Politics
Dozens of emaciated-looking Boko Haram members begging for food have surrendered in northeast Nigeria, the military and a civilian self-defense fighter said Wednesday.
Seventy-six people including children and women gave themselves up to soldiers last Saturday in Gwoza, about 60 miles southeast of Maiduguri, according to a senior officer.
All are being detained at military headquarters in Maiduguri, the birthplace of Boko Haram and currently the command center of the war against the Islamic extremists, according to the officer. He insisted on anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to journalists.
The detainees said many more fighters want to surrender, a self-defense civilian fighter who helped escort them to Maiduguri told The Associated Press.
Food shortages could indicate that Nigeria’s military is succeeding in choking supply routes of the Islamic extremists who have taken their fight across Nigeria’s borders. Some 20,000 people have died in the 6-year-old uprising. Boko Haram was declared the deadliest of all terror groups in 2014, surpassing the Islamic State group to which it declared allegiance last year.
Nigeria’s military reported that dozens of Boko Haram fighters were surrendering in September and October last year. It promised those who give themselves up voluntarily that they will be rehabilitated through a de-radicalization program.
In the 10 months since he took office promising to halt the insurgency, President Muhammadu Buhari has replaced the leadership of the military, moved the headquarters for the fight from the distant capital, Abuja, to the heart of the northeastern insurgency and resupplied soldiers.
The military has driven the insurgents from the towns and villages where they had set up an Islamic caliphate but Boko Haram has returned to hit-and-run tactics and suicide bombings.
(Reuters)
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Turkish President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday assured Nigeria of its support in the fight against terrorist, Boko Haram.
He gave the assurance at a joint press conference after holding bilateral talks with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Stressing that his country and Nigeria suffer the same constant threats of terrorists’ attacks, Erdogan said that it is better for the two countries to collaborate to defeat the menace.
The Turkish President, who spoke through an interpreter, noted that more Muslims have died in the terrorists’ attacks in Turkey and Nigeria and that people should not try to associate terrorism with any tribe or group as it would only serve to “assist the terrorists”.
He harped on the need for collaborative efforts in the anti-terror war as he condoled with Nigerians on the death of thousands of citizens resulting from Boko Haram attacks.
According to him, he would not allow any group in Turkey with peculiar interests dictate the pace or direction of his government’s efforts to tackle terrorism.
Arriving Nigeria with 150 Turkish businessmen, he said that Nigerian and Turkish entrepreneurs should mutually invest across the two countries which have a combined population of 260 million and the volume of trade between the two countries standing at $1.1billion.
He said: “Our total trade volume is currently at $1,145billion our export is $314million and our import is $831million. As you see the result is to the favour of Nigeria.
“I believe that if the two countries combine forces making use of our own respective resources we would be able to come up with even better outcomes.
“I want to call on Nigerian business people to also make investment in Turkey. We are ready to expand all the sectors that we can to them, particularly Turkish construction contracting companies which rank second in the world.
“We are ready to share our experiences particularly in the area of irrigation and agriculture.” he said
President Buhari thanked Turkey for training the Nigerian police and giving Nigeria quality equipment.
He said that his government and Nigeria would not be demoralized by the activities of Boko Haram.
Buhari also commiserated with Turkey on the deaths and carnage perpetrated by terrorists in that country, stressing that if far developed countries could be struck by terrorists, it showed how vulnerable less developed countries are.
According to him, delegations of both countries just signed memoranda of understanding on trade and economic cooperation and industrial cooperation, while others will still be signed on energy and security.
Buhari accepted Erdogan’s invitation to embark on a state visit to Turkey as soon as possible.
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New data from the Office of the United Nations for refugees has revealed that tens of thousands of Nigerians and Central Africans entered Cameroon in less than three months. According to the UN agency, since January 2016, Cameroon has welcomed over 2,425 Nigerian refugees in the Far North region. A consistent influx that now bears to 70,658 Nigerian refugees verified and registered in Cameroon since May 2013. Cameroon Concord understands this figure includes 54,806 Nigerian refugees living in the Minawao camp.
