Ethiopian security forces killed more than 75 people and injured nearly 200 during deadly ethnic unrest in June and July following the killing of a popular singer, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said Friday.The commission’s report said 123 people in all were killed and at least 500 injured amid one of the country’s worst outbreaks of ethnic violence in years, a “widespread and systematic attack” against civilians that points to crimes against humanity. Some victims were beheaded, tortured or dragged in the streets by attackers.Ethnic violence is a major challenge for Nobel Peace Prize-winning Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who has urged national unity among more than 80 ethnic groups in Africa’s second most populous country.The unrest in June and July followed the killing of singer Hachalu Hundessa, who had been a prominent voice in the anti-government protests that led to Abiy taking office in 2018 and announcing sweeping political reforms. Those reforms, however, opened the way for long-held ethnic and other grievances to flare.The commission found that amid the street protests following Hachalu’s death, “civilians were attacked inside their homes by individual and grouped perpetrators and were beaten and killed in streets in a gruesome and cruel manner with sticks, knives, axes, sharp iron bars, stones and electric cables.”More than 6,000 people were displaced and at least 900 properties looted, burned or vandalized, the report said. The attacks often targeted ethnic Amhara or Orthodox Christians.“While it is understandable that security forces had the challenging task of restoring order in the face of such widespread violence, the proportionality of the force employed in some contexts is highly questionable,” the report said.As an example, in several communities, “the commission found that there were people killed with bullet wounds to the head, shots to the chest area or the back. People not participating in the protests — passersby, bystanders observing from their doorsteps, young people, elderly people trying to mediate, people with mental illnesses, and even police officers — also lost their lives.”In other cases, the commission found that “local authorities and security did not respond to victims’ repeated calls for help, being told instead ‘that higher ups gave no order to intervene’ … Survivors and witnesses also recount how sometimes police stood watching as the attacks took place.”Not related to Tigray conflictSome watchdogs have warned of a return to repressive measures in Ethiopia as authorities grapple with hate speech and ethnic violence.The unrest was not related to the conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region that began in early November, but it was another sign of the tensions straining the country of some 110 million people at the heart of the Horn of Africa.A spokesperson for Abiy’s office did not immediately comment on the report, and the commission did not say what the government’s response had been. Interviews with government officials and security figures were part of the commission’s investigation, which also involved visiting some 40 communities.The commission said it found no indication of “ongoing efforts to investigate the use of force by security officers during the unrest and to hold to account those who caused unnecessary human suffering.”The report noted that “crimes against humanity of this nature combined with the current national context are signs that the risk of atrocity crimes, including genocide, is increasing,” and it called for investigations, justice and “a lasting and institutional solution for the increasing trend of discrimination and attacks against minorities.”
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Month: January 2021
UK Begins Post-Brexit Future
Britain on Friday began a new year and life outside Europe, after leaving the bloc’s single market trading rules to go it alone for the first time in nearly half a century.Brexit, which has dominated politics on both sides of the Channel since 2016, became reality an hour before midnight, ending the UK’s 48-year obligation to follow Brussels’ rules.Free movement of more than 500 million people between Britain and the 27 EU states ended.More rigorous customs checks returned for the first time in decades, despite the hard-fought brokering of a tariff- and quota-free trade deal.New Year’s Day newspapers reflected the historic but still deeply divisive change, which will have repercussions for generations to come.The pro-Brexit Daily Express’ front-page photograph showed the White Cliffs of Dover — an enduring symbol of Britishness — with “Freedom” written on a Union flag.”Our Future. Our Britain. Our Destiny,” said the headline.The pro-EU Independent was less sure: “Off the hook — or cut adrift?” it asked, reflecting widespread uncertainty at the path the country had now chosen.As dawn broke on 2021, attention turned to Britain’s borders, particularly the key Channel seaports, to see if the end to seamless trade and travel would cause delays and disruption.But with New Year’s Day a public holiday followed by a weekend, and the government having announced the phased introduction of checks, few immediate problems were envisaged.”The traffic forecast for the next few days is very light,” said John Keefe, spokesman for Eurotunnel, which transports freight, cars and coaches under the Channel.Practical changesAs the first ferry left the port of Dover early Friday, truckers rolling into Calais had to deal for the first time with the new rules for transporting goods to and from mainland Europe.The