Somalia’s opposition politicians and the public have welcomed a deal to hold delayed indirect presidential elections in October, with lawmakers chosen in July and August. But analysts note unrest and terrorist attacks are still a risk.Somalia’s opposition politicians welcomed the new election schedule reached Tuesday in Mogadishu after a meeting of federal and state leaders.Lawmaker Mohamed Hassan Idris said the opposition was looking forward to a quick implementation to avoid further delays and unrest.”So far, we have no concerns,” Hassan said. “It is on a very welcoming stage; the schedule has been agreed by the leaders and the electoral committees, both from the federal and member states levels.” He said leaders would need to continue discussions, “and we hope they continue to solve any likely obstacles.”Process stalledSomalia’s indirect elections were to take place in February, but the process was stalled over opposition concerns about free elections.The opposition accused President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, known as Farmajo, of stacking poll committees with his allies.FILE – Somalia’s President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed addresses delegates at the Somali election negotiation in Mogadishu, May 27, 2021.Farmajo denied the allegation but raised international eyebrows in April when he signed into law a two-year extension of terms in office, including his.The move sparked days of street clashes in April in Mogadishu between split loyalty security forces, renewing fears of a return to clan violence.Under international pressure, Farmajo nullified the extension and returned to talks with the opposition for holding elections.The deal reached Tuesday was largely applauded by Mogadishu residents like university student Hassan Ahmed, 27.He said he was happy and excited about the new election schedule. Some worried about the previous timeline, he said, and the disagreements between the leadership of the federal government and the regional states.Election scheduleThe indirect elections will begin in July with delegates chosen by clans selecting members of the lower house of parliament.State governments will select senators beginning in August. The chosen lawmakers will then vote for the next president on October 10.Despite the breakthrough, there is still a threat from al-Shabab militants, said independent security analyst Dahir Korow.”Al-Shabab is trying to disrupt the Somali election process through suicide bombings and IED [improvised explosive device] attacks, mainly the venues of the process across the regions,” Korow said. “However, it is also very significant to note that the democratic process will attract high-security alert both from Somali security agencies and their international peacekeeping partners such as AMISOM. Remember, the training and capacity building for Somali security agencies have been improving in recent years while al-Shabab’s have been decreasing.”The U.S. Embassy in Somalia urged continued constructive dialogue among Somali leaders to achieve peaceful and transparent elections.Somalia originally planned to hold direct, one-person-one-vote elections, which would have been the first in decades. But the plan was scrapped in September because of a lack of infrastructure and concerns about security.
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Month: June 2021
Kenya’s Successful Life-Business Partners Navigate Roles, Boundaries
The COVID pandemic has strained families forced to work and study at home together with an added stress for couples who are also business partners. In Kenya, such life-work partnerships experience a struggle not only to earn a living but also to keep their families together. Brenda Mulinya reports from Nairobi.
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Britain Faces Travel Bans Amid Soaring Delta Variant Infections
Several countries have imposed restrictions on travelers from Britain amid rising cases of the delta variant of the coronavirus. Scientists say the delta mutation is more infectious and now makes up around 95 percent of new cases in Britain. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.
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Spain Honors Chef Andrés for Humanitarian Kitchens
Chef José Andrés and his World Central Kitchen were awarded a prestigious Spanish prize Wednesday for their international relief work promoting healthy food.The jury that decides the Princess of Asturias Awards gave Andrés, 51, and the nonprofit group he founded the Award of Concord for “offering extraordinarily fast and efficient on-the-ground response to social and nutritional emergencies.”Born in northern Spain in 1969, Andrés moved to the U.S. in 1991 and was later naturalized as an American citizen. He helped popularize Spanish cuisine, especially the tapa, in the U.S. before he also became heavily involved in humanitarian work.Andrés founded the World Central Kitchen in 2010 following a trip to Haiti to do aid work. Since then, it has been active in deploying field kitchens to respond to food crises both in the United States and abroad. The organization served over 3.6 million meals in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2017. Last year, Andrés dedicated some of his own restaurants in the U.S. to help feed people in need during the coronavirus pandemic.A recipient of many honors, Andrés was awarded a National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama in 2015.The 50,000-euro ($56,700) Princess of Asturias Award of Concord is one of eight prizes, including for the arts, social sciences and sports, handed out annually by a foundation named for Spanish Crown Princess Leonor.
