NIGERIAN ISLAMIST MILITANT LEADER KILLED IN CUSTODY

Nigerian government officials said Mohammed Yusuf, 39, was shot while trying to escape. His capture by police had been announced just hours earlier.

His group is blamed for days of unrest that has left hundreds of people dead. The Boko Haram group wants to overthrow the Nigerian government and impose a strict version of Islamic law.

Mr Yusuf was held and later shot in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri. Human rights campaigners have voiced concern over the death of the leader of an Islamic sect in Nigerian police custody, calling it “unlawful” killing.

Bilkisu Babangida in Maiduguri, a Nigerian journalist says that “at about 4pm I was about to leave for home with the rest of the journalists. We received a phone call to return back to the government house because the man, Mohammed Yusuf had been captured.

So we rushed up to that place. We heard some gunshots from somewhere, and then we were told that the man had been “executed” at the police headquarters, at about 7pm.

I saw a video and after that I rushed to the police headquarters and I saw the corpse. I even photographed the corpse of Mohammed Yusuf.

Earlier journalists were shown two films, one apparently showing Mr Yusuf making a confession; the other showing what appeared to be his body, riddled with bullets.

“Mohammed Yusuf was killed by security forces in a shootout while trying to escape,” the regional police assistant inspector-general, Moses Anegbode, told Nigerian television.

A spokesman for the state governor was also quoted as saying that Mr Yusuf had been trying to escape.

One policeman told AFP news agency Mr Yusuf had “pleaded for mercy and forgiveness before he was shot.”

Troops had stormed the stronghold of Boko Haram – sometimes referred to as Taliban – on Wednesday night, killing many of the militants and forcing others to flee.

Mr Yusuf was arrested on Thursday after reportedly being found hiding in a goat pen at his parents-in-law’s house.

Staff at Human Rights Watch said there should be an immediate investigation into the case.

“The extrajudicial killing of Mr Yusuf in police custody is a shocking example of the brazen contempt by the Nigerian police for the rule of law,” said Human Rights Watch’s Eric Guttschuss. Yusuf’s death also deprives intelligence agencies of the opportunity to question him about possible links to other militant groups outside Nigeria.

Another Human Rights Watch researcher, Corinne Dufka, told AP news agency: “The Nigerian authorities must act immediately to investigate and hold to account all those responsible for this unlawful killing and any others associated with the recent violence in northern Nigeria.”

The violence began on Sunday night in Bauchi state, before spreading to other towns and cities in the northeast of the West African nation.

Crowds of militants tried to storm government buildings and the city’s police headquarters, but dozens of them were shot dead by security forces.

Several days of gun battles between militants and Nigerian security forces ensued, culminating in the assault on the militant’s stronghold.

It is thought more than 300 people have died in the violence – some estimates say 600, although there has been no official confirmation.

The Red Cross said about 3,500 people had fled the fighting and were being housed in their camp.

Witnesses and human rights groups have accused the military of excessive violence in quelling the militants, but the army says it used a minimal amount of force.

Around a dozen soldiers, police officers and prison officials are among the hundreds killed in the unrest, while the remainder of the dead largely consist of suspected Boko Haram followers, according to police.

National defense spokesman Colonel Mohammed Yerima said there would be a military “show of force” on Friday to reassure civilians that they would be protected.

CABLE DAMAGE CUTS INTERNET TO WEST AFRICA

The fault has caused severe problems in Benin, Togo, Niger and Nigeria.

The blackout is thought to have been caused by damage to the SAT-3 cable which runs from Portugal and Spain to South Africa, via West Africa.

Around 70% of Nigeria’s bandwidth was cut, causing severe problems for its banking sector, government and mobile phone networks.

“SAT-3 is currently the only fibre optic cable serving West Africa,” explained Ladi Okuneye, chief marketing officer of Suburban Telecoms, which provides the majority of Nigeria’s bandwidth.

“So all West African countries have to use it.”

Companies were being forced to use alternatives – such as using satellite links – to maintain connections to the rest of the world, he said.

Telkom South Africa, one of the shareholders of SAT-3, has not said what caused the problems but said it was aware of “a cable fault on the Benin branch that is being investigated”.

The 15,000km (9,300mile) SAT-3 cable lands in eight West African countries as it winds its way between Europe and South Africa.

“The rest of the system is unaffected by this fault,” a Telkom South Africa representative said.

Nigeria has been badly hit because around 70% of its bandwidth is routed through neighbouring Benin.

The network, run by Suburban Telecom, was set up to bypass Nigeria’s principal telecoms operator Nitel which runs the SAT-3 branch cable which lands in Nigeria.

