War A Africa

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Re: War A Africa

Postby stefano » Fri May 16, 2014 3:16 am

The father of one of the suspects in the 14 April Boko Haram bombing in Abuja has been arrested. He is retired Col. Agene Ogwuche; his son (British-born) is Abubakar Sadiq Ogwuche. Ogwuche is an Igbo name afaik, and they're from Benue State, so probably Igbos (who are very seldom Muslims). Maybe he converted in Britain.

The Nation wrote:Ogwuche [junior] was described as a British born Nigerian from Benue State who was in November 2011 arrested at the Abuja airport on his arrival from the United Kingdom, in connection with terrorism.

Ogar, however, said the suspect was released on bail to his father, Col. Agene Ogwuche (rtd), in October 2012, following intense pressure from the human rights community who alleged violation of his human rights.

The DSS spokesperson added that Ogwuche deserted the Nigerian Army in 2006 after serving in the Intelligence Unit at the Arakan Barracks, Lagos.
[...]
Ogwuche is said to be studying Arabic Language at the International University of Africa, Sudan.


Sudan connection may be interesting as that's the last place in Africa where a Muslim Brotherhood-linked party is in real control, and Washington has definitely eased the pressure on Sudan to a noticeable extent in the past 10 years or so.

edit- The younger Ogwuche was arrested by Interpol in Sudan on Tuesday, missed that. He was still in Khartoum as of yesterday.
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Re: War A Africa

Postby Sounder » Fri May 16, 2014 6:42 am

All these things will continue as long as coercion remains a central element of our mentality.
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Re: War A Africa

Postby conniption » Sat May 17, 2014 3:54 am

You Won't Believe Where The US Military Is Going Now

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3uHPAQW6C4

LeeCamp

Published on May 5, 2014


Although the Pentagon denies it, the paychecks to the military contractors don't lie. The US is putting a lot of money into military infrastructure in Africa.
1) Get my new comedy special here - http://leecamp.net/standupspecial/
2) Read more on this topic: http://bit.ly/1fKhVpm and here http://bit.ly/Q6T2bl
3) Music by Hierosonic
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Re: War A Africa

Postby conniption » Tue Jul 08, 2014 5:29 pm

OpEdNews
(embedded links)

Op Eds 7/8/2014

The Rise of Boko Haram: US Responsibility, Hypocrisy

By Brett McCully

Image
From opednews.com/populum/uploaded/BringBackOurGirls_truck-94494-2014_07_06_10_52_58-1.jpg: Medina Dauda - Voice of America
A truck promotes the #BringBackOurGirls hash tag in Nigeria.
(image by Medina Dauda - Voice of America)


On April 15, militant Nigerian group Boko Haram kidnapped nearly 300 schoolgirls, leading to shock and revulsion around the world as well as an international social media campaign under the motto "Bring Back Our Girls".

Mostly unspoken in discussions of Boko Haram and its monstrous crime is a story of unintended consequences tied to the 2011 NATO intervention in Libya to topple Moamar Gaddafi as well as economic globalization and the legacy of IMF interventions in the Nigerian economy.

The Security Situation

Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, notes that in Libya "a modest military intervention by the US and others helped to create a vacuum, now mostly filled by terrorists." President François Hollande, referring to Boko Haram, said their weapons, including "heavy weapons of an unimaginable sophistication " came from Libya and that [their] training took place in Mali before the ouster of its Islamist leaders". The conclusion, then, must be that the Western intervention in Libya created the conditions which allowed Boko Haram and Mali's Islamist militants to seize weapons from the country, provoking the unrest in Mali and giving space for training Boko Haram's fighters.

Furthermore, "much of the responsibility for the rise of the Boko Haram extremist group may lie with the Nigerian government itself", according to Sarah Chayes of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. A combination of economic liberalization, globalization, poor governance, and brutal repression have led to the current standoff.

Regarding the recent violence, Amnesty International points to March 14th "as a tipping point when the security forces unleashed a brutal crackdown on former detainees." On this date, Boko Haram attacked a Nigerian military barracks in the city of Maiduguri, freeing "several hundred detainees." However, "as the military regained control, more than 600 people, mostly unarmed recaptured detainees, were extra-judicially executed in various locations across Maiduguri", some of them shouting that they were unaffiliated with the militant group before being shot.

This recent "tipping point" mirrors the larger picture of Boko Haram's increasingly violent acts. Writing in the journal Current History, Kate Meagher describes the group as originally a peaceful "religious community offering education, basic services, and informal livelihoods to the disaffected". The group was soon "construed as a threat to the state and its rural base was destroyed by an army assault in 2003", leading to violent reprisals by the group, targeting mostly police stations and "culminating in a clash in 2009 in which security forces killed more than 800 Boko Haram members." In addition, the group's leader, Mohammed Yusuf, was extrajudicially killed, with the video posted online. This incident "tipped what started as a religious protest movement among the marginalized into a full-blown insurgency."

Economic Malaise

The broader context of the insurgency is a deeply corrupt government , massive inequalities between the Islamic north and Christian south of the country, and rising poverty. In her article, Meagher goes on to note that "the depredations of years of savage market reforms, and integration into a global economic system that has left much of the population as surplus labor" have also contributed to the crisis. Hence the north has an unemployment rate 50 percent higher and per capita income 50 percent lower than the south.

