Islam - Current Day > 20 Chadian Soldiers Killed; Another Taliban Assassination; Taliban Seize Provincial Capitol; Druze Stop Hezbollah Rocket Attack

..

At least 20 dead as suspected jihadists attack Chadian soldiers,

military says

5 Aug, 2021 15:37

FILE PHOTO. Chad's Lake Chad region. © AFP / SIA KAMBOU

More than 20 Chadian soldiers have been killed near Lake Chad after suspected jihadists, purportedly belonging to the Boko Haram group, attacked troops stationed in the notoriously volatile region.

Speaking to Reuters, Chadian army spokesman General Azem Bermandoa said that at least 20 soldiers had perished in an attack in the early hours of Thursday.

“We deplore the death of about 20 of our soldiers during a routine patrol in the locality,” Bermandoa said, adding that the attackers had been repelled by troops and that multinational forces had reinforced the area. 

He stated that operations were now underway to further secure the area and track down those responsible for the killings. 

Speaking with AFP, Bermandoa said the assault had occurred at Tchoukou Telia, an island on Lake Chad located some 190 kilometers (118 miles) to the northwest of the country’s capital, N'Djamena. The vast body of water sits on or near the borders of four countries – Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Chad. 

The region's deputy prefect, Haki Djiddi, told AFP that the death toll was 24. He added that several soldiers were wounded and that others fled into the nearby countryside. Djiddi said the troops attacked had been resting after having returned from a patrol.

Islamist terrorist groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province have operated from the volatile region, carrying out attacks against civilian and military targets.

In March 2020, around 100 Chadian troops were killed by Islamist militants during a night raid on the lake's Bohoma peninsula. Then-President Idriss Deby Itno led an offensive against the groups before being killed by rebels in northern Chad in April 2021.

Since Boko Haram led a revolt in Nigeria in 2009, approximately 36,000 people have died and some three million have fled their homes, according to UN figures.

Chief of Afghan government’s media department assassinated – police

6 Aug, 2021 10:05

© Twitter / @TOLOnews

Police have confirmed that the head of the Afghan government’s media information center, Dawa Khan Menapal, has been assassinated in Kabul, the country’s capital. The attack has been claimed by the Taliban.

“Unfortunately, the savage terrorists have committed a cowardly act once again and martyred a patriotic Afghan,” Interior Ministry spokesman Mirwais Stanikzai said, referring to Menapal’s killing. Stanikzai shared a photo of his deceased colleague.

Menapal had previously been the director of the Public Library of Afghanistan, as well as working as the director of information culture in Kandahar Province for several years.

According to Afghanistan’s TOLOnews, the Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack.

The assassination came just days after the Taliban warned they would target senior officials in the Kabul-based administration in response to an escalation of airstrikes in the war-torn country.

It seems the USA has increased their airstrikes in an attempt to soften the effects of the Army's pull-out.

The group has stepped up operations following the drawdown of allied forces, reclaiming territory from the government in Kabul. The US is expected to complete its pullout by August 31, marking the end of a two-decade-long campaign.

On Tuesday, the Taliban said it was behind a deadly attack on the residence of Afghanistan’s acting defense minister, in which at least eight people were killed and many others wounded. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid warned it was just the beginning of retaliatory operations.

The US and Canada have both started receiving Afghan evacuees amid concerns that those who helped allied troops during the protracted conflict will face reprisals from an increasingly assertive Taliban.

Taliban takes first provincial capital in Afghanistan

as city of Zaranj falls into group's hands

6 Aug, 2021 13:49

FILE PHOTO. Soldiers from the Afghan National Army try to free their vehicle after it got stuck in mud.

© Getty Images / Scott Olson

After so many years of American Marines teaching Afghan troops how to fight, it's a pity they never taught them how to drive.

Taliban insurgents have captured the city of Zaranj, the capital of Afghanistan's southwestern Nimroz province. The city is the first provincial capital to fall amid the ongoing Taliban offensive against government troops.

The militants entered the city on Friday afternoon, according to media reports corroborated by footage circulating online. The development was confirmed to Reuters by Nimroz's police spokesperson, with the official, who remained anonymous for security reasons, blaming the fall of the city on a lack of reinforcements from Afghanistan's central government.

Footage shared online purports to show Taliban militants entering the city en-masse, on foot as well as riding atop a column of captured government armored vehicles.

The militants reportedly also broke into a local prison, freeing inmates from the facility.

The city apparently fell into hands of the Taliban largely without fighting, imagery from the scene suggests. It was not immediately clear whether the local security forces fled or defected to the Taliban.