Road Haulage Association, an industry body, estimates that some 220 million new forms will now need to be filled in every year to allow trade to flow with EU countries, including permits to even drive on the roads leading to ports like Dover.”This is a revolutionary change,” Rod McKenzie, managing director of public policy at the RHA, told The Times newspaper this week.Other practical changes include how long Britons can visit their holiday homes on the continent, to travel with pets, and an end to British involvement in an EU student program.Vacationers and business travelers used to seamless EU travel could face delays, although fears Britons will have to get international permits to drive in Europe were averted by a separate accord.British fishermen are disgruntled at a compromise in the free trade agreement to allow continued access for EU boats in British waters, which has raised fears of clashes at sea.The key financial services sector also faces an anxious wait to learn on what basis it can keep dealing with Europe, after being largely omitted from the trade deal along with services in general, which account for 80% of Britain’s economy.In Northern Ireland, the border with Ireland will be closely watched to ensure movement is unrestricted — key to a 1998 peace deal that ended 30 years of violence over British rule.And in pro-EU Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon gave a clear sign of a looming battle ahead for a new vote on independence.”Scotland will be back soon, Europe. Keep the light on,” she tweeted.’Make the most of it’Despite the uncertainty, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is bullishly optimistic, writing in Friday’s Daily Telegraph that Brexit presented “opportunities unknown to modern memory.”He said Britain had been given “a safe European home” since joining the then Common Market in 1973 but added that “the world has changed out of all recognition, and so has the UK.”We need to keep pace with developments on the west coast of America and in the Pearl River delta,” he added.”We need the Brexit-given chance to turbo-charge those sectors in which we excel.”Divisions over Brexit, both political and social, remain deep and are likely to last for years, despite a muted end to the saga overshadowed by the global health crisis.Opinion polls indicate that most Britons want to move on and are far more worried about the worsening coronavirus pandemic, which has left more than 73,500 dead in Britain alone.Johnson, who survived several days in intensive care with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, last April, warned of tough times ahead but said a UK-developed vaccine offered grounds for hope.But his desire for a prosperous, more globally focused Britain could yet see a resurgence of Brexit wrangling, as the country finds out what its new trading terms mean in reality.
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Opposition Activists Detained For ‘Incitement’ as Cambodia Court Sentences Acting Party Chief
Authorities in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, sent three opposition activists to Prey Sar Prison on Wednesday for pre-trial detention on charges of “incitement to commit a crime” after taking part in a protest, prompting human rights groups to decry the move as a restriction on freedom of expression.Hong An and San Srey Neat, Phnom Penh-based activists with the banned opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), and Pai Ren, a party activist in Oddar Meanchey province, had been arrested on Dec. 28 and Dec. 29 while taking part in rallies calling for the release of other opposition members detained and jailed on similar charges.Hong An’s son, Heng Chhay, told RFA’s Khmer Service that his mother’s arrest was “unjust and unacceptable.” He said Hong An is innocent and had done nothing wrong.“I cannot accept [the arrest] because ‘incitement’ is not right,” he said. “I demand that my mother be released because she did not commit any illegal act. She only expressed her opinion.”Wednesday’s detentions came a day after police in the capital arrested eight more CNRP activists and sent them for questioning, before requiring them to sign a document saying they would refrain from taking part in future protests and sending them back to their homes.Phnom Penh Municipal Police spokesperson San Sok Seiha told RFA that two of the activists are from Oddar Meanchey province and the other six from Phnom Penh. He said the eight had joined a protest without requesting permission from the authorities, so police brought them in to “educate them” and pledge to end their activities.“When there is a gathering, they need to make a request with names [of participants] so it is easier for us to monitor it,” he said.“[Without such a request], if there is a problem, [the police] don’t know where they are from … They created a problem, so we questioned them and educated them.”Am Sam Ath, deputy director for human rights for local NGO Licadho, said such actions severely curb the right to freedom of expression in Cambodia. He said that while the activists hadn’t asked permission, they have the right to peacefully protest and not be subjected to violence, adding that the arrests signaled a “departure from the path of democracy and are likely to be criticized by the international community.”Trial postponedAlso Wednesday, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court indefinitely postponed a trial of 15 human rights and opposition activists charged with “incitement to cause serious social chaos” after questioning only one defendant—CNRP activist Chhour Pheng—about his recent