The SAT-3 consortium is in the process of sending a ship from Cape Town in South Africa to the area to investigate the fault.

Mr Okuneye said that by the time the relevant paperwork was done, it was likely to be “two weeks” before the ship arrived off the coast.

Meanwhile, Benin has been able to reroute its net traffic through neighbouring countries to get back online.

Mr Okuneye said his company was hoping to do the same but said the process would be slower because its bandwidth requirements were so much larger than those of the small republic.

Togo and Niger, which are not part of the SAT-3 consortium, remain offline.

SOURCED FROM BBC

//

US DANGLES AXE OVER ERITREA

The US has warned Eritrea that it will face sanctions if it does not withdraw its backing for insurgents fighting the fragile UN-backed Somali government.

US envoy to the UN Susan Rice told a Congress committee that Eritrea’s actions would not be tolerated.

In April the African Union, another backer of the Somali government, also called for sanctions over the issue.

But Eritrean officials have repeatedly denied the allegations, calling them a “fabrication” of US intelligence.

The country suspended its membership of the AU in protest at the sanctions call in April.

Ms Rice said the nation was running out of time to avoid strict measures from the Security Council.

“There is a very short window for Eritrea to signal through its actions that it wishes a better relationship with the United States and indeed the wider international community,” she said.

“If we do not see signs of that signal in short order, I can assure you that we will be taking appropriate steps with partners in Africa and the Security Council.”

US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton is due to visit the region next week, when she is expected to meet Somalia’s President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in neighbouring Kenya.

The UN has frequently expressed concern about the flow of arms into Somalia, where hard-line Islamists of al-Shabab and Hisbul-Islam are battling with government forces for control of the capital Mogadishu.

Somalia has been subject to a UN arms embargo for many years but weapons are still freely available in the Mogadishu weapons market.

President Ahmed, a moderate Islamist, was elected by a unity government in January as part of a UN-backed peace initiative.

However, radical Islamists have since gained ground and control much of the south.

Somalia has been mired in civil war for 18 years.

SOURCED FROM BBC

DUTCH CITIZENS ARRESTED IN KENYA OVER SOMALI INSURGENCY

Four Dutch nationals have been arrested in Kenya on suspicion of aiding insurgents in Somalia.

The four 21-year-olds, three born in Morocco, the other in Somalia, were stopped by Kenyan police as they were heading for the border.

The local police were not satisfied with their claims to be tourists.

There have been a series of recent reports that young men from the US, Europe and South Asia have joined the Somali insurgents in a “holy war”.

Lamu District Commissioner Stephen Ikua told the BBC the four had travelled by boat from Lamu island before hiring a tractor.

He said it was possible they were headed to Somalia to assist one of the insurgent groups there and they would be interrogated in Nairobi.

The Kenyan authorities say they have arrested and deported several other young men from Tanzania and the United States in the same area for the same reason.

BBC East Africa correspondent Will Ross says in recent months eyewitnesses in Somalia have reported seeing foreigners amongst the insurgent fighters known as al-Shabab.

Al-Shabab wants to overthrow the UN-backed transitional government in Somalia and put in place strict Islamic law.

The hardline Islamists control much of southern Somalia.

Foreigners have headed to Somalia to take part in what they consider a holy war or jihad.

The authorities in Minnesota in the United States are investigating claims that several young men were lured to Somalia to fight.

Since early May, the fighting between the insurgents and the forces loyal to Somalia’s government has displaced nearly 250,000 people.

SOURCED FROM BBC

NIGERIAN ISLAMISTS FLEE AS SOLDIERS RANSACK CAMPS

Members of a Nigerian radical Islamist sect are fleeing the northern city of Maiduguri after the military overran their enclave, reports say.

The army has stormed the base of Boko Haram’s leader, killing the deputy, militants are fleeing the city and the military says it now has the upper hand.

The move came after the military drafted in 1,000 extra soldiers.

Earlier reports said the army had lost ground to militants who were using civilians as human shields.

At one point the local authorities said sect members had taken over six districts of the city.

A BBC correspondent says the authorities have been surprised by the support the militants have been able to gather.

Boko Haram says it is fighting against Western education. It believes Nigeria’s government is being corrupted by Western ideas and wants to see Taliban-style rule imposed across Nigeria.

More than 200 people have been killed in four days of clashes since an estimated 1,000 well-armed militants began attacking police stations and government buildings in Maiduguri.

President Umaru Yar’Adua earlier ordered Nigeria’s national security agencies to take all necessary action to contain and repel attacks by the extremists.