In recent weeks, the resurgent group has launched a fresh major offensive against government forces, capturing large swaths of territory and establishing control over multiple border crossings.

The Islamist militants have also put pressure on several provincial capitals, including such major cities as Kandahar in the south and Herat in the west. Before the capture of Zaranj, however, the Taliban's territorial gains primarily occurred in sparsely-populated rural areas.

Outraged Lebanese villagers block rocket-launching Hezbollah trucks,

fearing risk of Israeli reprisals 

6 Aug, 2021 14:18

A pickup truck with a rocket launcher is seen in Chouya, Lebanon, August 6, 2021

© REUTERS/Karamallah Daher

Hezbollah militants suffered a backlash in southern Lebanon as villagers confronted members of the group while they were apparently moving rockets and launchers, blocking their vehicles, according to videos shared online.

On Friday, a crowd of villagers in south Lebanon reportedly took a stand against Hezbollah militants, as the Islamists trafficked their weapons between launch sites, amid an escalation in its conflict with Israel.

Local media reports that the villagers of Chouya were outraged with the Iran-backed militants, who had launched rockets at Israeli targets from locations in their village. They claim the militant group was putting the village at danger from retaliatory Israeli fire.

In videos shared online by reporters, a blue Isuzu truck laden with a rocket-loaded launcher can be seen being brought to a halt by an angry crowd, while locals challenge those transporting the weapons. 

More footage appears to show fights breaking out between residents and the alleged Hezbollah militants, including a clip of one individual being manhandled into the back of a car. Upon taking his seat in the car, the opposite door opens and the man is punched. 

Media reports suggest the villagers were from Lebanon's Druze community, followers of a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion.

The president of the municipality of the village of Chouya confirmed the incident, adding that two trucks carrying rocket launchers had been stopped and that their contents have since been seized by the army, a correspondent at the National wrote on Twitter, citing a conversation with the mayor.  

In a statement, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) said they had arrested four people in relation to the launch, but that only one launcher had been seized.

The Times of Israel, citing an alleged statement by the militant group, said Hezbollah acknowledged the events that took place in Chouya and vowed not to put such villages in danger again.

Since Wednesday, Hezbollah and Israeli forces have exchanged fire around the Blue Line that separates Israel from Lebanon. Tel Aviv has called on Beirut to take responsibility for acts of terrorism committed against Israeli citizens by Hezbollah, while Lebanon has demanded Israel refrain from its "aggressive" operations on its territory.

On Wednesday, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) called on all parties to stop the conflict from escalating further, and said it would work with the LAF to reinforce security.

Corruption is Everywhere - Big Pharma - Of Course; Google; Canadian Government; Chad Bribery

..

French health minister blasts ‘lousy’ disinformation campaign after influencers

were offered money to say Pfizer Covid jab is dangerous

25 May, 2021 09:55

A firefighter fills a syringe with a dose of the "Comirnaty" Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in a vaccination center

in Reze near Nantes as part of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccination campaign in France,

(FILE PHOTO) © REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

The French minister of health has labeled a campaign, which offered influencers €2,000 to suggest the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine is dangerous, as “lousy.” The ministry says it’s “following the events closely.”

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Health Minister Olivier Veran said he and his ministry were still unsure about the origins of the campaign which sought to damage Pfizer’s reputation. “I do not know if it comes from France or from abroad,” he noted. 

“It’s lousy, it’s dangerous, it’s irresponsible and it doesn’t work,” he stated, adding that he was confident the French people are unlikely to be “diverted” by some “negative communication.” He claimed that the majority of French people want the vaccine as soon as possible.

Veran’s comments come after several influencers said on Monday that they had been contacted by a mysterious agency called ‘Fazze’ which describes itself as an ‘influencer marketing platform’.  

The agency reportedly offered French influencers €2,000 to claim the Pfizer vaccine is dangerous. Influencer Jeremie, known as ‘Docteur JFK’ on TikTok, told FranceInfo: “I was supposed to say the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine had caused three times more deaths than AstraZeneca.” He added that the person contacting him wanted to remain anonymous and that he turned down the offer.

Gee, I wonder who could possibly have benefitted from influencers saying such things? Hmmm?

Leo Grasset, a YouTuber known as ‘DirtyBiology’, said he had also been contacted on May 24. He tweeted: “This is strange. I got offered a partnership that consists of destroying the Pfizer vaccine in a video. Huge budget, and a client that wants to stay anonymous.”