Many of the economic forces now depriving the north were set in motion by the institution of the 1986 structural adjustment program (SAP) demanded by the International Monetary Fund. For example, while Meagher notes that the "North's urban economy has been gutted [in part] by reductions in public employment", Thandika Mkandawire remarks in Current History's latest Africa issue that the continent "now has the lowest number of civil servants per 100 citizens" following years of disastrous SAPs. Similarly, the northern economy's mainstay, textile manufacturing, has been driven out of business by low-cost Asian alternatives as well as an " electricity supply is so erratic that businesses unable to afford generators are forced to avoid technical improvements", according to Meagher. Mkandawire offers that the IMF and World Bank pushed African countries to "refrain from investment in basic public goods" believing that "the private sector would step in to provide [them] in a more efficient way", leading to, among other consequences, "electricity blackouts".

Military Ties

While the US "has advocated a wider economic and social-justice agenda" for Nigeria to win hearts and minds, advice ignored by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, the US has simultaneously been bolstering support for the Nigerian military.

Based out of the US Africa Command, "which is deeply unpopular across the continent", according to former UN official Adekeye Debajo, this includes several military exercises each year, as well as training and advisory missions, assistance with logistics and public affairs, and construction of military buildings, including training centers. In addition, the US spent more than $550 million during Obama's first term training and equipping West African militaries. Such assistance, however, is complicated by the so-called Leahy Amendment, which bars US aid to military units responsible for human rights abuses. John Campbell, former US ambassador to Nigeria and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, remarks that "very, very few units" are eligible for assistance today under those guidelines.

US Hypocrisy

Incidentally, the concern given to the kidnapped schoolgirls does not appear to be shared when the perpetrator of violence against children is the US. While US Secretary of State John Kerry termed the Boko Haram raid "grotesque" and the New York Times called the act "horrifying", such adjectives are reserved for official enemies.

For example, according to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, US drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan have killed at least 175 to 209 children. Yet Time Magazine's Joe Klein asked "whose 4-year-old get killed? What we're doing [with the US drone program] is limiting the possibility that 4-year-olds here will get killed by indiscriminate acts of terror." The "indiscriminate act of terror" of deliberately bombing a funeral, which the US did in 2009, killing ten children and four tribal leaders, bears no mention.

Another case is that of US actions leading to the current "international public health emergency", as declared by the World Health Organization in early May, for polio, a disease which mostly affects children. The deans of 12 public health schools wrote to the Obama administration demanding an end to "sham vaccination campaign[s]", noting that the expulsion of international health organizations trying to eradicate polio in Pakistan was precipitated by the "fictional vaccination campaign" carried out by the CIA in trying to find Osama bin Laden. According to media watchdog Fair and Accuracy in Reporting, mainstream outlets mostly ignored the US role in the recent outbreak. Northern Nigeria has also been labelled a trouble spot for polio, with Boko Haram disrupting inoculation efforts.

To take one more instance, in 2013, the US provided three countries with exemptions from sanctions which would have been brought on by employing children as soldiers--Yemen, Chad, and South Sudan, with Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia receiving partial waivers. Once again, such an action passes with little comment in establishment quarters, as the act was justified as being "in the national interest of the United States".

The principle that can be drawn from such behavior, then, is that harming children is reasonable and "in the national interest" for the US and its allies, but deplorable when enemies do it.

Whether or not the kidnapped schoolgirls will be harmed (beyond what they have already suffered) is as yet unclear. As the International Crisis Group's Africa program director notes, "A military intervention, if one is attempted, also risks stoking the violence." Indeed, as noted above, violence has only increased whenever the Nigerian military has taken the offensive. Unfortunately, the Nigerian government seems unwilling to seriously negotiate. According to the Associated Press " A human rights activist close to mediators said a swap of detained extremists for the girls was negotiated a week ago but fell through because President Goodluck Jonathan refused to consider an exchange." Thus the usual victims of violence -- the innocent and defenceless -- will continue to pay the price.
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Re: War A Africa

Postby stefano » Mon Jul 14, 2014 4:48 am

Malala Yousafzai shows up in Nigeria somehow.

Pakistani rights activist Malala Yousafzai, who survived being shot in the head by the Taliban for campaigning for girls' education, pledged while on a trip to Nigeria to help free a group of schoolgirls abducted by Islamist militants.

On Sunday, Malala met parents of the more than 200 girls who were kidnapped by the militant group Boko Haram from a school in the northeastern village of Chibok in April.
[...]
"I can see those girls as my sisters ... and I'm going to speak up for them until they are released," said Malala, who was due to meet President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday, her 17th birthday.

"I'm going to participate actively in the 'Bring back our girls' campaign, to make sure that they return safely and they continue their education."
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Re: War A Africa

Postby stefano » Thu Sep 11, 2014 8:06 am

I came across some interesting bits today in an interview an Australian negotiator, Stephen Davis, gave to The Cable.

TheCable: Can you share with us your experience with Boko Haram leaders?

Davis: Let me take you back a bit. I specialise in negotiation. It may interest you to know that I have been involved in peace negotiations in Nigeria since 2004 when President Olusegun Obasanjo invited me to intervene in the Niger Delta crisis. With a local Nigerian colleague, I spoke with Asari Dokubo and took him to Obasanjo at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. Because Asari is a Muslim, the Muslim boys in the north heard about me and warmed up to me. I did a report in 2005 on the threat of extremism among young northern Muslims. Obasanjo’s security chiefs dismissed the report with a wave of the hand. They said no such thing existed. In 2007, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who desired to end the militancy in the Niger Delta, invited me and made me presidential envoy. I toured all the northern states. I went to the country’s borders. I came back with a report that there were some budding sects in the north. The national security adviser (NSA) at the time, Gen. Sarki Mukhtar, dismissed the report. He said they didn’t exist. A succession of NSAs dismissed all these reports and allowed the groups to flourish. By the time President Goodluck Jonathan came to power in 2011, these groups had spread all over the north. They had cells and commanders in 16 out of the 19 northern states. President Jonathan called me and sought my opinion on the best way to tackle the militancy and bring it to an end. I knew many of the leaders. I spoke with them. They trusted me. They initially wanted to kill me. They thought I was an American but I told them I was not. They also thought I was British but I said I was not. I told them I was an Australian. They relaxed. I don’t know why but they became more accommodating. They became friendly and, gradually, we built the trust. They started feeling free with me. I don’t call them Boko Haram. I call them JAS. People call them Boko Haram. They don’t call themselves Boko Haram.