protest in front of the court.Following the hearing, the defense lawyers for all 15 defendants demanded that the court summon the police for questioning because Chhour Pheng said authorities had forced him to apply his thumbprint as a signature acknowledging a report about his activities. The judge immediately adjourned the hearing and announced that the court will notify the defense when the next session will be held, without providing a date.Ten of the defendants were arrested in August and September in connection with protests calling for the release of Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Confederation of Trade Unions and a member of the Cambodian Watchdog Council.Scores of Cambodian civil society groups have condemned his arrest, demanding that the government release him and drop charges of “incitement” he faces over his criticism of the country’s handling of a border dispute with Vietnam. He faces two years in prison if convicted.The 10 include CNRP activists Chum Puthy, Chhour Pheng, and Kong Sam An; members of the Khmer Thavarak youth group Choeun Daravy, Tha Lavy, and Eng Malai; and members of the Active Citizens for Justice youth group Mean Prom Mony and Venerable Keut Saray.The five other defendants — who are not in pre-trial detention because they are abroad or their whereabouts are unknown — include outspoken CNRP activists Seng Bunrong, Ho Vann, Ou Chanrith, and Kong Saphea; and CNRP supporter and Khmer-Australian politician Hong Lim. The first four were included in a mass summons issued against the CNRP in November.Defense attorney Sam Sokong told RFA that the court should simply drop the case and release his clients, who have said they had no intention to cause social unrest.“It was a protest for the release Rong Chhun—they like Rong Chhun,” he said. “If you look at the facts, it is not a crime. What [the court] should do is to release them.”As the hearing took place on Wednesday, security forces from Phnom Penh’s 7 Makara district stood outside the court, warning supporters and relatives of the defendants not to gather or shout slogans.Family members of the Khmer Thavarak activists said they were refused permission to attend the trial or give food to their relatives.Choeun Daravy’s mother, Thach Thida, said that she and around 10 other relatives hid in the parking lot in front of the court and did not dare protest because they wanted to hear the results of the trial. She said she was disappointed by the continued detention of her child.Ros Sotha, a senior adviser to the Cambodian Human Rights Defenders Alliance (CHRAC), urged court officials to drop charges against the 15 and release Rong Chhun. He condemned the accusations against the youth protesters as a curbing of their freedom of expression and said the authorities must refrain from using violence against peaceful protesters, which he deemed a “serious human rights violation.”“Sometimes we see the authorities pushing women until they are slammed to the pavement,” he said. “It is an inappropriate act, a cheap act … Leaders must avoid this kind of thing.”Cambodia’s exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy talks to reporters after meeting legislators at the Parliament House in Kuala Lumpur, Nov. 12, 2019.Sentences deliveredAlso on Wednesday, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced Sam Rainsy, activist monk Venerable Buth Buntenh, and three other opposition members to prison on Wednesday for incitement—delivering a verdict for trial proceedings held on Dec. 21.Sam Rainsy received four years in two separate cases: “Incitement to commit a crime” for a post he made to Facebook that earned him a two-year term, a fine of 4 million riels (U.S. $1,000), and compensatory damages of 2 billion riels (U.S. $497,500); and “incitement to cause serious social chaos,” resulting in another two-year term and another 4 million-riel fine.Venerable Buth Buntenh received a 20-month prison term and a 4 million-riel fine for “incitement to cause serious social chaos,” while the court sentenced the three CNRP activists to nearly two years each for the same charge.Sam Sokong, who is representing Sam Rainsy, told RFA that Judge Ros Piseth’s decision was “too harsh,” and said he plans to discuss the case further with his client.But Sam Rainsy told RFA Wednesday that he has no plans to appeal the conviction, which he said “was a political verdict.”“We don’t need to play with the court because the court is following the orders of country’s leaders. It has nothing to do with justice,” he said.CNRP targetedCNRP President Kem Sokha was arrested in September 2017 for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government. Two months later, the Supreme Court banned the CNRP for its supposed role in the scheme.The move to dissolve the CNRP marked the beginning of a wider crackdown by Prime Minister Hun Sen on the political opposition, NGOs, and the independent media that paved the way for his ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) to win all 125 seats in the country’s July 2018 general election.Sam Rainsy tried to return from self-imposed exile on Nov. 9, 2019, to lead nonviolent protests against Hun Sen, urging Cambodian migrant workers abroad and members of the military to join him. However, his plan to enter Cambodia from Thailand was thwarted when he was refused permission to board a Thai Airways plane in Paris.In addition to the four-year sentence Sam Rainsy received on Wednesday, the acting CNRP president also faces at least 18 years in jail for a variety of convictions, including defamation, conspiracy to forge public documents, inciting armed forces to disobey orders, and insulting King Norodom Sihamoni.The next case in the Phnom Penh Municipal Court’s docket is one against 60 CNRP activists on charges of “incitement” and “conspiracy,” which is scheduled for Jan. 14.Reported by RFA’s Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