The French Ministry of Health has said it is keeping a close eye on developments and denounced the disinformation campaign.

=========================================================================================

‘Completely inappropriate’: Top scientists denounce Big Pharma for implying annual Covid booster shots are crucial

13 May, 2021 14:19

(L) Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. © Reuters / John Thys; (R) Vials with Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna coronavirus disease vaccine. © Reuters / Dado Ruvic.

More than a dozen influential infectious disease and vaccine experts say the first round of jabs may offer enough protection against Covid-19, refuting Big Pharma’s claims that regular shots will “likely” be needed.

In a report on Thursday, Reuters quotes top infectious disease and vaccine-development experts as saying that the first round of inoculation with vaccines against the original SARS-CoV-2 virus and its variants may be adequate to offer enduring protection.

The scientists also expressed concern that it’s the pharmaceutical executives rather than health specialists who are shaping public expectations around booster shots.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in April that people would “likely” need a third dose of a Covid-19 vaccine within 12 months of getting fully vaccinated, adding that yearly vaccinations would possibly be necessary. 

Is it possible that there is an expiration of efficacy built-in to the vaccines? I detest big pharma so much that nothing would surprise me.

The CEO of American vaccine manufacturer Moderna, Stephane Bancel, also said this week that a booster shot might be needed as early as this autumn.

“There is zero, and I mean zero, evidence to suggest that that is the case,” Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told Reuters. Frieden now leads the global public health initiative Resolve to Save Lives. He went on to say that it was “completely inappropriate” to state that people would need an annual booster, “because we have no idea what the likelihood of that is.”

The World Health Organization has expressed a similar view. Kate O’Brien, director of the WHO’s Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals, told the outlet that there was no data yet available “that would inform a decision about whether or not booster doses are needed.” She added that the WHO was forming a panel of experts to assess vaccine efficacy data and to recommend changes to vaccination programs if necessary.

Pfizer responded to the criticism, saying it expected that the boosters would be necessary “while the virus was still circulating widely” – a situation that could change once the pandemic is brought under control.

The group of experts has also expressed concern that wealthy nations rushing to get booster shots as early as this year would push poorer nations farther back along the queue, as they are already struggling to buy doses for their first round of jabs. 

The UN reported in April that low-income countries had received just 0.2% of all Covid-19 shots given to date. 

Global spending on Covid-19 vaccines and booster shots could total $157 billion through 2025, says the US health-data firm IQVIA Holdings. Moderna, for example, has set a goal to produce three billion doses of vaccine by next year.

Ultimately, decisions on whether booster shots will be necessary “will best be made by public health experts, rather than CEOs of a company who may benefit financially,”  said Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious diseases doctor at the University of California, San Francisco.

===========================================================================================

Google fined $120 million by Italy’s antitrust authority for abusing market position to block rival’s smartphone app

13 May, 2021 10:11

FILE PHOTO: The Google logo on the company's European headquarters in Dublin, Ireland.

© Reuters / Clodagh Kilcoyne

Italy’s competition authority has fined Google €100 million ($120 million) for abusing its market position to block the Enel X app from the Play Store.

The Autorita Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato’s (AGCM) ruling centers around the claim that Google has abused its market position, controlling the Android operating system and Play Store, to prevent a rival app, Enel X, from being made available to users.

“By refusing Enel X Italia interoperability with Android Auto, Google has unfairly limited the possibilities for end users to avail themselves of the Enel X Italia app when driving and recharging an electric vehicle,” the antitrust regulator stated.

As part of its judgement, the regulator decreed that Google must make the Enel X app, which is for individuals with electric vehicles, available on Android Auto, as not doing so would “permanently jeopardize Enel X Italia’s chances of building a solid user base,” thereby violating competition rules.

Google’s actions violated Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (EU), according to the AGCM, which bars companies from engaging in abusive behavior by holding a dominant position in a specific market.

The action by the AGCM is the latest punishment handed to the tech company for breaching rules laid out by antitrust regulators, with Google having been hit by €8.25 billion ($10 billion) in fines by the EU in the past three years.

EU investigators have been critical of Alphabet and its subsidiary for engaging in activity that they claim blocks or limits rivals on online shopping, advertising or Android smartphone platforms.

In response to the ruling, a Google spokesperson said: “We disagree with [the] authority’s decision and we will review our options.” The representative rejected the claim that it had abused its market position to block the app, arguing its “goal is to allow even more developers to make their apps available over time” but apps must comply with “strict guidelines” and safety standards before being approved.

