Connect with us

Musings From Abroad

ISIS making Nigeria fertile ground for training of jihadists

Battle-hardened jihadists from Syria may be sneaking into Nigeria to train terrorists for possible attacks in Britain, The Sun UK claims

Published

on

Battle-hardened jihadists from Syria may be sneaking into Nigeria to train terrorists for possible attacks in Britain, The Sun UK claims.

The report also alleges that fanatics, including Boko Haram insurgents, were also being sent to the Middle East for training in a chilling “exchange programme.”

The paper said there were fears that strong links between Nigeria and the UK would make it easier for IS to send its killers to Britain to orchestrate terror attacks, death and destruction.

It noted that more than 150 British troops are conducting counter-terror training with Nigerian forces in an attempt to stem the bloody tide — and stop IS from taking hold in the West African region.

At one training mission in Kaduna, a senior Nigerian Air Force commander revealed how local jihadi groups were learning from IS after swearing allegiance to its black flag.

Group Captain Isaac Subi, 46, who has been fighting terrorism across Africa since 1991, said, “They come and train their fighters here and some of our insurgents too are granted access to their training in Yemen and Syria, acquiring those skills and they come back and teach others.

“They have this exchange programme of fighters.”

The report stated that the poisonous influence of the fighters had already ended in horror attacks on British streets, citing the stabbing to death of Fusilier Lee Rigby in 2013 in London by Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, both of Nigerian descent.

The Nigeria Immigration Service spokesman, Sunday James, said the agency has strengthened border security to ensure that “no foreign entity is allowed by whatever means into the country by land, air or waterways.”

He added in a statement that NIS operatives have been proactive, “going by the several arrests in recent past around the country by the Special Border Patrol Corps operatives of the NIS trained and deployed to carry out reconnaissance patrol.”

Musings From Abroad

WHO ‘very worried’ over spread of Mpox varieties in Congo DR 

Published

on

A senior official of the World Health Organization (WHO), Rosamund Lewis, has said that the body is “very worried” about the spread of a variety of Mpox that has killed nearly 600 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo this year.

This year alone, Congo DR has reported 13,000 cases, which is more than twice as many as during the last peak in 2020, with the disease occurring in almost every province. The WHO is working with the authorities on the response and a risk assessment.

The dangerous clade mpox outbreak was the subject of a warning released by the U.S. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday.

“The virus variant is known to be more virulent. If it adapts better to human-to-human transmission, that presents a risk,” Lewis, WHO’s mpox lead, told journalists.

WHO in May announced that the disease was no longer a global health emergency after which its director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, declared the end of the emergency status for the disease.

Most reported cases of the disease were identified through sexual health or other health services in primary or secondary healthcare facilities, and involved mainly, but not exclusively, men who have sex with men.

A less severe form known as clade II started to spread around the world last year, mostly through male-to-male sexual contact, prompting WHO to declare a public health emergency.

Lewis expressed concern over new evidence suggesting that clade I can also spread through sexual contact. According to her, mumps can also infect humans through contaminated animals or family members living together in a home. Children and those with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable; in up to 10% of cases of clade I, illness results in death.

“We have very little information of who is dying of mpox [in DRC] other than age,” said Lewis, adding more data was needed.

The viral infection known as mpox spreads by intimate contact and results in lesions filled with pus and flu-like symptoms. Although most cases are mild and can be fatal.

Continue Reading

Musings From Abroad

Sudan Conflict: US insists all warring parties guilty of war crimes

Published

on

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, has maintained that neither party in the ongoing conflict in Sudan can be exonerated from war crimes.

The position was made known on Wednesday as the US continues pressure on the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to end fighting that has caused a humanitarian crisis. The US also insisted that the RSF and allied militias committed crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.

“The expansion of the needless conflict between the RSF and the SAF has caused grievous human suffering,” Blinken said, referring to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). In West Darfur, the RSF has also been charged with spearheading an ethnic massacre; in the capital city of Khartoum, locals have accused the paramilitary group of raping, stealing, and detaining civilians.

“Masalit civilians have been hunted down and left for dead in the streets, their homes set on fire, and told that there is no place in Sudan for them,” Blinken said. The Masalit are a non-Arab tribe.

“Detainees have been abused, and some have been killed at SAF and RSF detention sites,” Blinken added.

A war broke out in mid-April between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) over plans for a political transition and the integration of the RSF into the military, four years after longtime ruler, Omar al-Bashir, was overthrown in an uprising.

Blinken, however, maintained that the position did not rule out the possibility of other determinations in the future as more information became available.

“The United States is committed to building on this determination and using available tools to end this conflict and cease committing the atrocities and other abuses that are depriving the Sudanese people of freedom, peace, and justice,” Blinken said.

Over 6 million people have fled their homes as a result of the conflict, and about 1.2 million of them have entered neighbouring countries, severely straining the resources of Sudan and its neighbours.

Continue Reading

EDITOR’S PICK

Politics56 mins ago

Zambian govt says no plan to remove Christian nation clause from constitution

Zambian Vice President Mutale Nalumango has maintained that the ruling party, the United Party for National Development (UPND), has adopted...

Strictly Personal2 hours ago

Zambia’s Fiscal Dilemma, State Compensation Ethics and Treasury Stability, By Misheck Kakonde

The recent judgments overseen by the Attorney General in compensating individuals like Hon. Mwaliteta, Hon. Frank Tayali, Mr. William Banda,...

Politics2 hours ago

Uganda begins withdrawal of troops from eastern Congo DR

Uganda has started the withdrawal of 1,000 troops deployed for a regional peacekeeping mission in the Eastern Democratic Republic of...

Behind the News2 hours ago

Behind the News: All the backstories to our major news this week

Over the past week, there were lots of important stories from around the African continent, and we served you some...

VenturesNow2 hours ago

Somalia secures $4.5bn debt relief from lenders

After a decade-long process of negotiations and reforms with creditors, Somalia has finally secured a $4.5 billion debt write-off from...

Metro3 hours ago

President Hichilema warns Zambian procurement officials against corruption in handling govt contracts

Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema has warned procurement officers handling government contracts against engaging in corrupt practices while carrying out their...

VenturesNow9 hours ago

IMF advises Nigeria’s central bank to raise Monetary Policy Rate

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged Nigeria’s central bank (CBN) to further hike Monetary Policy Rate (MPR). The IMF...

Metro10 hours ago

Nigeria’s VP Shettima admits hardship, poverty, pleads for patience

Vice President Kashim Shettima of Nigeria has become the first official in the President Bola Tinubu’s administration to admit that...

Sports1 day ago

South Africa to host Ireland in Rugby Two-Test summer tour

Current Rubgy World Cup champions, South Africa, will host Ireland, in a two-Test series in July, 2024, which will be...

Metro1 day ago

DR Congo: President Tshisekedi says Rwanda’s Kagame acting like Adolf Hitler

Democratic Republic of Congo President, Félix Tshisekedi, has taken a dig at President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, comparing him to...

Trending