Within the last three months, more than 13,000 Nigerian refugees were registered in Gourouguel transit center in the Far North region. These are in addition to 57,581 Nigerian refugees verified and pre-recorded by UNHCR since May 2013, of which 44,889 live in Minawao camp. Figures revealed in September 2015 at the 6th Session of the Ad Hoc Inter-Ministerial Committee of Emergency Management regarding refugees in Cameroon. The report prepared in the framework of a visit to Cameroon by the Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Volker Turk,made public the difficulties caused by the large influx of Nigerian refugees in Cameroon.
UNHCR complained of the limited capacity of Minawao camp to accommodate new refugees - 55 000 people to a space built to accommodate 18 000 - and the difficulty of access to drinking water at the Minawao camp. The report notes as well as that water supply by the Water trucking system decreases by the day, due to the drying up of water point at Louti Mayo. Recent data from UNHCR also reported that 267 148 new CAR refugees have been registered in the eastern regions of Adamawa and North.
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President Paul Biya reportedly left the country for a short private visit to Europe since February 23, the same day as the Sultan of Bamoum, Mbombo Mjoya. Informed opinions in Yaounde say both men have held a meeting on the state of the nation and Biya's bid for 2018. Cameroon Concord's senior political editor hinted that everything seems to suggests Biya and Njoya have met in France and agreed on the holding of early presidential elections.
The Sultan-CPDM Senator had made his position public during a section conference of the ruling party in Bafoussam where he observed that it has become very urgent and imperative to consider convening an extraordinary congress of the ruling party to discuss the worrying situation that is on the horizon, "that may seriously threaten the peace which is very dear, and which has been hard-won in Cameroon".
Some reports have suggested the former cabinet minister and supreme leader of the Foumban people is not happy with the current cabinet and has been heard murmuring privately that "it lacks respect".
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Cameroonian and Nigerian soldiers have conducted a joint operation, killing about 100 members of the Boko Haram Takfiri terrorist group while pushing the militants out of a northeastern Nigerian village. The Boko Haram losses came in an operation for the liberation of Kumshe, situated 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Nigeria’s border with Cameroon. The troops rescued several hundred hostages in the village, including young girls who were being trained as bombers. "Our boys are still on the field with Nigerian soldiers and have received instructions to continue raids on all Boko Haram border villages until we defeat them," the general stated.
In another development on Saturday, Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff Major General Tukur Buratai said the main roads to and from Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria's volatile northeastern Borno State, have been reopened. The roads were shut in July 2013 after the beginning of a government-imposed state of emergency in Borno and its neighboring provinces. Buratai also noted that a new armed motorbike battalion would patrol the roads in a bid to help soldiers pursue Boko Haram suspects. Some 20,000 people have been killed and more than 2.5 million others made homeless since the beginning of the Boko Haram bloody militancy in Nigeria in 2009. The militants have recently pledged allegiance to the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group, which is primarily operating in Syria and Iraq.
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Cameroonian and Nigerian soldiers have conducted a joint operation, killing about 100 members of the Boko Haram Takfiri terrorist group while pushing the militants out of a northeastern Nigerian village. The Boko Haram losses came in an operation for the liberation of Kumshe, situated 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Nigeria’s border with Cameroon. The troops rescued several hundred hostages in the village, including young girls who were being trained as bombers. "Our boys are still on the field with Nigerian soldiers and have received instructions to continue raids on all Boko Haram border villages until we defeat them," the general stated.
In another development on Saturday, Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff Major General Tukur Buratai said the main roads to and from Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria's volatile northeastern Borno State, have been reopened. The roads were shut in July 2013 after the beginning of a government-imposed state of emergency in Borno and its neighboring provinces. Buratai also noted that a new armed motorbike battalion would patrol the roads in a bid to help soldiers pursue Boko Haram suspects. Some 20,000 people have been killed and more than 2.5 million others made homeless since the beginning of the Boko Haram bloody militancy in Nigeria in 2009. The militants have recently pledged allegiance to the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group, which is primarily operating in Syria and Iraq.
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# Paul Biya and his regime
Explore the political landscape of Cameroon under the rule of Paul Biya, the longest-serving president in Africa who has been in power since 1982. Our Paul Biya and his regime section examines the policies, actions, and controversies of his government, as well as the opposition movements, civil society groups, and international actors that challenge or support his leadership. You'll also find profiles, interviews, and opinions on the key figures and events that shape the political dynamics of Cameroon.
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