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Vaccine Seen as Potentially Shoring Up China’s Image in Indonesia, the Philippines
Chinese supply of a COVID-19 vaccine to Indonesia and the Philippines is likely to strengthen Beijing’s image in those countries, despite current resentment of its expansion in the South China Sea, if the vaccines work, analysts say.Both countries have moved to order vaccines made by Sinovac Biotech, a Beijing-based pharmaceutical company, according to Asian media reports and the company’s website. China’s official Xinhua News Agency in October had called it “crucial” to distribute vaccines “around the world, not just the wealthy nations.”People in both countries resent Chinese expansion in the 3.5 million-square-kilometer South China Sea where sovereignty claims overlap. China, with Asia’s strongest military, has built up islands that the Philippines claims and passed ships through waters that Jakarta says fall within an Indonesian exclusive economic zone. The sea is prized for fisheries and undersea energy reserves.China, keen to be seen as a good neighbor abroad and to minimize U.S. geopolitical influence, could gain favor in Southeast Asia’s two biggest countries if the vaccines work, reach remote parts of each archipelago in due time and don’t cost too much, analysts say. Indonesia and the Philippines have a combined population of 375 million.“If it turns out to be good, effective, safe, affordable, then I guess that might change to a certain extent the perceptions here,” said Aaron Rabena, research fellow at the Asia-Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation in Metro Manila. China, he said, wants to “make up for their distorted image.”Anti-China sentimentFilipinos, including some in the armed forces, have distrusted China since a 2012 standoff over Scarborough Shoal in the contested sea. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has sought to mend ties since he took office in 2016. He indicated last year that he would prioritize the Chinese vaccines along with possible shipments from Russia.The Philippines was aiming as of mid-December to end negotiations with Sinovac to get 25 million doses by March.For Indonesia, Sinovac has committed to supply a “bulk vaccine” so state-run vaccine maker PT Bio Farma can produce at least 40 million doses before March, the Chinese company says on its website. On December 6, Sinovac shipped 1.2 million doses to Jakarta for storage at a nearby PT Bio Farma warehouse, the Jakarta Post website reports.Indonesia has placed “firm” orders for about 160 million vaccine doses, 140 million of which are manufactured by Sinovac Biotech, the Post added.Anti-China sentiment flared up before the shipment and some Indonesians worry the vaccines will be unhealthy, said Paramita Supamijoto, an international relations lecturer at Bina Nusantara University in Jakarta.“At the beginning, there was a big debate on why we need to get [vaccines] from China, and there was big distrust among the people, and this kind of anti-China sentiment is still very strong,” she said.Indonesia’s Food and Drug Monitoring Agency plans to visit Sinovac facilities in Beijing to ensure “good manufacturing practice,” the Post says. Its report quotes PT Bio Farma officials defending an anticipated $13.57 price per dose.The Chinese state-supervised Global Times news website said in November that leaders around Southeast Asia had lauded Chinese vaccines as “accessible and affordable.”It might be the “most suitable” one for Indonesia’s condition, Supamijoto said. People there are spread across 13,000 islands.Effectiveness ratesDuterte, though, may be holding out for U.S.-made Pfizer Inc. vaccines in case Sinovac’s remedy only prevents COVID-19 half the time, said Eduardo Araral, associate professor at the National University of Singapore’s public policy school. Research in Brazil showed last month that Sinovac’s product was at least 50% effective. Pfizer said in November its vaccine candidate was found to be more than 90% effective.“I think Duterte is hedging that with a 50-50 rate, why would anyone choose the Sinovac if the Pfizer vaccine is also coming?” Araral said.Duterte threatened late last month to go ahead with a long-threatened cancellation of the U.S. Visiting Forces Agreement — which gives U.S. troops access to the Philippines with few restrictions — if the United States can’t deliver at least 20 million vaccine doses, the PhilStar.com news website said Dec. 27.His government said about a year ago it would cancel the 21-year-old pact, although that process has been suspended twice and analysts say Duterte wants to renegotiate the broader defense relationship with more focus on quelling armed rebel groups. The Philippines has looked to the United States as a key defense ally since the 1950s.Although coronavirus caseloads in the Philippines have fallen since a peak in August, discovery of a virus variant from Britain prompted quarantine orders in Metro Manila and nine other parts of the country through Jan. 30. The Philippines has recorded about 474,000 Cases and more than 9,244 deaths.Indonesia’s COVID-19 cases are still growing steadily. The country with Southeast Asia’s largest population reports around 743,000 cases and more than 22,000 deaths. Indonesia is also looking for vaccine sources outside China.