TheCable: What deal were you seeking under Jonathan’s mandate?

Davis: The president wanted peace. He asked me to discuss with them so that we could arrive at the terms of peace. They came up with some terms that were acceptable and others that were not acceptable.

TheCable: What were those terms?

Davis: They wanted training for the widows of their deceased fighters. They asked the government to give these women cottage training. They, ironically, wanted education for the children of their deceased members. That is why I don’t call them Boko Haram (“Western education is a taboo”). They asked that the children be sent to school. They also wanted the government to rebuild villages that were destroyed by the security agencies. They asked for amnesty as well.

TheCable: What terms were unacceptable?

Davis: The president said he would not grant amnesty in the sense that they meant it. He said those who surrendered their arms would not be prosecuted, but those who continued to commit more crimes would face the law and would be charged with treason. They also wanted women and children who were being held in custody to be released. Their leaders that I spoke with were ready to accept the conditions. But the NSA then, Gen. Owoye Azazi, went vehemently against it. He said there should be no negotiation with terrorists. He completely turned the military against the peace deal I was working on, even though we were very close to bringing an end to the insurgency the same way we did it in the Niger Delta. The military then refused to back the deal. They succeeded in convincing the president not to accept it. I could understand where they were coming from: the security budget was like $6 billion and any peace deal would seriously reduce their budget.

TheCable: How did you become involved in the negotiation for the release of the Chibok schoolgirls?

Davis: Because I had built trust among the militants, I made calls to them when I heard about the abductions. They confirmed to me that the girls were with them. I came to Nigeria in late April (the girls were abducted on April 14). I told the president I would try to intervene and help get the girls out. He said he would give me the needed support if I wanted. However, what I discovered was that thrice we tried to get the girls released, and thrice my efforts were sabotaged. That was when I now realised that some politicians were also involved in the insurgency. There were the remnants of those involved in the former peace deal as well as a political arm and what I call the ritual arm which specialises in butchering human beings. While I was making efforts to get the girls released, the political backers of the group threatened that if I got 30 or 40 girls out, the militants would kidnap another 60 to replace them. I became very frustrated. They threatened that any commander of the group who agreed to participate in any dialogue would be slaughtered by other commanders. The political sponsors are very powerful because they supply the finances and the arms. Until they are cut off from the group, those girls will not be released. We are talking about 200 Chibok schoolgirls, but there are over 300 other girls that have been kidnapped. There are many young men that they also kidnapped and turned them against their families. They asked them to go and slaughter their family members and they are doing it. Nobody is talking about those ones. They are the new child soldiers.

TheCable: How can we get these girls released?

Davis: The first thing is to stop the bagman who supplies weapons and military uniforms. We know his name, location and associates. If the man is stopped, the slaughterers, the ritual arm of the group, would be demobilised. The girls can be released afterwards. This man controls these ritualists.

TheCable: Was there really any deal to release the girls?

Davis: Yes, there was. Some commanders of the group told me that they would first release 100 of the girls and that would be the first step towards dialogue. They needed a guarantee from President Jonathan that they would not be arrested or prosecuted if they showed up for dialogue. They agreed with me that if they did that and no one was arrested, then they would return to the camps to release the rest of the girls.

TheCable: In all your discussions, did they name their sponsors?

Davis: They named the man who lives in Cairo. He is of the Kanuri tribe. He passes arms, ammunition and uniforms to them. The CBN official who handles the funding (name withheld by TheCable for legal reasons) is an uncle to three of those arrested in connection with the Nyanya bombings. The three boys lived with him. They were arrested by the SSS (Department of State Security) after the bombings but they are yet to be interrogated about their uncle. The official still works with the CBN. He is still there. He works in currency operations. He knows how to handle the transaction in a way that it can never be traced. Western countries are frustrated that they cannot trace the funding. How can they when it is passed on legally, through the gatekeeper, through the CBN? Also, a senior official of CBN, who recently left the bank, was very close to Sodiq Aminu Ogwuche, the mastermind of the Nyanya bombings who also schooled in Sudan. Ogwuche’s wife used to visit this official in his office at the headquarters in Abuja before the bombings. They were very close. Don’t forget that the CBN official who handles the transactions also used to report to his superior, the official who recently left the bank. Also, there is a politician who was supplying operational vehicles for the suicide bombers. He gave them Hilux vans. He is a prominent politician. If the president goes after these guys, they will say it is political. That is part of the problem. Everybody will say the president is going after his political opponents, especially as there is a general election next year. The militants also named the former governor of Borno State, Ali Modu Sheriff. In 2003 and 2007, Sheriff was very close to them. He used them for his elections. They worked for him. However, in 2007, the leader of the group, Muhammed Yusuf, collected money from Sheriff in return for support. Yusuf’s mentor, Ja’afar Mahmud Adam, exposed and criticised him for collecting money from Sheriff, and Yusuf ordered his killing in April 2007. But eventually, Yusuf and Sheriff fell out. However, it is acknowledged that Sheriff was and is a major financier of the group. He pays for young men to go for lesser hajj. From there they are recruited into the group. They interact freely with the Al-Shabbab militants from Somalia. They are trained by Al-Shabbab. Some of them go to Mali for training. These guys are in touch with the ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which now simply calls itself Islamic State and controls parts of Iraq). They are deadly. They share the same philosophy. The militant commanders I spoke with also named a former army chief as one of their sponsors. You have senior military officers who are benefiting from the insurgency because of the security budget. It pays them to keep the insurgency going so that they can continue to make money. I asked them several times who the army chief was and they told me it is… (name withheld by TheCable for legal reasons).


