alongside US, French and Israeli experts.
The lower house of Nigeria's parliament, the House of Representatives, approved an extension of the state of emergency in the north-east states of Yobe, Borno and Adamawa on Thursday.
President Jonathan had requested a six-month extension, calling the security situation in the region "daunting" and saying he was concerned by the mounting loss of life among civilians.
The state of emergency, which still needs to be approved by the Senate, gives the military widespread powers such as detaining suspects, imposing curfews and setting up roadblocks.
On Thursday, there were reports of fresh attacks by suspected Boko Haram militants in Borno state.
A witness told the BBC's Hausa Service that there had been explosions in Gamboru Ngala, were some 300 people were killed last week in a massacre blamed on Boko Haram.
BBC
Related stories: President Goodluck Jonathan states no negotiations with Boko Haram for kidnapped schoolgirls
US commence aerial search for kidnapped schoolgirls in Nigeria
Villagers take matters into their own hands and kill suspected Boko Haram militants
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