The officer commanding the operation, Col Ben Ahanotu, said on Wednesday night: “We have taken over their enclave, they are on the run and we are going after them,” reports AFP news agency.

The military told the BBC personal items found on the bodies of young men indicated that many had come from neighbouring Chad and Niger.

Security forces flooded into Maiduguri and began shelling sect leader Mohammed Yusuf’s compound on Tuesday.

Fierce fighting continued through the night and into Wednesday with the militants returning heavy gunfire.

Also on Wednesday, police freed about 100 women and children who were being held by the sect in a building in Maiduguri.

The captives told the BBC they had been held for six days, living on dates and water.

Many of the women said their husbands were Boko Haram followers, and they had been forced to travel to Maiduguri from other parts of Nigeria.

Four states in northern Nigeria have been affected by Boko Haram unrest – Borno, Bauchi, Kano and Yobe.

A total of 103 deaths were officially reported in Maiduguri and reports say more than 50 people died in Bauchi and Yobe, but the true number of casualties may be much greater. There were also reports of Christian churches being torched.

Sharia law is in place across northern Nigeria, but there is no history of al-Qaeda-linked violence in the country.

The country’s 150 million people are split almost equally between Muslims in the north and Christians in the south.

SOURCED FROM BBC

KENYA’S LEADERS MEET OVER POST ELECTION COURT

Kenya said President Mwai Kibaki’s cabinet would meet again on Thursday in a third attempt to try and reach agreement on a local tribunal to deal with perpetrators of last year’s post-election violence.In a debate being closely watched by foreign donors, Kenyans and local markets alike, ministers have twice this month failed to agree on the details of a domestic court.

If they fail, the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) may take over the case following the explosion of violence in early 2008 that killed at least 1,300 people, uprooted more than 300,000 and badly damaged east Africa’s largest economy.

A statement from Kibaki’s office said local newspaper reports that Cabinet was due to meet on Monday were wrong, with the next session in fact due for Thursday.

Politicians stoked tribal tensions prior to the December 27, 2007, presidential vote that touched off the crisis, and activists say a handful of prominent Kenyans — including several sitting ministers — should face justice.

SOURCED FROM REUTERS

Print | Close this window

Kenya cabinet to meet on Thurs over violence court

Mon Jul 27, 2009 9:16am GMT

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya said President Mwai Kibaki’s cabinet would meet again on Thursday in a third attempt to try and reach agreement on a local tribunal to deal with perpetrators of last year’s post-election violence.

In a debate being closely watched by foreign donors, Kenyans and local markets alike, ministers have twice this month failed to agree on the details of a domestic court.

If they fail, the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) may take over the case following the explosion of violence in early 2008 that killed at least 1,300 people, uprooted more than 300,000 and badly damaged east Africa’s largest economy.

A statement from Kibaki’s office said local newspaper reports that Cabinet was due to meet on Monday were wrong, with the next session in fact due for Thursday.

Politicians stoked tribal tensions prior to the December 27, 2007, presidential vote that touched off the crisis, and activists say a handful of prominent Kenyans — including several sitting ministers — should face justice.

© Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. Users may download and print extracts of content from this website for their own personal and non-commercial use only. Republication or redistribution of Thomson Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters and its logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Thomson Reuters group of companies around the world.

Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.

// // 0)
{
_org=”Reuters”;
Rapt_Track(“z=africa.reuters.com,as=” + raptAs);
}
// ]]>// // <div><img alt=”DCSIMG” id=”DCSIMG” width=”1″ height=”1″ src=”http://statse.webtrendslive.com/dcsncwimc10000kzgoor3wv9x_3f2v/njs.gif?dcsuri=/nojavascript&WT.js=No&WT.tv=8.6.0″/></div> // “);
DM_tag();
// ]]>

GUINEA BISSAU HOLDS RUN-OFF ELECTION

Guinea-Bissau has held a run-off vote to replace President Joao Bernardo Vieira, who was assassinated in March.

The poll pits two former heads of state against each other – Malam Bacai Sanha, seen as the favourite, and Kumba Yala.

Guinea-Bissau has a history of coups and its people say they are tired of broken promises and violence, a BBC correspondent reports.

President Vieira was killed in March in apparent revenge for the death of the head of the army in a bomb blast.

Mr Vieira led Guinea-Bissau for most of the period after independence from Portugal in 1974 – serving as president for a total of 23 years between 1980 and 2009.

There were no reported incidents of violence during Sunday’s voting, and turnout among the 600,000 registered voters was estimated to be similar to the first round at around 60%.

The first round of polling on 28 June saw Mr Sanha win nearly 40% of ballots, 10% more than Mr Yala, the AFP news agency reports.