Follow-up interview:

TheCable: Why is Nigeria finding it difficult to overcome Boko Haram?

Davis: It is a combination of factors, some of which I will not share publicly. There is, clearly, a problem with intelligence gathering and sharing between the agencies so as to build a reliable and comprehensive picture that the military can act on. That is a fundamental problem. The militants usually move in a convoy of 20 to 60 vehicles. Although they often move at night they are now emboldened and are launching large scale attacks in the daylight. Americans claim they are doing aerial reconnaissance. Why are they not passing the information to the Nigerian military? With this information the Nigerian military could intercept the Boko Haram convoy before it reaches its target. The geography of the northeast of Borno State sets the military at a significant disadvantage. The countryside in the north is generally flat with “black soil” that with the slightest rain becomes very boggy and prevents vehicular movement. The arterial roads are consequently built up to two meters higher than the surrounding countryside. Additionally they are very narrow making it very difficult for vehicles to pass one another and almost impossible for a larger vehicle to turn around without going off the formed road and over the embankment. The arterial road network is in a very poor state of repair and does not evidence any form of maintenance for many years. Governor Sheriff seems to have not expended any funds on maintenance of the rural road network. Travel at a modest speed is only possible for very short distances. The majority of travel time is spent negotiating large holes where the road surface has fallen away. At night these large holes which force a convoy to almost a standstill are a prime location for ambush particularly where there is nearby cover for the insurgents to hide. In some instances where there is good cover to hide close to the road, the insurgents dig up the road surface to force the military to a standstill and the launch an attack. The narrow, elevated road means there is very limited ability for the convoy to turn around and escape. Every vehicle, commencing with the last vehicle in the convoy must turn around to enable the convoy to return and escape. This is a very difficult task while under fire. The terrorists ambush the soldiers. The immediate implications of the poor arterial roads are that (1) military movements are often very slow (2) deployment to investigate reported incidents are often severely delayed (3) night movement has a very high risk of ambush with limited escape for the military convoy. The military are unable to tackle Boko Haram at night because of these ambushes, and they are also misled during the day. If Boko Haram is striking in the west, the soldiers are misled by false reports into thinking the attack is taking place in the east. So they are in the wrong place. By the time Boko Haram is done, the soldiers are still trying to understand what is happening. We are talking about a state that has so many remote villages. Most of the victories recorded by the Nigerian military are not in the major camps of the militants.

TheCable: But since the kidnapped schoolgirls are in the big camps, Nigerian soldiers also have to act responsibly so as not to kill the girls…

Davis: Yes, that is true. But since these militants also move in a convoy of 60 vehicles when they want to strike at night, you have to ask why America is not sharing intelligence with the Nigerian military. At least, if the soldiers cannot invade the camps, they can take on the convoy of terrorists going out to launch attacks. The military’s opportunity is to interdict while the terrorists are en route to their target. When they are returning after the attack they are likely to have captives and a military attack would likely injure or kill many of the captives.

TheCable: But Nigeria also has its own intelligence agencies. Are they not able to trace these movements too?

Davis: I will not comment publicly on the work of Nigerian intelligence services. You will have to excuse me on that.

TheCable: Are you saying we cannot defeat Boko Haram?

Davis: Not with military might alone. Nigeria needs a peace deal. The suggestion of opening a dialogue with terrorists is generally repugnant to government. Dialogue is most often perceived as legitimising the terrorist group or rewarding terrorism. However, it is noted that very few terrorist groups have been defeated by military force. Argentina, Chile and Brazil eradicated terrorism by deploying State-driven terrorism that oppressed and terrorised citizens and killed thousands of innocent civilians. Brazil defeated the Action for National Liberation (ALN) using torture, death squads and mass arrests which destroyed democratic institutions, personal liberties and alienated the public. Sri Lanka’s military defeated the Tamil Tigers after 80,000-100,000 civilian casualties. Military force has proven ineffective and often worked to the advantage of the terrorist group in many cases. In Russia the military had no success against the Chechen All-National Congress and other rebel groups. In Peru the military had no success over 30 years of fighting Shining Path. After 15 years fighting the Taliban the US opened a dialogue. The fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continues after 30 years of military action. Boko Haram can be defeated but not by military force along. The first step must be to arrest Boko Haram sponsors, cut of arms supplies and isolate Boko Haram both geographically and communication-wise. That means a vigorous campaign to ensure the social media and news media do not host or distribute Boko Haram propaganda. This propaganda such as Abubakar Shekau’s rantings serve to give Boko Haram the notoriety with which they seek and to terrorise the nation.

TheCable: Are you saying our military is not competent or capable?