Trudeau Is Cleared by Ethics Watchdog in WE Charity Scandal

FM Morneau did violate Canada’s conflict-of-interest act

Bloomberg News

Natalie Obiko Pearson

Publishing date: May 13, 2021 

(Bloomberg) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was cleared by Canada’s ethics watchdog for his role in awarding a no-bid government contract to a high-profile charity with ties to his family.

In a report released Thursday, Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion concluded that Trudeau didn’t give preferential treatment to WE Charity when it was selected last summer to be the sole administrator of a program to distribute C$544 million ($448 million) in pandemic aid to students. Trudeau’s finance minister at the time, however, was found to be in conflict.

The contract sparked a political uproar when it came to light that Trudeau’s wife, mother and brother had received hundreds of thousands of dollars in the past to appear at events for WE, which is led by two Canadian brothers, Craig and Marc Kielburger.

“I determined there was no friendship between Mr. Trudeau and the Kielburgers, nor was Mr​. Trudeau involved in any discussions with them leading to the decision,” Dion said. The watchdog, who began his examination last July, added that while the family connection “created the appearance of a conflict of interest,” it didn’t formally cross a line.

The report blunts a major attack on the prime minister’s character as he weighs the timing of an election, expected this year, in which he could win back his parliamentary majority. Trudeau has at times faced criticism for his judgment, and this was his third conflict-of-interest probe since taking power.

“This confirms what I have been saying from the beginning,” Trudeau said in a statement after the report’s release. The prime minister has nonetheless apologized for failing to recuse himself from the decision.

Why didn't he recuse himself? Why did he apologize if he did nothing wrong?

The WE organization was lauded over its 25-year history by Fortune 500 companies, politicians, and celebrities from Prince Harry to Oprah Winfrey, allowing the Kielburger brothers to cultivate ties with influential backers. Among those was former Finance Minister Bill Morneau, who played a more direct role in the awarding of the government’s pandemic aid program.

In a separate report, the ethics watchdog concluded that Morneau did violate Canada’s conflict-of-interest act.

“Mr. Morneau afforded WE preferential treatment by permitting members of his ministerial staff to disproportionately assist a constituent,” Dion said. “This unfettered access to the Office of the Minister of Finance was based, in my view, on the relationship between Mr. Morneau and Mr. Craig Kielburger,” who were friends, he said.

Morneau's daughter worked for WE Foundation.

Morneau abruptly resigned last August, amid a broader rift with Trudeau, after belatedly discovering that his family hadn’t paid for trips to luxury voluntourism camps where the WE organization hosts donors. He reimbursed the charity, and was cleared earlier by the watchdog for that slip.

This reminds me of the clean-up of corruption happening in Russia. I can't help but think that these acts of cleaning up corruption are restricted to people who have crossed a line, or made an enemy of more powerful oligarchs. 

What is the difference between Morneau accepting luxury trips from WE, and Trudeau doing the same from the Aga Khan?

Over the months, what began as a conflict-of-interest scandal has widened to closer scrutiny of the WE organization itself and the Kielburger brothers. Questions arose about a complex corporate structure that mixed philanthropy with for-profit activities, how funds were allocated, and whether the organization was as transparent with donors as it should have been.

Charlie Angus — an opposition New Democratic Party member of a parliamentary ethics committee that has been probing those issues separately — expressed support for the decision to clear Trudeau but said the watchdog’s findings on Morneau underscore ongoing concerns.

“The Ethics Commissioner has shone a light on how the Kielburger organization was able to have such unfettered access, right into the highest corridors of power,” he said. “They were not registered to lobby but they used the friendships that they carefully cultivated within the Liberal government to get access that no other group could have dreamed of getting.”

===========================================================================================

Former Chadian diplomats to U.S. & Canada indicted

for bribery, money laundering

By Darryl Coote

May 25 (UPI) -- A federal grand Jury has charged two former Chadian diplomats to the United States and Canada with accepting a $2 million bribe from a Canadian start-up energy company and attempting to launder the payment.

The Justice Department announced Monday that the indictment returned by the Washington, D.C., grand jury was unsealed Thursday, accusing Mahamoud Adam Bechir, the former ambassador to both Canada and the United States, and Youssouf Hamid Takane, the former deputy chief of mission to the two countries, of accepting the bribe from the company while serving in their positions between August 2009 and July 2014.

According to the indictment, the Chadian pair demanded the bribe from the unnamed Canadian company in exchange for influencing their government to assist it in obtaining oil rights.

