Five Polish sailors are being held by kidnappers after a cargo ship belonging to a Polish company was attacked off the Nigerian coast, an incident Poland says highlights the need to review safety procedures of vessels operating in the area.
Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski told a news conference of Friday that kidnappers had made no demands so far, and that Poland was liaising with Nigerian authorities, but would not get involved directly unless asked to do so.
"This is a responsibility of the sovereign state of Nigeria," Waszczykowski said.
No traces of blood were discovered on the ship, which operates under the Cyprus flag, he said. The kidnapped sailors included the captain and officers.
"The rest of the crew, 11 people, are still on the ship and they are safe... The ship suffered some damage," Waszczykowski said.
The ship is currently anchored around 30 sea miles - roughly 56 kilometers - off the Nigerian coast, with the operator arranging for a new crew to take it back to port.
The area where the kidnapping took place was not traditionally frequented by pirates, Polish Maritime Minister Marek Grobarczyk said.
Grobarczyk said the safety procedures of all Polish companies operating in the area would now be reviewed to ensure sailors' safety.
Reuters
Friday, November 27, 2015
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Video - Cleaning up the oil industry in Nigeria
Nigeria's oil sector has faced allegations of government corruption for years. Nearly $30bn has been lost over the last three years. President Muhammadu Buhari says tackling graft in the oil sector is a top priority. Nigeria depends on oil for more than 80 percent of its revenues.
Army says Boko Haram can't be eliminated by December deadline
Nigeria's military cannot meet the president's December deadline to crush Boko Haram's Islamic uprising, and Nigerians must expect suicide bombings to continue, a government spokesman said Thursday.
Air Commodore Yusuf Anas of the Center for Crisis Communication said the deadline "may be unrealistic" and warned Nigerians not to view December as a "sacrosanct date when all suicide bombings will end."
The 6-year-old uprising already has killed 20,000 people and driven 2.3 million from the homes. Millions of dollars worth of property has been destroyed.
"The timeline on when to stop the insurgents from activating sleeper cells and detonating bombs into soft targets in any part of the country, especially in the frontline states, is therefore not tenable."
Forces from Nigeria and neighboring Chad earlier this year drove the extremists out of areas in which they had proclaimed an Islamic caliphate. Recently, the Nigerian Air Force and ground troops have reported destroying numerous Boko Haram camps and freeing more than 1,000 kidnap victims.
In June, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the military to crush the insurgency by December, but the extremists have pushed back with village raids and urban suicide bombings that have killed more than 1,500 people.
Last month, Buhari told the commander of the U.S. Africa Command, Gen. David Rodriguez, that improved training, weapons, logistics and welfare had well-positioned Nigerian forces to break the back of the uprising.
"Structured attacks by the insurgents have reduced and by the end of the year, we should see the final routing of Boko Haram as an organized fighting force," Buhari said.
Boko Haram was named the world's most deadly extremist group in the Global Terrorism Index last week, with 6,644 deaths attributed to it in 2014 — more than any other extremist group.
AP
Air Commodore Yusuf Anas of the Center for Crisis Communication said the deadline "may be unrealistic" and warned Nigerians not to view December as a "sacrosanct date when all suicide bombings will end."
The 6-year-old uprising already has killed 20,000 people and driven 2.3 million from the homes. Millions of dollars worth of property has been destroyed.
"The timeline on when to stop the insurgents from activating sleeper cells and detonating bombs into soft targets in any part of the country, especially in the frontline states, is therefore not tenable."
Forces from Nigeria and neighboring Chad earlier this year drove the extremists out of areas in which they had proclaimed an Islamic caliphate. Recently, the Nigerian Air Force and ground troops have reported destroying numerous Boko Haram camps and freeing more than 1,000 kidnap victims.
In June, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the military to crush the insurgency by December, but the extremists have pushed back with village raids and urban suicide bombings that have killed more than 1,500 people.
Last month, Buhari told the commander of the U.S. Africa Command, Gen. David Rodriguez, that improved training, weapons, logistics and welfare had well-positioned Nigerian forces to break the back of the uprising.
"Structured attacks by the insurgents have reduced and by the end of the year, we should see the final routing of Boko Haram as an organized fighting force," Buhari said.
Boko Haram was named the world's most deadly extremist group in the Global Terrorism Index last week, with 6,644 deaths attributed to it in 2014 — more than any other extremist group.
AP
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Video - Nigerian engineering students build electric car
A group of Nigerian engineering students have built a track focused, four wheeled electric car using locally sourced materials and purely indigenous technology. Its innovators say the world is running out of fossil fuels, and Nigeria will soon need to move towards hybrids and electric cars.
Schools reopen in Borno state despite fears of Boko Haram attack
Nigeria reopened schools in Borno state for the first time in more than a year Tuesday despite fears of attack by terrorist group Boko Haram.
Xinhua news agency quoted Musa Kubo, commissioner for education in Borno state, as saying campus safety could be guaranteed.
The Nigerian government urged parents to send their children back to classes, which were halted in March 2014 amid growing violence in Borno state, birthplace of Boko Haram.
Security forces have made recent gains against the terrorist group, in October unveiling a new task force specifically placed in Borno state, and earlier this month arresting multiple suspects from a 100 most-wanted list, including one in the state capital.
However, attacks have continued in Nigeria and neighboring countries. A suicide bomber in the Cameroonian village of Nigue killed at least 10 people Saturday morning, and similar attacks against crowded markets in northern Nigeria's Kano and Adamawa states earlier last week killed dozens.
Boko Haram, seeking the formation of an Islamic government, has since 2009 killed more than 17,000 people in a campaign of violence that included the kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls from the village of Chibok, in Borno state.
The Institute for Economics and Peace last week released a report tallying more than 7,000 people killed by Boko Haram in 2014, making it the "most deadly terrorist group in the world."
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who campaigned earlier this year on a promise to get tough on Boko Haram, set a December deadline to defeat the terrorist group.
"We are not there yet but we are gradually getting there," Xinhua quoted Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, chief of staff of the Nigerian army, as saying Tuesday. "We are making steady progress."
UPI
Xinhua news agency quoted Musa Kubo, commissioner for education in Borno state, as saying campus safety could be guaranteed.
The Nigerian government urged parents to send their children back to classes, which were halted in March 2014 amid growing violence in Borno state, birthplace of Boko Haram.
Security forces have made recent gains against the terrorist group, in October unveiling a new task force specifically placed in Borno state, and earlier this month arresting multiple suspects from a 100 most-wanted list, including one in the state capital.
However, attacks have continued in Nigeria and neighboring countries. A suicide bomber in the Cameroonian village of Nigue killed at least 10 people Saturday morning, and similar attacks against crowded markets in northern Nigeria's Kano and Adamawa states earlier last week killed dozens.
Boko Haram, seeking the formation of an Islamic government, has since 2009 killed more than 17,000 people in a campaign of violence that included the kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls from the village of Chibok, in Borno state.
The Institute for Economics and Peace last week released a report tallying more than 7,000 people killed by Boko Haram in 2014, making it the "most deadly terrorist group in the world."
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who campaigned earlier this year on a promise to get tough on Boko Haram, set a December deadline to defeat the terrorist group.
"We are not there yet but we are gradually getting there," Xinhua quoted Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, chief of staff of the Nigerian army, as saying Tuesday. "We are making steady progress."
UPI
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)