Davis: No I am not expressing a lack of confidence in the military. Go through the history of insurgency around the world. Don’t take my word for it. Check by yourself. You will discover that in a liberal democracy, you cannot rely on military power to end insurgency. Review history. If insurgency lasts for eight years, it becomes impossible to tackle and a review of cases around the world shows that the insurgency will then continue for another generation. You could still be battling it for the next 20 years. I am talking about the history of the last 50 to 70 years. Terrorism is very difficult to tackle. In some cases, insurgencies have been defeated by military force but these were done under military regimes with 70,000 to 100,000 civilian collateral deaths recorded. Military regimes can get away with that. But not under liberal democracies. Human rights groups, the United Nations, Western countries… they will all come after you. Nigeria is a growing democracy and the Nigerian people will not tolerate a return to military rule.

TheCable: What is the best way out?

Davis: A peace deal backed by a strong military. But the government must first bring the sponsors of insurgency to book. Government must arrest and interrogate the politicians funding the insurgency. Government must cut off the supply of funds to the militants. There is a ritualist group in Boko Haram that delights in slaughtering people. This group is being heavily supported by someone based in Cairo, Egypt with funds supplied by Nigerian politicians and power brokers. If funding is cut to this guy, there are many commanders in the Boko Haram camp who are ready to dialogue, release the captive girls and end the insurgency.

TheCable: You have been speaking to the media a lot recently. Why? What is your interest?

Davis: I have decided to speak out now because what I have seen in the last six months is terrifying. I am heart-broken by my experience during my four-month stay in Nigeria. The Chibok schoolgirls remaining in captivity are suffering terribly. Apart from the Chibok girls there are many more who have been kidnapped. Some who have escaped have given graphic accounts of their treatment. They are raped repeatedly and mercilessly, often by groups of terrorists. Political powerbrokers in Nigeria are funding these abhorrent acts. And what of the boys that are being kidnapped and forced to work for Boko Haram or become child-soldiers? The Nigerian government must act quickly and decisively to end the insurgency. The security agencies have to work co-operatively. Violence has escalated on an unprecedented scale. The bloodshed is unbelievable. The link between Boko Haram, Al-Shabbab of Somalia and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant is growing stronger. It is a triangle of terror of frightening potential. Nigeria, Iraq and Somalia…

TheCable: Please tell us more about the link. Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau recently said he had declared Islamic caliphate in some Borno villages…

Davis: They are very well organised. Today, they have active cells in all the northern states. They have grown from three small cells in 2006 to having commanders in sixteen northern states. They have five major camps on the Nigerian border with Cameroon, Chad and Niger plus another major camp in the Sambisa forest and one on the border between Yobe and Borno States. When they attack a town, they empty the treasury of the banks. That is another source of funding for them. They are gradually depopulating many villages in the state, taking them over and foisting their flag. They are very well organised and becoming very good strategists. By the time they are done with the villages, they will have a very good base from where they will launch attacks on Maiduguri, with the aim of taking it over and proclaiming the caliphate that they desire. Further delay is dangerous.


FWIW. Davis's account of a sort of freelance negotiation effort is odd, and it would have been odd for an insurgent to tell him about funding. Some people think he is working for the president to discredit Ali Modu Sheriff and the opposition. But the bit about ritual murder really jumped out at me.
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Re: War A Africa

Postby cptmarginal » Sat Oct 11, 2014 3:39 pm



Just wanted to say thank you for this post, absolutely fascinating...
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Re: War A Africa

Postby stefano » Mon Oct 13, 2014 9:27 am

Cool cptmarginal, glad you find it interesting. I started a thread in the Data Dump about this, maybe you'll find that interesting too. I have to put the Davis stuff there actually. The military commander that Davis alleges is a BH sponsor and whom the Cable didn't want to name, BTW, is Azubuike Ihejirika, a Christian Igbo. That's another angle to this - the armed forces get big budgets to fight Boko Haram and then steal everything, most of the other ranks' salaries, down to selling kit to middlemen who sell it on to Boko Haram... Ihejirika might be the next governor of Abia, although since the Davis allegations the US has started to take a closer interest in where his money is from.
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Re: War A Africa

Postby stefano » Mon Oct 20, 2014 8:22 am

Boko Haram deal: Why now?

19 October 2014, 15:52

Lagos - Nigeria's announcement of a ceasefire with Boko Haram has surprised many and convinced few, particularly when talks with the militants on the possible release of 219 kidnapped schoolgirls had been at a frustrating standstill.

The insurgents have had the upper hand in fighting in the far northeast in recent months, reportedly seizing at least two dozen towns and villages as part of their quest to establish a hardline Islamic state.

And in the aftermath of Friday's declaration by Nigeria's military and presidency, reports of attacks continue to emerge, casting further doubts about the credibility of the ceasefire claim.

The announcement has been greeted with scepticism by security analysts, those with knowledge of previous negotiation attempts with Boko Haram and ordinary Nigerians suspicious about their government's motives.

"The kinds of claims have been made (by the government) a number of times before," said Shehu Sani, a lawyer and civil rights activist who has been involved in previous back channel talks.

Identity issue

The main question mark was the identity of the purported Boko Haram envoy, Danladi Ahmadu, who claimed to be the group's chief of security and to have been involved in talks to broker the deal.

"Danladi Ahmadu is NOT part of #BH Shura (ruling council) or speak for them as far as I know," said Ahmad Salkida, a Nigerian journalist said to have high-level contacts among the group's leaders.

He "does not speak" for Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, he wrote on Twitter on Friday.

Further doubts came after Ahmadu failed to announce explicitly that Boko Haram had agreed to a ceasefire or give concrete details about the girls' release in an interview broadcast on Voice of America radio's Hausa language service on Friday.