Naeem Tyab, a Canadian citizen and founding shareholder of the involved company, was also charged in the indictment with arranging for the bribe to be paid to Bechir's wife, Nouracham Bechir Niam, who is also a co-defendant, through a "sham" contract for consulting services that were never rendered, the Justice Department said.

"The bribery and corruption of foreign officials causes grave harm to both the global economy and the interests of the United States," said Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips of the District of Columbia. "My office and the Justice Department are committed to prosecuting these violations and efforts to launder the proceeds of these crimes."

All four people face charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering while Bechir, Takane and Niam face charges of money laundering, which comes with a maximum potential sentence of 20 years imprisonment.

Naim and Tyab face charges of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which comes with a potential five years in prison.

Tyab was arrested in New York on Feb. 9, 2019, and pleaded guilty in late April that same year to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA, and forfeited some $27 million.

The other three defendants are at large, the Justice Department said.

The Boko Haram Suicide Bomber Who Survived

One Survivor's Story - Boko Haram

Halima at her residence in Bol, Chad. Boko Haram sent her out as a suicide bomber together with six others.

She didn't trigger her explosive device, but the others did and she lost both her legs in the explosion.

Till Mayer
Global Societies

With just a few meters left to go before reaching her village, Halima can hardly stand it. The 20-year-old quickens her pace when she sees the first huts, ecstatic to be back home, even if only for a brief visit. Her gait is a bit unsteady -- after all, it's not easy to walk through fine sand on two prosthetic legs.

Halima doesn't come often to the Lake Chad island of Gomerom Doumou, which lies at the southern edge of the Sahara and straddles the borders of Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria. It takes an hour and a half to travel by boat from the small town of Bol in Chad to Halima's home island, weaving through a maze of small islands and floating grass carpets.

Halima says she had a good childhood on Gomerom Doumou and she loves this bit of land, where time seems to have stood still, with its fine sand and trees that provide shade from the midday sun. With the huts made of mudbricks, wood and reeds -- and the cattle with their huge horns.

Friends of hers met Halima (center) on the beach and they walked to the village together.

Till Mayer

This tranquil life ended the day she had to follow her husband to the camps of the Boko Haram terrorist group -- and her own life nearly ended a couple of years later as a suicide bomber. She survived, but the explosion ripped off both her legs. One could forgive Halima for being furious with this village and with her family. But she no longer is.

Halima runs her hand over the wooden fence of her parents' home. But she is greeted by silence. No one from her family appears to be in the village today. Residents are often away for days, or even weeks, at a time - fishing on the lake or moving their cattle to parts of the island where grazing is better.

In the center of the village, Halima's former neighbors are sitting in the shade. They greet Mahamat Boka and her small delegation with a nod of the head. The group includes the mayor of Bol, who also works as a teacher and is instructing Halima in reading and writing, and Eli Sabuwanka, a staff member of the aid organization Humanity & Inclusion. The group arranged for Halima's prostheses.

The young woman also sits in the shade, takes off her prostheses and lays them down next to her. The stumps of her legs are aching; she has been on the move the entire day.

Halima, 20, has had to learn to come to terms with what happened to her and accept the loss of both her legs.

Till Mayer

Halima was married off at the age of 14. No one asked the girl if that's what she wanted. Her husband was only a few years older than her, and he joined the terror group Boko Haram, just like many other inhabitants of the islands on Lake Chad. A lack of prospects back home renders them vulnerable to Boko Haram and its promises to introduce harsh Sharia law and sweep aside rampant corruption.

For years, Boko Haram has been waging a violent campaign to establish an Islamic theocracy in the predominantly Muslim northeastern region of Nigeria, not far from Halima's home island. Over 27,000 people have died from attacks carried out by the terror organization during the past nine years, and 1.8 million people have been displaced.

Shortly after her marriage, Halima had to accompany her husband to the Boko Haram camps. Their first stop was a small settlement in Cameroon. "It was terrible there. There was hardly anything to eat," she says, and her husband was away most of the time with the other militants. Then came the order to leave for Nigeria.

Halima recounts how they marched through the bush for days on end, plagued by thirst and hunger, and how newborns didn't survive the journey. "The mothers simply had to leave their dead children by the roadside," she says, gazing down at the ground. She remained with Boko Haram until Dec. 22, 2015 -- the day of the attack.

'If You Don't Go, We'll Kill You'

Halima had already related her story in the community center in Bol, where she now lives, her teacher Mahamat Boka telling much of the harrowing story as Halima nodded to confirm his account. Occasionally, she would jump in to explain things in more detail. When the story turns to her selection as a "kamikaze," she jumps in and says: "Actually, my husband should have gone, but he didn't want to." Anger briefly flares in Halima's eyes, then she seems absent for a moment.

