21 Killed In Attacks On Benue Communities By Suspected Fulani Herdsmen

Separate attacks on Benue communities
by suspected Fulani herdsmen claimed
21 lives over the weekend. The Benue communities that were
attacked include Apera, Gberija, Tse Pilla,
Uchagh, Ukaha, Atenger, Agema and
Agule in Guma where six persons were
killed while another 15 were killed at
Oguchi-Ankpa in Agatu local government area by the invaders. A source from Guma local government
council said, “They marched into our
villages from Awe in Nasarawa State and
passed through Damko before invading
and burning down eight villages in Guma
local government. “Unfortunately, the herdsmen stormed
the affected villages when most men had
gone to their farms and since we
thought that the persistent crisis had
been settled by both the Benue and
Nasarawa state governments, we were not prepared for the surprise attack. “They killed six of our people who were
mostly women, because they were at
home preparing meals for their
husbands and children who had gone to
their farms at the time of the attack. “Several persons were seriously injured
while many are still missing as at today
and no one has a clue as to their
whereabouts. “In fact this latest attack has brought to
the fore the need for both the Benue
and Nasarawa state governments to
take a closer look at overhauling the
security apparatus operating on the
border between the two states,” he said. Meanwhile, Benue State Governor Gabriel
Suswam has charged the people of the
state to be vigilant and report suspicious
movements in the communities to
security agencies, following the weekend
invasion of Benue communities by suspected Fulani herdsmen. Speaking yesterday at the Catholic
Church, Oshigbudu after inspecting the
damage at Enogaje, one of the
communities earlier attacked by the
marauders, Suswam urged the people to
“be security conscious and report suspicious movements to the relevant
security agencies”.

Boko Haram Bombs Police Station, Kills 2 Cops

A police station in Nigeria’s restive
northeast, has been attacked by gunmen
with explosives and rocket-propelled
grenades, killing two officers and
injuring another in an incident similar to
previous raids by Islamist extremists, Boko Haram, authorities said Thursday. “The heavily armed gunmen headed to
the police station and burnt it down
using IEDs (improvised explosive devices)
and RPGs before engaging our men in a
shootout in which we lost two officers
while a third sustained gunshot wounds,” Adamawa state police
spokesman Mohammed Ibrahim told
AFP. He said the attackers, in cars and on
motorcycles stormed Ga’anda village on
Wednesday where they burnt down the
police station with homemade bombs
and grenades. “Our officers were overpowered by the
attackers who had superior firepower,”
he said, adding that a police patrol
vehicle was also burnt in the attack that
lasted two hours. No arrest has been made, he added. Residents of Ga’anda said some 20
gunmen had entered the village around
9:00 p.m. chanting “Allahu Akbar”. Nigerian authorities in May launched a
military offensive aiming to end a deadly
four-year insurgency by Islamist
extremist group Boko Haram focused in
the country’s northeast. Violence linked to the insurgency has left
more than 3,600 dead since 2009,
including killings by the security forces,
who have been accused of major abuses. The group has claimed to be fighting for
the creation of an Islamic state in Africa’s
most populous nation and largest oil
producer, though it is believed to have a
number of factions with varying aims

10 Boko Haram Members Killed In Clashes, Air Strike

10 suspected members of Boko Haram were
killed in a clash in north eastern Nigeria after
troops launched an air strike, the military said
Wednesday. Troops clashed with “fleeing Boko Haram
terrorists” late Tuesday following the
destruction of two alleged Boko Haram camps
in the Konduga area of Borno state, according
to the military. The clash followed an “air strike and
subsequent destruction of two Boko Haram
terrorist camps at Mada, Konduga local
government area of Borno state,” Lieutenant
Colonel Sagir Musa said in a statement. It occurred on the road as troops were
travelling to the town of Biu and “had an
encounter with fleeing Boko Haram terrorists,”
it said. “Ten terrorists lost their lives and some
ammunition, including four AK-47 rifles, five
AK-47 magazines and 250 rounds of assorted
ammunition, were recovered,” the statement
said. “Ten motorcycles belonging to the sect
members were destroyed in the air and land
raid,” he said. Boko Haram’s insurgency has left more than
3,600 people dead since 2009, including
killings by the security forces, who have been
accused of major abuses.