"It is not clear who the said Boko Haram negotiator is and whether he has the mandate of the entire group or just a faction of the entire group," said Nnamdi Obasi, Nigeria researcher for the International Crisis Group.

Talks and deals

Ordinarily, a clear statement about such a development would be expected from Shekau, who has previously refused to end the violence until strict Islamic law is imposed across northern Nigeria.

He has also said the schoolgirls would only be released if Nigeria agreed to a prisoner swap of jailed militants.

Talks on that issue broke down in recent months over Abuja's refusal to accept such a demand, several sources involved have indicated to AFP.

"There are no immediate details about what Boko Haram is getting out of the deal -- and it is unlikely that it would give up all the girls for nothing," added Obasi.

"If we see Boko Haram getting a major prisoner swap as part of the deal, that would dampen some of the excitement."

Claims of amnesty deals in the past with Boko Haram to end the five years of violence have come to nothing and exposed the apparent factional nature of the group, several analysts noted.

Previous military statements about the conflict that have been contradicted by reports on the ground have also increased doubts.

In the days after the mass kidnapping, for example, defence officials maintained that most of the girls had escaped but were forced to retract.

Cynical politics

Many observers viewed the announcement as politically motivated, with President Goodluck Jonathan expected to announce that he will stand for re-election in coming weeks.

Positive news about the insurgency and the kidnapped girls -- whether true or not -- would likely give him and his ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) a political boost even if violence continues.

Ahmadu indicated in his interview that any further violence would be perpetrated by "hooligans and thieves" and not Boko Haram, which could sow enough doubt to get the government off the hook.

The timing also comes just days after the six-month anniversary of the girls' abduction, with renewed domestic and international attention on their plight.

But Ryan Cummings, chief analyst for sub-Saharan Africa at risk consultants Red24, said even if confirmed, Boko Haram's upholding of a ceasefire should be seen as temporary.

"Boko Haram has not been pressured in any way to lay down their arms and it remains highly unlikely that the Nigerian government would cede to all of the sect's demands," he said in an email exchange.
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Re: War A Africa

Postby stefano » Thu Oct 30, 2014 3:20 am

Nigeria Turns to Russia, Czech Republic, and Belarus for Military Training and Materiel

by John Campbell
October 29, 2014

The Vanguard, a Nigerian daily, carried a report on September 28, confirmed by the Ministry of Defense, that 1,200 Nigerian soldiers, police, and Department of State Services (DSS) are being trained by Russian special forces. The Vanguard says that Abuja has turned to Moscow following an “alleged snub or nonchalant attitude of the United States and the United Kingdom toward Nigeria in her fight against Boko Haram terrorists.”

According to the Vanguard, Russian instructors participated in the selection process of those to be trained. The training is to last four months.

A South African news portal reports that the Nigerian Army is seeking the funds to purchase at least three advanced surveillance aircraft from the Czech Republic. It also reports that Belarus has agreed to provide twelve attack helicopters for which the Nigerian government will pay in installments over the next seven years.

In September, the National Assembly approved a special allocation of one billion dollars for the struggle against the northern insurgency. Presumably those funds will be used to pay Russia, the Czech Republic, and Belarus for the training and materiel.

Abuja has refused to acknowledge and investigate repeated and credible reports of security service human rights abuses and to prosecute alleged offenders. These abuses largely preclude the United States from providing military training or other assistance to Nigeria under U.S. law, specifically the Leahy amendment.

Nigeria turning elsewhere when the United States and the United Kingdom won’t play is an old song. During the 1993-1998 brutal dictatorship of Sani Abacha, western countries imposed sanctions on Nigeria because of pervasive human rights abuses. Abacha then turned to China and India for military training and materiel.


Russian military training of Nigerian security service personnel may improve their capacity. In theory, special forces should be “force multipliers”, and could make a difference tactically. But, given Russian military behavior in Chechnya, Georgia, and the Ukraine, the training is unlikely to contribute to a badly needed change in Nigeria’s military and police culture, which largely ignores human rights, and will likely fuel support or aquiescence for Boko Haram.
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Re: War A Africa

Postby stefano » Wed Jan 21, 2015 7:48 am

Goodluck Jonathan bought arms from Russia and Belarus, and has come in for serious criticism for Washington over his handling of Boko Haram, especially around the time of the Chibok girls' kidnapping - notably from Hillary Clinton, who had a real go. Now this:

EXCLUSIVE: Real reason Buhari is travelling to U.S.
January 20, 2015
Nicholas Ibekwe

Contrary to claims that the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress [APC], is travelling to the United States for medical reasons, PREMIUM TIMES has obtained a correspondence indicating Mr. Buhari is only honouring an invitation by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies [CSIS].

Media reports had suggested some days ago that the APC candidate had become so sick that he was planning a medical trip abroad. Mr. Buhari responded by saying he was not sick but only had cold.

But PREMIUM TIMES has now obtained a letter signed by the Director, African Programme of CSIS, Jennifer Cooke, inviting Mr. Buhari to the organisation’s headquarters in Washington DC “to give a major public address on Nigeria’s future as it stands on the edge of a pivotal national elections.”

Ms. Cooke gave Mr. Buhari the liberty to choose a convenient date for the proposed lecture.

“We propose to hold this event on a day of your choosing on either the week of January 5th or the week of January 26th, 2015 but will of course do our best to accommodate your schedule should you have other preferences.”

Travelling at this time would mean Mr. Buhari opted for the week of January 26th.

Ms. Cooke who said the event is expected to attract a large number of United State policymakers, academics, business leaders and members of the diaspora, also told Mr. Buhari that he would be expected to take part in a private off-the-record briefing with a small group of senior US government officials and U.S Congress.