Halima at her residence in Bol, Chad. Boko Haram sent her out as a suicide bomber together with six others. She didn't trigger her explosive device, but the others did and she lost both her legs in the explosion.

She is profoundly devout, and she was always the first to arrive for the Koran lessons in Nigeria. But then, the marabout -- an Islamic holy man -- told her that she would go straight to Paradise if she became a "kamikaze." Halima, though, didn't believe that a suicide bombing could be the will of God. Still a teenager at the time, she loved life and was quick to laugh.

"If you don't go, we'll kill you," the Boko Haram men told her. On seven different occasions, Halima tried to escape, she says, but she was caught each time. After the last failed attempt, one of the militants told her: If you flee again, we'll slaughter you like an animal."

Then came the day when they were sent out, four men and two other women. Halima had hoped she might be able to use this opportunity to escape, but she and the others were drugged. "It was like I was only half aware of what was going on," she recalls. The explosive devices were packed in knapsacks and bags, Halima was carrying hers in a plastic bag. Some of the others had suicide belts strapped to their bodies.

Rickety wooden boats ply the waters of Lake Chad.

Till Mayer

They traveled that way across the lake toward Chad, an arduous, three-day journey. When sand crunched under the hull, they knew that they had finally reached the mainland. They had been ordered to set off their bombs on market day in Iga, near the small town of Bol. "It was dark when we went ashore in Chad," says Halima, but village guards discovered the group as they tried to make their way forward under the cover of darkness.

"Then they surrounded us," says Halima. At that moment, she was a short distance away from the group, praying. Her plastic bag full of explosives was with the others - who detonated their bombs when they realized they were encircled. Halima was the only one who survived, though the explosion ripped off both her legs. Another member of the group had his head torn off in the blast. None of the villagers died, but some were injured by shrapnel.

Saved by Those She Was Supposed to Kill

The villagers saved Halima, even though she was one of the "kamikazes." She suffered severe blood loss and it's something of a miracle that she managed to survive the first hours after the explosion.

"Many people in Bol today know my story and are good to me," says Halima. She also received support from the United Nations and aid organizations. She gradually had to learn to accept her disabled body, come to terms with what she had experienced and control her emotions.

But the young woman also has a goal. "I'm determined to learn how to read and write well," she says. Humanity & Inclusion staff member Fanjanirina Ratsiferana says: "I met her when she was dragging herself on her stumps to an elementary school for lessons." Now Halima has prostheses and, with support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF), is being taught at a small, modest private school. She won't be returning to her home island for the time being.

Halima is now learning to read and write. She believes that education is the best weapon against Boko Haram.

Till Mayer

Very few people on Gomerom Doumou can read and write. "Our village has to develop and engage in trade. It needs a proper school with enough teachers," says Halima during her visit to the island. She knows that only if progress comes to her village will men from there stop joining Boko Haram, women will no longer be abducted, and girls will no longer be married against their will.

Then it's time to go and her old neighbors fetch a donkey cart to help Halima make her way back to the boat. The 20-year-old savors every moment in her home village, and as the boat engine roars, she buries her face in her hands.

The boat picks up speed and eventually, other islands block the view of Gomerom Doumou. Halima lies down on the rough boards at the bottom of the boat and falls asleep, completely exhausted.

Boko Haram Leader Shekau Replaced, Whereabouts Unknown

Only time will tell what this means for the poor people of northeast Nigeria

Islamic State announces new Boko Haram leader

Abu Musab al-Barnawi was described as the

Islamic State's new 'governor' in West Africa.

By Ed Adamczyk 

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, pictured, was replaced by Abu Musab al-Barnawi, the Islamic State announced with no mention of Shekau's whereabouts. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

ABUJA, Nigeria, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Boko Haram, the Islamist insurgent group in Nigeria affiliated with the Islamic State, has a new leader, IS announced.

Abu Musab al-Barwani, formerly Boko Haram's spokesman, was identified in the weekly IS magazine Naba as its West African "governor." The magazine did not mention the whereabouts of the previous Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau.