When the two faced off in 2000, Mr Yala emerged as the winner.

In their final campaign rallies, both men repeated promises to bring peace and stability to the country.

Mr Sanha, who served as interim president from 1999-2000, is the candidate of the ruling PAIGC, the party of the 1970s struggle against Portuguese colonial rule.

This is the third time he has stood for president, having been defeated once by Koumba Yala and in 2005 by Mr Vieira.

His motto is “Hora Tchica” – meaning “the time has come”.

Mr Yala, who was overthrown in a 2003 coup, is the leader of the opposition PRS.

Many Bissau-Guineans hold him responsible for changing the political and economic course of the country for the worse, the BBC’s Luis Cardador says.

During Mr Yala’s presidency, the IMF and the World Bank suspended aid to the country after accusations of mismanagement and a string of sackings in the government.

But he is believed to have wide support within the military.

Guinea-Bissau is cash-starved and heavily dependent on just one product – the cashew nut.

In recent years it has become a major transit point in drug smuggling between South America and Europe.

SOURCED FROM BBC

SOUTH AFRICA SET FOR WEEK OF STRIKES

South Africa is bracing itself for a week in which bus, train and municipal workers are all set to go on strike.

The industrial action will see more than 160,000 people stop work in support of claims for higher wages.

This is the latest in a series of challenges for South Africa’s new President Jacob Zuma, who has called for understanding from workers.

There were violent demonstrations in several townships last week, during which some 200 people were arrested.

It is proving to be a cold and difficult winter for Jacob Zuma.

Just two months after taking power, he is facing South Africa’s first recession since the end of apartheid.

Crowd-pleasing promises are proving hard to keep.

An early pledge to create 500,000 new jobs has already been retracted and demonstrations in the townships turned violent this month over long-held grievances about the delivery of services and housing.

As if that wasn’t enough, this is strike season.

On Monday, 150,000 municipal employees responsible for, among other things, rubbish collection and the city police will refuse to work after being denied a 15% wage increase.

A separate strike by transport workers will see most train and bus services grind to a halt.

Several other unions say they are considering their options.

SOURCED FROM BBC

39 KILLED IN NIGERIA’S RELIGIOUS UNREST; VIOLENCE SPREADS

Islamist militants have attacked Nigerian police in two more northern states, after at least 39 people were killed on Sunday.

Eyewitnesses told the BBC a gun battle had raged for hours in Potiskum, Yobe State and a police station set on fire.

In neighbouring Borno State, a self-styled “Taliban” group which has staged previous attacks also clashed with the security forces.

A curfew has been imposed in Bauchi city, after Sunday’s violence.

Sharia law is in place across northern Nigeria but there is no history of al-Qaeda linked violence in the country.

Nigeria’s 140 million people are split almost equally between Muslims and Christians and the two groups generally live peacefully side by side.

It is not clear if Monday’s attacks are linked to the violence on Sunday, which was carried out by a different group.

However the BBC’s Ahmed Idris in Abuja says both the Taleban and Boko Haram, the group in Bauchi, campaign against Western-style education.

The security forces have confirmed the attacks but have not released any casualty figures.

Medical sources have told the BBC that two police officers have been taken to hospital in Potiskum.

SOURCED FROM BBC

ALGERIANS OBSERVE WEEKENDS ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY FOR THE FIRST TIME

Algeria’s government has decided to break with the 33-year-old practice of observing the weekend on Thursdays and Fridays, a move investors greeted as a step to improving the difficult business climate.

Algeria is a major exporter of oil and gas but outside its energy sector, growth and investment have been modest. Business people blame heavy state regulation that makes it tough to trade with the outside world.

The Algerian cabinet ruled that starting from next month the official weekend would be moved to Friday and Saturday — in line with the practice in many Middle Eastern states.

“It’s excellent news. It will reconnect Algeria with the world,” said Lyes Kahouadji, a financial specialist at Algerian consultancy Strategica, part-owned by Deutsche Bank Group.

Investors complain that having the weekend on Thursdays and Fridays, with Saturdays and Sundays as working days, meant they only had three days a week to conduct business with partners outside Algeria.

The practice had been costing Algeria between $500 and $700 million in lost business each year, according to estimates from business lobby groups.

Saudi Arabia and Yemen also mark the weekend on Thursday and Friday. Kuwait switched to a Friday-Saturday weekend two years ago as part of efforts to promote its non-oil economy.

Friday is a day off in large parts of the Muslim world to allow people to attend prayers at the mosque.

SOURCED FROM REUTERS