Nigeria courts convict 125 Boko Haram Islamist insurgents in mass trial
Abuja, Nigeria Reuters Nigerian courts convicted 125 Boko Haram Islamist militants and financiers of a series of terrorism-related offences in a mass trial this week, the attorney-general’s office said. A Boko Haram insurgency has killed thousands of people and displaced millions since it began in 2009, creating a humanitarian crisis in north-eastern Nigeria and putting […]
More than 20 killed in attack on central Mali village
Bamako, Mali Reuters Gunmen killed 26 people in an attack on a village in central Mali’s insurgent-hit Mopti region on Sunday, a local official said on Monday. The attack targeted a village in the Circle of Bankass, one of several areas in Mali’s north and centre where jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State […]
Inmates escape Niger prison holding militants
Niamey, Niger Reuters Niger’s interior ministry said it had ordered search units to be on alert after inmates escaped on Thursday from the high-security Koutoukale prison whose inmates include Islamist militants. The ministry statement did not say how many prisoners had escaped Koutoukale, which lies 50 kilometres north-west of the capital Niamey, or how they […]
Jihadis from Africa’s Sahel have crossed into Nigeria’s north, a new report says. A lot is at stake
Abuja, Nigeria AP Jihadi fighters who had long operated in Africa’s volatile Sahel region have settled in north-western Nigeria after crossing from neighbouring Benin, a report said Wednesday, the latest trend in the militants’ movements to wealthier West African coastal nations. The extremists believed to be linked to al-Qaeda have in the last year crossed […]
Burkina Faso junta leader denies reports of army mutiny
Reuters Burkina Faso’s military leader Ibrahim Traore appeared on national TV on Thursday to deny reports of mutiny within the army following an attack by al Qaeda-linked insurgents that killed over 100 soldiers near the border with Niger. Commenting for the first time since the assault, Traore did not address a claim of responsibility by […]
Surge in rebel attacks sparks deadly protests in eastern Congo
Butembo, Democratic Republic of Congo Reuters At least seven people have been killed in unrest in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu province, local officials said on Saturday, after people took to the streets to protest against a surge in deadly attacks by suspected Islamist rebels. The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a rebel group […]
Suspected Islamists in eastern Congo kill more than 80 in a week
Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo Reuters The death toll has risen to 41 following an attack on Friday by suspected Islamist rebels on villages in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a Congolese army spokesman said, bringing the total toll in the region to more than 80 since Tuesday. Friday night’s attack, on the villages of […]
Gunmen kidnap more than 100 in attack on villages in north-west Nigeria
Maiduguri, Nigeria Reuters More than 100 people were kidnapped by gunmen during Friday night raids on three villages in north-west Nigeria, a district head and residents said on Saturday, the latest abduction of villagers in a region blighted by widespread insecurity. Kidnapping has become endemic in Nigeria’s north-west as roving gangs of armed men abduct […]
Nigerian kidnappers demand $US620,000 for release of school hostages, local authorities say
Kaduna, Nigeria Reuters Gunmen who kidnapped 286 students and staff from a school in northern Nigeria last week have demanded a total of one billion naira ($US620,432) for their release, a spokesman for the families of the hostages and a local councillor told Reuters. The school children, some older students and members of the school […]
Suspected insurgents kidnap 50 people in north-east Nigeria
Maiduguri, Nigeria Reuters Suspected Islamist insurgents kidnapped 50 people, mostly women, in north-eastern Nigeria this week, local officials and a resident said on Wednesday, the latest mass abduction by fighters who have waged an insurgency for more than a decade. Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters have mainly operated in Borno […]