“The event would be on-the-record and given the importance of Nigeria’s elections would be certain to attract a large audience of U.S. policymakers, academics, business leaders, and members of the diaspora. In addition, we invite you to take part in a private, off-the-record briefing with a small group of senior officials from the U.S. government and U.S. Congress. This will be an excellent opportunity to develop contacts and articulate your key messages to an influential audience of foreign policy decision-makers.”

“The CSIS Africa Program has long been engaged in research and analysis on the African continent, and Nigeria specifically. For the past year, we have hosted a conference series analyzing various dimensions of Nigeria’s forthcoming elections and their implications for peace, security, and prosperity in Africa’s most important country. These conferences have provided a platform for Nigerian statesmen to interact directly with Washington policymakers and we wanted to extend this opportunity to you. We hope that your schedule permits your participation and look forward to receiving a positive reply.”


The CSIS is a "a bipartisan, nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C", "dedicated to finding ways to sustain American prominence and prosperity as a force for good in the world." Trustees include Henry Kissinger, Richard Armitage, Zbigniew K. Brzezinski, and Felix G. Rohatyn, along with many big industrial and financial names. It is obvious that Buhari will meet some of the real power on his trip.

Conventional wisdom is still that Jonathan and the PDP will win the elections in just over three weeks, as per a recent piece by the Brookings Institution. But I've been thinking for the past few weeks that Buhari might take it, especially as some of the real big men in Nigeria, including former military rulers Olusegun Obasanjo (who started the PDP) and Ibrahim Babangida, are backing him. If he makes the right promises to the Americans (and why wouldn't he?) then I expect they'll offer him some help in sealing the election.

added on edit, while I'm on the subject:

Security agents in Ogun state today intercepted a 40-Foot truck loaded with what was suspected to be electoral materials in the Ijebu – Ode axis of Ogun state.

The truck which registration number is yet to be ascertained was intercepted by men of the State Special Security outfit: “OP MESA” who were operating along the Lagos-Sagamu-Benin expressway.

Sources close to the scene where the truck was intercepted told REPORTERS that two other trucks which contents were suspected to be bales of ballot paper and boxes had escaped before the soldiers attached to OP MESA sighted the third one.
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Re: War A Africa

Postby seemslikeadream » Wed Jan 21, 2015 6:20 pm

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=38730

Tomgram: Nick Turse, A Shadow War in 150 Countries

.........

Add to those task forces the Special Operations Command Forward (SOC FWD) elements, small teams which, according to the military, “shape and coordinate special operations forces security cooperation and engagement in support of theater special operations command, geographic combatant command, and country team goals and objectives.” SOCOM declined to confirm the existence of SOC FWDs, even though there has been ample official evidence on the subject and so it would not provide a count of how many teams are currently deployed across the world. But those that are known are clustered in favored black ops stomping grounds, including SOC FWD Pakistan, SOC FWD Yemen, and SOC FWD Lebanon, as well as SOC FWD East Africa, SOC FWD Central Africa, and SOC FWD West Africa.

Africa has, in fact, become a prime locale for shadowy covert missions by America’s special operators. "This particular unit has done impressive things. Whether it's across Europe or Africa taking on a variety of contingencies, you are all contributing in a very significant way," SOCOM’s commander, General Votel, told members of the 352nd Special Operations Group at their base in England last fall.

The Air Commandos are hardly alone in their exploits on that continent. Over the last years, for example, SEALs carried out a successful hostage rescue mission in Somalia and a kidnap raid there that went awry. In Libya, Delta Force commandos successfully captured an al-Qaeda militant in an early morning raid, while SEALs commandeered an oil tanker with cargo from Libya that the weak U.S.-backed government there considered stolen. Additionally, SEALs conducted a failed evacuation mission in South Sudan in which its members were wounded when the aircraft in which they were flying was hit by small arms fire. Meanwhile, an elite quick-response force known as Naval Special Warfare Unit 10 (NSWU-10) has been engaged with “strategic countries” such as Uganda, Somalia, and Nigeria.

A clandestine Special Ops training effort in Libya imploded when militia or “terrorist” forces twice raided its camp, guarded by the Libyan military, and looted large quantities of high-tech American equipment, hundreds of weapons -- including Glock pistols, and M4 rifles -- as well as night vision devices and specialized lasers that can only be seen with such equipment. As a result, the mission was scuttled and the camp was abandoned. It was then reportedly taken over by a militia.

In February of last year, elite troops traveled to Niger for three weeks of military drills as part of Flintlock 2014, an annual Special Ops counterterrorism exercise that brought together the forces of the host nation, Canada, Chad, France, Mauritania, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Senegal, the United Kingdom, and Burkina Faso. Several months later, an officer from Burkina Faso, who received counterterrorism training in the U.S. under the auspices of SOCOM’s Joint Special Operations University in 2012, seized power in a coup. Special Ops forces, however, remained undaunted. Late last year, for example, under the auspices of SOC FWD West Africa, members of 5th Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group, partnered with elite Moroccan troops for training at a base outside of Marrakech.