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NY’s Times Square Revelry on New Year’s Eve Replaced by … Nothing
Gone were the revelry and shoulder-to-shoulder crowds that typify Times Square on New Year’s Eve, replaced by empty streets and an eerie quiet as the final hours of 2020 ticked away.This was New Year’s Eve in the age of COVID-19.Crowd control gave way to crowd prevention, as police closed the Crossroads of the World to vehicles and onlookers hoping to catch a glimpse of the glittering, crystal ball set to descend down a pole to mark the stroke of midnight. Would-be partygoers were urged to watch the ball drop on television.Preparing for the worst, the New York Police Department deployed its bomb-sniffing dogs and sand-filled sanitation trucks intended to guard against explosions. But the department’s playbook included an unusual mandate this year: preventing crowds of any size from gathering in Times Square.”It makes me a little bit sad,” said Cole Zieser, who recently moved to New York City. “It’s just not going to be what we wanted, what everyone dreams about in New York.”The coronavirus has upended public life for months, and New Year’s Eve proved no different for a city that’s counted more than 25,000 deaths because of the virus. The blocks surrounding the ball drop were blocked off, leaving a scene that Police Commissioner Dermot Shea described as surreal.A woman wearing a protective mask takes a photo outside Times Square during the virtual New Year’s Eve event following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, Dec. 31, 2020.”It’s dead,” said Ali Jameel, who owns a store a block from Times Square. “We are dreaming for it to come back again like before.”Despite the restrictions, Mayor Bill de Blasio vowed that New Year’s Eve “would be a joyous night, if ever there was one. Goodbye, 2020. Here comes something better: 2021.”The NYPD announced a two-part freeze that became more expansive at 3 p.m. Even guests at five hotels in the area were told to stay inside.Juanita Holmes, chief of patrol for the NYPD, urged people to ring in 2021 “from the comfort of your home.””Coming to Times Square is a family tradition for some. It is a bucket list item for others. But this year is different,” she said. “I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for everyone to stay home.”The police department still rolled out heavy weapons teams, explosive-sniffing dogs, drones and sand trucks. But it also planned a drastically scaled-back presence in Times Square, including an 80% reduction in its typical workforce assigned to the area.”We always have to prepare for the worst in terms of counterterrorism overlays,” Shea said, “but the crowds will not be like they were in other years.”The event’s special guests, first responders and essential workers were expected to watch the festivities from a private, well-spaced area.”It’s almost like a ‘Seinfeld’ episode,” Shea said, invoking the 1990s “show about nothing.””This is a ball drop about nothing, where you can’t see,” he said, “so you may as well stay home.”
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NKorea’s Kim Marks New Year with Letter, Visit to Rulers’ Tomb
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un marked the new year with a letter to the country’s citizens and a visit to the tomb of his father and grandfather, state media reported, but gave no immediate sign he would give a speech as he has in past years.In the letter, Kim offered thanks to the people for having trusted and supported the ruling party even in the difficult times, state news agency KCNA reported Friday.The North Korean leader has previously apologized for failing to fulfill promises of economic improvement and for the hardships citizens have endured as a result of international sanctions and strict measures aimed at preventing a coronavirus outbreak.”In the new year, too, I will work hard to bring earlier the new era in which the ideals and desires of our people will come true,” Kim wrote, according to KCNA.North Korea has said it has no confirmed cases of coronavirus, though officials in South Korea and the United States say that is unlikely.Its economy has been strained by self-imposed border lockdowns and other measures to prevent an outbreak.Crowds of partiers wearing face masks rang in the new year at a concert and fireworks show in the main square in the North Korean capital Pyongyang on Thursday night, state media showed.As the clock struck midnight, Kim as well as other senior leaders visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the bodies of his father and grandfather, the previous rulers of North Korea, lie preserved under glass.Kim was also accompanied by delegates to the Eighth Party Congress, a rare political gathering to be held sometime in early January, KCNA reported.Together the leaders and the delegates “hardened their firm pledge to glorify the 8th Congress of the Party as the watershed in the development of the party and the revolution,” KCNA said.Kim is expected to use the congress to announce a new five-year economic plan, make leadership changes, and make other political statements.
