Boko Haram has abducted over 200 schoolgirls

3 weeks ago, the















The Boko Haram abducted more than 200 schoolgirls at Government schools throughout Nigeria.  In a video statement, Abubakar Shekau said that the Boko Haram is keeping the girls hostage and will begin selling them on the market due to the westernization of Africa. Reports say that some girls have already been sold into marriga eat a price of $12.

Deutsche Welle News

U.S. to Send FBI to Find Abducted Girls

Abeokuta — As global outrage continued to trail the more than 200 abducted school girls in Nigeria, the United States of America has gone ahead with its pledge to help in rescuing the girls. U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder is offering to send FBI agents to help rescue the Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram, a senior Justice Department source told 'The Huffington Post' on Monday.

Holder has also ordered an intelligence assessment of Boko Haram, which the United States designated as a terrorist organization in November 2013. "Let me be clear," Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday during a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo, "the kidnapping of hundreds of children by Boko Haram is an unconscionable crime, and we will do everything possible to support the Nigerian government to return these young women to their homes."

Original Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201405060255.html
Author: Ryan Cummings

Security Beefed up in Lagos Over U.S. Terror Alert

Sequel to the warning issued by the United States of a possible attack on Sheraton Hotel in Lagos, security has been beefed up in strategic locations across the state. Such strategic locations include worship centres, market places, shopping malls, hotels, financial institutions and government installations.

US had issued a warning at the weekend urging its citizens to avoid travelling to Adamawa, Yobe and Borno, three North-east states under state of emergency due to deadly attacks by Boko Haram. It also warned of a possible attack on Sheraton Hotel in Lagos. Though the US warning did not state which of the two Sheraton Hotels in Lagos may be targeted, security operatives in the state are not leaving things to chance.

Original Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201405051626.html
Author: Chiemelie Ezeobi

Why Have You Taken Our Girls?

The Nigerian Islamist sect has kidnapped 234 school girls. Why?

Less than 24 hours after an explosion ripped through the Nyanya Motor Park in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, reports of another act of terror filtered in from the country's north east.
On the morning of 15 April, a group of unidentified gunmen attacked Chibok, a settlement located near the Cameroonian border in Nigeria's Borno state.

Upon initial inspection, the attack was no different to the plethora of incursions which have become a near daily occurrence in Nigeria's insurgent-embattled north east; the assailants mortally wounded a number of residents, torched several commercial and residential properties, and attacked the area's largest education facility.

Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201405052204.html
Author: By Ryan Cummings

Somalia unrest: Deadly blast in Mogadishu

At least six people have been killed in a bomb explosion in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. Islamist militant group al-Shabab said it carried out the attack, targeting the vehicle of a prominent former government official, who was killed. It was unclear whether the explosives had been attached to the vehicle or placed on the roadside and detonated by remote control. The official who died was named as Abdikafi Hilowle, a former secretary for the city's administration. Many have been blamed on al-Shabab, which has lost ground to government forces in recent years but still controls many southern rural areas. In recent years, al-Shabab has been driven from most of the major city centres by government forces backed by an African Union mission.

 

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27268938

Ethiopia protest: Ambo students killed in Oromia state

The government has said, at least nine students have died during days of protests in Ethipoia. There was a witness that told BBC that there were actually 47 students that were killed by security forces. This all started because of plans over expanding the capital into Oromia State, she said. The Ambo resident said that four students had been killed on Monday and another 43 in a huge security crackdown on Tuesday, after a huge demonstration including many non-students. Since then, the town's streets have been deserted, she said, with banks and shops closed and no transport.


Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27251331

Boko Haram admits abducting Nigeria girls from Chibok

About 230 girls are still believed to be missing, prompting widespread criticism of the Nigerian government. Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram says it carried out the abduction of hundreds of schoolgirls in April. Naomi Mutah took part in a meeting on Sunday called by the president's wife, Patience Jonathan. Shortly afterwards, she was taken to a police station. Meanwhile, a woman who helped organise protests over the abduction has been detained, her fellow community leaders say. But one of her fellow protesters told Reuters Ms Mutah was calling on the authorities to "bring back our daughters" in the broader sense of "daughters of Nigeria". The girls were abducted on 14 March from their school in Chibok, in the northern state of Borno.


Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27283383

South Sudan crisis: Bentiu government offensive falters

Troops from South Sudan try to recapture the oil hub of Bentiu, but rebels have been forced back. 
Government Troops advanced towards the town centre over the weekend with an armored column. The town has changed hands several times since fighting broke out in South Sudan last December. Government forces moved into the town, the capital of Unity State. Its appears at least a section of the troops have been forced to retreat. The fighting comes after the US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday he had secured an agreement from President Kiir and Mr Machar for peace talks to be held in Addis Ababa. The power struggle between the two men - who fought together in the civil war before South Sudan's independence - has increasingly taken on an ethnic dimension.

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27281666

Central African Republic Crisis: EU Force Takes Over Airport

This is the first major operation because about 150 troops were deployed in recent weeks amid signs of genocide. The African Union and French have about 7,000 troops in the country. They have been battling to curb the conflict. The EU has pledged to send up to 1,000 troops and the UN about 12,000 troops. French troops handed control of the airport in the capital, Bangui, to the EU forces. Their deployment in the airport has allowed the French to move to other locations in the country. Warnings have been brought up of possible genocide in the future because of the hatred of Christians and Muslims.

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27237155

South Sudan: UN Officials Warn Against War Crimes

Juba — Senior UN officials warned on Wednesday against the escalation of atrocities and war crimes committed in the South Sudan since the start of the four-and-a-half month conflict, but were cautious to speak in terms of genocide.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201405010693.htmlUN special envoy for the prevention of genocide Adama Dieng (L) and UN high commissioner for human rights Navi Pillay at a meeting with South Sudan's former vice-president turned rebel leader Riek Machar on 29 April 2014 (Photo: Isaac Alebe Avoro Lu'ba/UNMISS)
UN high commissioner for human rights Navi Pillay and the UN secretary-general's adviser on the prevention of genocide, Adama Dieng, held a press conference in Juba at the end of a two-day visit during which they met with president Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar.


Their visit took place after killing of hundreds of civilians in Bentiu and assault on IDPs sheltering in the UN base in Bor where over 50 people were murdered.
Pillay said they warned the two sides that the investigation carried by the UN teams will also involve the role of political and military leaders and their part of responsibility in the crimes atrocities perpetrated against civilians.