A World of Opportunities

Deployments to African nations have, however, been just a part of the rapid growth of the Special Operations Command’s overseas reach. In the waning days of the Bush presidency, under then-SOCOM chief Admiral Eric Olson, Special Operations forces were reportedly deployed in about 60 countries around the world. By 2010, that number had swelled to 75, according to Karen DeYoung and Greg Jaffe of the Washington Post. In 2011, SOCOM spokesman Colonel Tim Nye told TomDispatch that the total would reach 120 by the end of the year. With Admiral William McRaven in charge in 2013, then-Major Robert Bockholt told TomDispatch that the number had jumped to 134. Under the command of McRaven and Votel in 2014, according to Bockholt, the total slipped ever-so-slightly to 133. Outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel noted, however, that under McRaven’s command -- which lasted from August 2011 to August 2014 -- special ops forces deployed to more than 150 different countries. “In fact, SOCOM and the entire U.S. military are more engaged internationally than ever before -- in more places and with a wider variety of missions,” he said in an August 2014 speech.

He wasn’t kidding. Just over two months into fiscal 2015, the number of countries with Special Ops deployments has already clocked in at 105, according to Bockholt.

......
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
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Re: War A Africa

Postby 8bitagent » Wed Jan 21, 2015 9:09 pm

I was hoping as much as #bringbackourgirls got popular, #bring back victims of US/allied military and drone aggression would have gotten popular.

I cannot begin to pretend to think the US is on some moral high ground with Boko Haram or ISIS given the endless horror show of death, torture and *supporting* brutal dictatorships. All the Ebola camps and "relief" efforts will never make up for that. The US talking about the evil of Boko Haram is like Bill Cosby condemning young black men.
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Re: War A Africa

Postby stefano » Wed Feb 04, 2015 4:45 am

WSWS - season to taste. Elections in Nigeria 10 days from today. Incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan has blocked AFRICOM to some extent and has bought arms from Russia and Belarus, so I think the US backs his challenger Muhammadu Buhari. Incidentally, Buhari ended up not going to Washington for the CSIS thing mentioned above, instead John Kerry was in Abuja last week and met both men. Obtaining promises from Buhari? Buhari looks a favourite to win as people are really fed up with Jonathan's corruption and Buhari has a lot of elites on his side. This may lead Jonathan to try postponing the elections, which would lead to a constitutional crisis and probably a state of emergency.

US AFRICOM commander calls for “huge” military campaign in West Africa

By Thomas Gaist
2 February 2015

Image
AFRICOM internal slide

US Africa Command (AFRICOM) head General David Rodriguez called for a large-scale US-led “counterinsurgency” campaign against groups in West Africa during remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC last week.

Rodriguez’s statements are part of a coordinated campaign by the US to massively expand its military operations in the resource-rich region, as it combats the influence of China and other powers.

The US should prepare for operations in at least four West African countries as part of a “huge international and multinational” response aimed at forces affiliated with Boko Haram, Rodriguez said.

AFRICOM is already preparing an “across the board response to the threat,” Rodriguez said.

Echoing recent comments from US Secretary of State John Kerry during his visit to Lagos, Nigera that the US is ready to “do more” militarily in Nigeria, Rodriguez called on the Nigerian government to “let us help more and more.”

In similar remarks at a the US Army West Point academy last week, US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) chief General Joseph Votel said that US commando teams must prepare for new deployments against Boko Haram and the Islamic State.

“[Boko Haram] is creating fertile ground for expansion into other areas,” Votel said.

“While it isn’t a direct threat to the homeland, it is impacting indirectly our interests in this particular area and creating another area of instability,” the top US special forces officer said.

Votel warned that radical Islamic groups are gaining tens of thousands of new fighters.

Votel cited ongoing SOCOM operations in the Philippines, begun in 2002, as a model for how US commandos can project US power by building relations with allied militaries. Votel will travel to Norway in early February to talk with NATO allies about US war preparations, including new military operations in the Arctic directed against Russia, according to Defense News .

Rodriguez and Votel’s statements coincided with plans announced by the African Union last week to deploy a 7,500-strong multinational force in the name of fighting Boko Haram and “other extremist groups.”

The AU multinational force will serve as the vehicle for further infiltration of US forces into West Africa, while providing support for and legitimizing the already significant US military presence in the strategically crucial, resource region. The intervention will proceed amidst elaborate war game exercises led by US Special Operations Command (SOCOM), known as Operation Flintlock, to be coordinated with a number of West African and European militaries beginning in mid-February.

US Congressional leaders are also pushing for a new war in Nigeria and the surrounding region. Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Ed Royce was scheduled to meet with the Nigerian ambassador to the US today, Ade Adefuye, known to be a strong advocate of US military intervention in Nigeria, according to Nigeria’s the Guardian.

Image
US military presence in west and central Africa

Representatives Patrick Meehan and Peter King demanded that the US implement “a comprehensive strategy to address Boko Haram's growing lethality” in letters to Secretary Kerry posted in mid-January.

The Obama administration is also preparing to approve the sale of Cobra jet fighters to Nigerian government, according to the Guardian.

Last week, Chadian jet fighters and ground troops launched cross-border attacks against the Nigerian towns of Gamboru, Kolfata and Malumfatori, reportedly driving Boko Haram fighters out of the area. Boko Haram launched repeated assaults against northern capital of Maiduguri, home to some 2 million residents, reportedly utilizing heavy weapons including RPGs and artillery. The Nigerian military claims that hundreds of Boko Haram fighters were killed during the attacks.

South African mercenaries are fighting alongside Nigerian troops against the militants, according to reports late this week.
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Re: War A Africa

Postby cptmarginal » Wed Feb 04, 2015 4:54 am

That slide image speaks volumes... "A Continent of Challenges"

US Africa Command (AFRICOM) head General David Rodriguez called for a large-scale US-led “counterinsurgency” campaign against groups in West Africa during remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC last week.


Yeah, that's worked out so well in the past.
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