In a seven-year campaign to install a Muslim caliphate in Nigeria, over 20,000 people have been killed and millions have fled the country. The continued fighting provoked a humanitarian crisis, with the United Nations and other agencies delivering food and medicine and warning of calamity if more aid is not delivered. A concerted campaign in the past 18 months, by Nigerian forces and coalition troops from neighboring countries, has severely weakened Boko Haram and taken back much of the territory it previously conquered; the insurgent group's response has been to take its fight to neighboring Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

Little is known about Barnawi, who appeared in a 2015 Boko Haram video with a soft-spoken demeanor and his face blurred. The fate of his predecessor, Shekau, is equally mysterious. Known for his blustery, braggart manner, he has been declared killed by Nigerian forces several times, only to reappear in Boko Haram propaganda videos. He was most recently heard in an August 2015 announcement, saying that he remains alive. But he has not been seen since Boko Haram announced its alignment with IS in 2015.

Chad's Ex-Ruler Sentenced to Life in Prison

Former Chad ruler Hissene Habre was sentenced to life in prison in Dakkar, Senegal, on Monday. Photo from Senegal television

By Allen Cone

DAKAR, Senegal, May 30 (UPI) -- Chad's former leader, who was accused of being responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people during his rule from 1982 to 1990, was sentenced Monday to life in prison.

Hissene Habre had fled to Senegal after being toppled in a coup in 1990 in the central African nation.

"Hissene Habre, this court finds you guilty of crimes against humanity, rape, forced slavery, and kidnapping," as well as war crimes, said Gberdao Gustave Kam, Burkinabe president of the Extraordinary African Chamber court in Senegal. "The court condemns you to life in prison."

In 2013, a court in Chad sentenced him to death in absentia for crimes against humanity.

Kam gave Habre 15 days to appeal the latest sentence.

Habre shouted "Down with France-afrique!" referring to the term used for France's continuing influence on its former colonies as he raised raised his arms into the air after the verdict.

Habre was physically dragged into the courtroom when the trial started last July.

Victims and families of those killed cheered and embraced each other after the verdict.

"The feeling is one of complete satisfaction," said Clement Abeifouta, president of a Habre survivors association.

An African Union-backed court hadn't previously tried a former ruler for human rights abuses.

After living in exile in Senegal for 22 years, Habre was detained in Dakar in July 2013.

Habre frequently disrupted proceedings, refusing to recognize its legitimacy.

He denied the mass killings.

Survivors gave gruesome details of torture by Habre's secret police. Victims suffered electric shocks, near-asphyxia, cigarette burns and gas squirted into their eyes. Some had their heads placed between sticks joined by rope, which was then twisted.

Men Dressed in Burqas Kill Nearly 30 in Chad and Cameroon

“Suicide attacks killed at least 12 in northern Cameroon: source,”
Reuters, July 12, 2015

YAOUNDE, Chad (Reuters) – At least a dozen civilians and a Chadian soldier were killed in two suicide attacks by suspected Boko Haram militants in the northern Cameroon town of Fotokol late on Sunday, a senior Cameroonian military officer said.

The first explosion went off inside a bar near a Cameroon special forces (BIR) camp just after sundown as many were breaking the Ramadan fast, the officer said, asking not to be named….

L’Oeil du Sahel, a newspaper in northern Cameroon, said the two attackers wore burqas.

Islamist group Boko Haram, which launched an insurgency six years ago to carve out an emirate in northeast Nigeria, has also stepped up attacks in neighbouring Chad, Cameroon and Niger in recent months.

The group is suspected of launching a similar attack in Chad’s capital, about 60 km (37 miles) east of Fotokol, on Saturday. A man dressed in a woman’s burqa blew himself up in the main market killing 15 people.

Chadian police on Sunday warned that anyone found wearing the Muslim full-face veil would be arrested.

“The best acts that bring you closer to God are jihad, so hurry to it and make sure to carry out the invasion this holy month and be exposed to martyrdom in it,” so said Islamic State spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani as Ramadan began several weeks ago.

'About 500' Nigerian Children Abducted by Boko Haram

Abubakr Shekau, leader Boko Haram

About 500 children aged 11 and under are missing from a Nigerian town recaptured from militants, a former resident of Damasak has told the BBC.

A trader in the north-eastern town told Reuters news agency that Boko Haram fighters took the children with them when they fled.

Troops from Niger and Chad seized Damasak earlier in March, ending months of control by the Islamist militants.

A regional force has recently been helping Nigeria take on the insurgents.

'Helping' is an interesting choice of words. Damasak was won by troops from Chad and Niger, no mention of Nigerian troops. If recent history is any indication, Nigerian troops couldn't take an empty outhouse.

The senator representing the north of Borno state, Maina Maaji Lawan, told the BBC's Nigeria correspondent, Will Ross, the case in Damasak was typical and many hundreds of children are missing.