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Is Boko Haram Gaining Foothold in Nigeria’s Northwest?
Boko Haram’s claim of responsibility for a recent kidnapping of more than 300 students in Nigeria’s northwestern state of Katsina signals that the militant group is expanding its terror activities beyond its traditional stronghold in the West African country’s northeast, experts warn. On December 11, Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, said in an audio recording that his group was behind the abduction of the schoolboys in the town of Kankara in Katsina. The students, however, were released several days after being abducted by gunmen. FILE – Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau holds a weapon in an unknown location in Nigeria in this still image taken from an undated video obtained Jan. 15, 2018.The militant group also released a video showing some of the students before their release. Regardless of whether Boko Haram was responsible for the kidnappings, some experts say the incident represents a worrying sign for stability and security in northern Nigeria. Shekau “has been able to claim it and that is in part because northwest Nigeria has been facing a simmering security crisis over the last year,” said Daniel Eizenga, an expert on violent extremism at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies in Washington. In recent months, northwestern Nigeria has witnessed growing intercommunal violence, including conflict between herders and farmers, violent crime from bandits, and initial indications that extremist groups may be gaining ground in the area. “Within this complicated context of rising insecurity, it is possible for Boko Haram to appear more dangerous and expansive than it may actually be,” Eizenga told VOA. He added that “should the trajectory of northwest Nigeria follow a similar path as the northeast, much of northern Nigeria will have become embroiled in a security crisis that has been simmering for the better part of the past decade.” FILE – Mourners attend the funeral of 43 farm workers in Zabarmari, about 20km from Maiduguri, Nigeria, Nov. 29, 2020, after they were killed by Boko Haram fighters in rice fields near the village of Koshobe.Boko Haram, which has been fighting to create an Islamic state based in Nigeria, has killed 36,000 people and displaced millions since it began its insurgency a decade ago. Despite carrying out terror attacks in neighboring Cameroon, Chad and Niger – mostly in the Lake Chad Basin – the group’s activities inside Nigeria have largely remained limited to its stronghold in the northeast. Various hypotheses While the Nigerian government hasn’t confirmed whether Boko Haram was responsible for kidnapping students in Katsina, experts say there are several hypotheses for a possible Boko Haram presence in Nigeria’s northwest. “One is that a faction of Boko Haram might well have contracted with a criminal gang to carry out the kidnapping without actually doing it itself,” said John Campbell, a senior fellow for Africa policy studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. FILE – Military men walk inside the Government Science school in Kankara, in northwestern Katsina state, Nigeria, Dec. 13, 2020.”Another hypothesis is that Boko Haram simply claimed responsibility (for the kidnapping) as part of a propaganda initiative,” he told VOA, adding that another “possibility of course is that indeed Boko Haram has become active in the northwest.” However, Campbell, a former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, stressed that “if we’re going to talk about Boko Haram being active in the northwest, I think we need some evidence of a political or ideological dimension.” Other jihadist groups have in the past carried out attacks in northwest Nigeria. For example, the Ansaru, a Boko Haram breakaway group, has claimed responsibility for several attacks in the area in 2020. Government response The recent developments in the northwest should be “a cause for the Nigerian security forces to redouble their efforts in the region, especially with regards to intelligence,” said Gbenga Akinbule, a Nigerian affairs analyst. The fact that Boko Haram might be present in the northwest requires a serious response from the Nigerian military, he said. “Our security forces should go back there to clean up and see how best they can get to look at the dangerous trend that is happening,” Akinbule told VOA. Analyst Eizenga disagrees. “Approaching the growing insecurity in the northwest with heavy-handed operations that neutralize militants and destroy their camps is unlikely to resolve the main drivers of these different security threats,” he said. Eizenga suggested that the Nigerian government needs “to work closely with local communities to develop differentiated responses to the threats they are facing.” In late 2015, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said his military had “technically defeated” Boko Haram militants in the country. VOA Hausa Service’s Sani Malumfashi contributed to this story from Katsina, Nigeria.
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Final Test of Electoral College Count is Congress
The final step in the constitutional process of electing a U.S. president takes place January 6 with a normally ceremonial footnote that is attracting outsized attention because of court-rejected charges of voter fraud. VOA’s Steve Redisch explains.
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