Metro

Burkina Faso: Terrorist activities cut food supply to thousands in Djibo

Published

3 years ago

May 28, 2022

The lingering terrorists activities in Burkina Faso has cut out the northern part of the country, particularly the town of Djibo from receiving food aid, medicals and other necessities.

The extent of the blockage is much that help can’t come for the people in the north town who are faced with all the challenges: extremism, drought, and coups.

The activities have also restricted movement in and out of the city and cut water supplies. Few truckers want to run the jihadist gauntlet.

A UN team flew in to assess the situation but stayed for just a few hours due to the threat level.

One of the residents in the community, Mamoudou Oumarou, a 53-year-old father of 13 who fled his village in February told newsmen that they had no food or water, while the few grains available in the market had spiked in price and their animals were dying.

“We have been living here for three months. Animals are not being bought. Most of the animals I came with here died of hunger. When you sell five animals and go to the market you can’t get a bag of food to eat. You can’t even see food. You can look for food in vain,” said Oumarou.

The Director of Seracom, a local aid group in Djibo, Alpha Ousmane Dao, also commented that some 600 trucks used to enter Djibo monthly, now it’s less than 50 a week, said

Adding his voice to the situation, the country director for the World Food Programme in Burkina Faso, Antoine Renard also said as a result of Djibo’s blockade, the World Food Program has been unable to deliver food to the town since December and stocks are running out.

“We are in clear need of access to the area. All we do now is actually to sustain a quarter of the population for any goods that manage to come into the city,” he said.

Terrorist activity in Burkina Faso has involved religious terrorism conducted by foreign-based organizations, although some activity occurs because of communal frustration over the lack of economic development. Recent attacks are concentrated in the Hauts-Bassins, Boucle du Mouhoun, Nord, Sahel, and East regions, along the border with Mali and Niger.

A series of attacks in Ouagadougou in 2016, 2017, and 2018 by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and its affiliates was particularly deadly, garnering international attention.

Metro

Nigeria: Police dismiss Amnesty Intl’s report on killing of protesters, demand apology

Published

3 hours ago

December 23, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The Nigeria Police has rejected a report by Amnesty International that accused the force of killing protesters during the #Endbadgovernance demonstration that erupted in the country from August 1 to 10.

In the report titled, “Bloody August: Nigeria Government’s Violent Crackdown on #EndBadGovernance Protests,” the global human rights organization accused the police of extrajudicial killings during which 24 protesters were killed in six states.

However, the Nigeria Police, while refuting the report, described the claims as false, misleading, and damaging to the image of the force.

Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), ACP Muyiwa Adejobi, who addressed a press conference in Abuja on Sunday, said a special investigation carried out by a panel set up by the Inspector General of Police, Sunday Egbetokun, to verify the claims, found the AI claims to be false and misleading.

Adejobi explained that the panel, in collaboration with Commissioners of Police from the affected states, conducted extensive investigations and compiled a comprehensive report highlighting inaccuracies in Amnesty International’s allegations.

“Amnesty International is advised to reflect on its frequent false reporting on Nigeria’s law enforcement activities and ensure its reports are accurate and contain a true and fair representation of events affecting national security and public safety,” the Force spokesman said.

“Accurate reporting of facts is essential to the integrity of any international organisation, and Amnesty International should not be an exception.

“The Nigeria Police Force will, in due course, write to Amnesty International to demand the retraction of this report from the public domain along with a public apology.

“The Nigeria Police Force remains resolute in protecting the rights of all citizens while ensuring the security and stability of the nation. We, therefore, urge the public to be wary of sensational reports designed to incite mistrust and weaken confidence in law enforcement institutions.

“In Borno State, it was established that the protesters were violent, engaging in widespread looting, pillaging, and wanton destruction of public and private property. For example, the Skill Acquisition Centre of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees was looted and vandalised.

“The warehouse of the World Food Programme, located on Baga/Maimalari Barracks Road, Maiduguri, was also looted, with several items belonging to the international organisation destroyed and stolen by some of the protesters.

“Therefore, the claims by Amnesty International that the police threw a hand grenade from a convoy of vehicles into a filling station killing three persons is a blatant falsehood and leaves right-thinking members of society dismayed at this reported falsehood by an international agency that ought to act in accordance with international norms and standards of fair and honest reporting of human rights violations in the country,” Adejobi stated.

Metro

Zambia: Expert warns of food security threat due to climate change

Published

23 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Isaac Dachen

A prominent Zambian climate-smart agriculture expert, Oliver Bulaya, has warned of a collapse of the county’s agricultural sector with a potential threat to food security due to the worsening impact of climate change.

Bulaya, who bared his mind in an interview with Zambia Monitor on Friday, warned that ignoring the crisis could lead to severe disruptions in the country’s food supply and economy.

“Unless concerted efforts are made, the country will continue facing dire consequences from climate change,” the expert noted.

He lamented a growing trend of farmers relocating to regions experiencing above-normal rainfall, such as the northern block, as they struggle with losses caused by climate variability.

Bulaya emphasized that the once-reliable rainfall areas like North-Western Zambia are now experiencing lower precipitation, as seen during the 2023/2024 farming season and cautioned that poor farming practices, which had already strained the Southern region, could lead to similar challenges in other parts of the country if proactive measures were not implemented.