He said: "The very young ones they give to madrassas… and male ones between 16 and 25, they conscript them and they indoctrinate them as supply channels for their horrible missions."

No mention what they do with the girls, but I think we already know. God have mercy on them!

Boko Haram caused international outrage in April 2014 after it abducted more than 200 girls from a boarding school in Chibok town in north-eastern Nigeria's Borno state.

The group's leader Abubakar Shekau has said the girls have been married off.

Chadian soldiers drive in the recently retaken town of Damasak
Regional troops have played a key role in recapturing territory from Boko Haram

A girl stands in front of soldiers from Niger and Chad in the recently retaken
town of Damasak. The group is opposed to children receiving a
secular education, alleging that it corrupts their religious beliefs

Damasak is a trading town in Borno state near Niger's border and is about 200km (120 miles) from the state's main city of Maiduguri.

It was overrun by the militants, who began their insurgency in 2009 to create an Islamic state, at the end of last year.

'Decomposing bodies'
Damasak businessman Malam Ali, whose brother is among those missing, told the BBC Hausa Service that young boys had been put in a madrassa, or Islamic school, by Boko Haram when they took over the town.

Following the recapture of the town, those boys had not been accounted for, he said.

The BBC's Will Ross reports from Nigeria's main city, Lagos, that the conflict has torn many families apart.

As towns have changed hands it has been impossible to work out how many people have been killed and how many are missing, he adds.

Last week, the decomposing bodies of more than 70 people were discovered under a bridge near Damasak the town.

It is widely believed that these were civilians killed by the militants, our correspondent says.

Boko Haram promotes a version of Islam which makes it "haram", or forbidden, for Muslims to take part in any political or social activity associated with Western society.

Earlier this month, the group pledged allegiance to Islamic State militants, who control large parts of Syria and Iraq and are also active in Libya.

Boko Haram: At Least 70 Bodies in Mass Grave, More Empty Promises

Chadian soldiers drive in the recently retaken town of Damasak, Nigeria

From BBC Africa

Chadian and Nigerien troops liberated Damasak, which is near the border with Niger, on Saturday.

A mass grave containing at least 70 bodies has been found in the Nigerian town recently retaken from Boko Haram, soldiers from Niger and Chad say.

They say they found it in Damasak, a town in north-eastern Nigeria they entered on Saturday, ending months of control by the militant Islamists.

Earlier, Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan predicted Boko Haram would lose all territory within a month.

"They are getting weaker and weaker by the day," he told the BBC on Friday.

President Goodluck Jonathan: "I'm very hopeful that it will not take us more than a month to recover the old territories".

Two things to say here:

1. Why in the world would anybody believe anything that comes out of his mouth. I've been writing about him for a year and I haven't found one truthful statement in that time. If there is any truth in the man's head, it is totally disconnected from his mouth.

2. If he actually means it, it means a massive assault in which the hundreds of Chibok girls and other kidnapped girls would almost certainly suffer some casualties. It appears Jonathon believes enough time has passed that the welfare of the girls is no longer an issue. Not that it ever was an issue for Jonathon.

Damasak is a trading town in Borno state near Niger's border and is about 200km (125 miles) from state's main city of Maiduguri.

It was overrun by the militants, who began their insurgency in 2009 to create an Islamic state, at the end of last year.

The victims found in the mass grave in Damasak, many with their throats slit and some decapitated, may have been killed some time ago, reports suggest.

Chadian army Col Azem Bermandoa Agouna told the AFP news agency that he had visited the grave and seen "about 100 bodies spread under a bridge just outside the town".

Together with the Nigerian army, forces from Chad, Niger and Cameroon are involved in an offensive against the Islamist insurgents who began taking over territory about a year ago - after being pushed out of their base in Maiduguri.

Nigeria is preparing to hold presidential elections on 28 March after security concerns led to a postponement of the original date in mid-February.

'Under-rated external influence'

President Jonathan's government has been heavily criticised for its failure to end the six-year insurgency in the north-east.

He admitted that the government has been surprised by the group's progress.

Wanted poster for Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau in Maiduguri, Nigeria

Boko Haram at a glance:

Founded in 2002, initially focused on opposing Western-style education - 
      Boko Haram means, "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language
Launched military operations in 2009 to create an Islamic state
Thousands killed, mostly in north-eastern Nigeria - has also attacked police and 
      UN headquarters in capital, Abuja
Abducted hundreds, including at least 200 schoolgirls
Controls several north-eastern towns
Launched attacks on neighbouring states