71 killed, 201 Wounded In Attacks Across Baghdad

No fewer than 71 people have been
killed and 201 wounded in a series of
bombings and other attacks across
Baghdad, police and medical sources
said, the latest casualties in a
continuing wave of bloodshed. The northern neighbourhood of
Kadhimiyah, home to a prominent,
gold-domed Shia shrine, was the worst
hit. Two bombs went off in a parking lot,
followed by a suicide car bomber who
struck onlookers who had gathered at
the scene. Police said 10 people were
killed and 27 wounded in that attack. In Sadr City, an impoverished Shia
district in Baghdad’s northeast, two car
bombs killed seven people. A
restaurant owner said he saw an
attacker just before one of the
explosions. “A man parked his car in front of the
restaurant. He got breakfast and drank
his tea. Then I heard a huge explosion
when I was inside the kitchen,” the
owner, who requested anonymity, told
the Reuters news agency. “When I went outside, I saw his car
completely destroyed and he had
disappeared. Many people were hurt.” Another car bomb killed seven people
and wounded 23 in Jisr Diyala in
southeastern Baghdad, police and
medics said. The Interior Ministry described the
attacks as “terrorist explosions” but
said the number of people killed was
only 20, with 213 wounded. Baghdad
has said that media reports exaggerate
attacks in Iraq, and that security forces have stopped many attempted
bombings. If the higher death toll was correct,
Wednesday’s violence was worst since
August 10, when nearly 80 people were
killed during a religious holiday. More than 1,000 Iraqis were killed in
July, the highest monthly death toll
since 2008, according to the United
Nations. The renewed violence, 18 months after
US troops withdrew from Iraq, has
stirred anxiety about a relapse towards
the widespread sectarian slaughter of
2006-07. In other attacks on Wednesday,
gunmen killed six members of the
Sahwa, (“Awakening”) movement, a
group of former Sunni fighters who
rebelled against al-Qaeda. They were
attacked in an ambush on a checkpoint in Latifiya, a suburb 40km south of
Baghdad. Armed men also stormed a Shia home
in the same area, killing six family
members, police and medical sources
said. Four soldiers were killed and five were
wounded in Madaen, southeast of
Baghdad, by a roadside bomb targeting
an Iraqi army patrol, police and medics
said. After years of reduced violence, the
intensity of attacks has dramatically
risen since the start of 2013. Bombings have often targeted cafes
and other places where families gather,
as well as military facilities and
checkpoints.

12 Security Personnel Killed In Iraq

Gunmen have killed 12 Iraqi policemen and
soldiers while a truck bomb hit a southern
port. In Saturday’s deadliest attack, gunmen
opened fire on an army post in the town of
Madain, just southeast of Baghdad, in a pre-
dawn strike that left five soldiers dead and
three others wounded, police and a medical
source said. Among the dead was a lieutenant colonel.
The gunmen fled after the attack, and
security forces, who cordoned off the
scene, launched a manhunt. North of Baghdad, militants shot dead four
police who were buying ice near the city of
Tikrit. Security forces often purchase large blocks
of ice to distribute to nearby checkpoints in
order to cope with Iraq’s sweltering summer
heat. In another attack north of the capital,
gunmen killed three soldiers in the restive
Muqdadiyah area of Diyala province. And in the far south, a truck rigged with
explosives blew up in the parking lot of the
port of Umm Qasr,
wounding three people and damaging a
docked ship and several nearby trucks. The port’s operations were not affected,
however, a spokesman said. No group immediately claimed
responsibility for the attacks, but Sunni
militants linked to al-Qaeda and opposed to
the Shi’ite-led government frequently carry
out attacks against security forces. Attacks have killed more than 3480 people
since the beginning of 2013, according to
figures compiled by AFP. Interior ministry spokesman Brigadier
General Saad Maan said on Saturday that
security forces had killed a top al-Qaeda
militant in Tikrit and detained two of his
aides.
He did not identify the man who was killed.

UN, UK Condemn Borno Mosque Massacre

The United Nations and the United Kingdom have condemned the massacre of 44 people in Borno State who were killed as they prayed in their mosque by the Boko Haram Islamic sect last Sunday.

Gunmen wearing Nigerian army camouflage fatigues struck under cover of darkness as residents were saying their dawn prayers at around 5:30 a.m. last Sunday, just as another 12 civilians died in a simultaneous attack on Ngom village just outside Maiduguri, .

British Cabinet Minister, Mark Simmonds, yesterday condemned the attack as “contemptible and cowardly”.

“Attacking innocent people in a place of worship is a contemptible and cowardly act,” the Foreign Office Minister for Africa Mark Simmonds said in a statement Tuesday.

He said Britain “stands with the government and people of Nigeria as they seek to reduce violence in the north east of the country.”

Also speaking on the attack, UN Secretary General, Ban ki Moon called for dialogue in resolving the violence.

A report in UN News Centre yesterday said the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a statement signed by his spokesperson called on all extremist groups in Nigeria to cease attacks, after 44 people were killed in Borno State, including worshippers reportedly shot to death while praying inside a mosque.

“The Secretary-General strongly condemns the recent violent attacks that have killed scores of civilians in the localities of Mafa and Kondugo in Borno State,” his spokesperson said in a statement.

Ban therefore called on all parties to resolve their differences through dialogue and other peaceful means.

“The Secretary-General reiterated his firm conviction that no objective can be attained through such violence,” the spokesperson stressed.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Interior Minister, Abba Moro, has dismissed the attack in the mosque and the Boko Haram threat as “desperate” and “isolated”.

Abba Moro in his reaction told the BBC’s Focus on Africa programme yesterday that, “The security agencies of Nigeria have been able to push the Boko Haram sect from their major strongholds”.