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Bangladesh to Lock Down as COVID-19 Cases Surge
Bangladesh starts its most severe lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic Thursday with people allowed to leave their homes only in emergencies and soldiers set to patrol the streets to enforce it, as the nation faces a deadly resurgence of COVID-19 infections.The government announced the new measures as the coronavirus surged in recent days, particularly in border areas. Health officials say the national COVID-19 positivity rate is now over 20%. Sunday saw a record number of deaths, with 119, followed by a record number of new cases — 8,364 — set Monday.Along with home confinement, the restrictions include the closure of public transport networks, sending thousands rushing to ferry and bus stations over the last two days to make it home before Thursday. The Guardian newspaper reports Cabinet secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam told reporters troops would be deployed after the lockdown takes effect. He said, “If anyone ignores their orders, legal action will be [taken against] them.”Bangladesh closed its borders when the pandemic hit last year. But many people travelled to and from India illegally anyway, bringing with them new infections. And while India’s situation has stabilized, in Bangladesh, it has escalated.Health officials are concerned the Eid al-adha Muslim holiday at the end of July will only exacerbate the situation. Bangladesh Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research official Dr. ASM Alamgir said that if the Delta variant of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is not already in Bangladesh, it will be by then. He said that while new infections are currently concentrated around border areas, during Eid millions of people go from the capital, Dhaka, where infections are also on the rise, to village areas.Officials expect Thursday’s lockdown to last at least a week. Some information in this report is from The Associated Press.
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Trapped in Ethiopia’s Tigray, People ‘Falling Like Leaves’
The plea arrived from a remote area that had so far produced only rumors and residents fleeing for their lives. Help us, the letter said, stamped and signed by a local official. At least 125 people already have starved to death. Trapped in one of the most inaccessible areas of Ethiopia’s conflict-torn Tigray region, beyond the reach of aid, people “are falling like leaves,” the official said. The letter dated June 16, obtained by The Associated Press and confirmed by a Tigray regional health official, is a rare insight into the most urgent unknown of the war between Ethiopian forces backed by Eritrea and Tigray’s former leaders: What’s the fate of hundreds of thousands of people cut off from the world for months? This image shows an official stamp on a letter dated June 16, 2021, from district leader Berhe Desta Gebremariam in the cut-off district of Mai Kinetal, Tigray, Ethiopia, to the regional capital, Mekelle.As the United States warns that up to 900,000 people in Tigray face famine conditions in the world’s worst hunger crisis in a decade, little is known about vast areas of Tigray that have been under the control of combatants from all sides since November. With blocked roads and ongoing fighting, humanitarian groups have been left without access. A possible opening emerged this week when Ethiopia’s government announced an immediate, unilateral cease-fire after Tigray fighters re-entered the regional capital and government soldiers fled. An official for the United States Agency for International Development told U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday that some aid groups were expected to test the cease-fire immediately in an effort to reach remote areas. However, it isn’t clear whether other parties in the conflict, including troops from neighboring Eritrea accused of some of the war’s worst atrocities, will respect the cease-fire. A Tigray spokesman rejected it as a “sick joke” and vowed to fully liberate the region. The letter that reached the regional capital, Mekelle, this month from the cut-off central district of Mai Kinetal was just the second plea of its kind, the health official who confirmed it said. The first had been a message from Ofla district reporting 150 deaths from starvation, which the United Nations humanitarian chief shared in a closed-door session of the U.N. Security Council in April, bringing an angry response from Ethiopia’s government. FILE – An Ethiopian woman scoops up grains of wheat after it was distributed by the Relief Society of Tigray in the town of Agula, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, May 8, 2021.But the letter from Mai Kinetal is different, the health official said, offering badly needed, well-compiled data that lay out the devastation line by line: At least 440 people have died, and at least 558 have been victims of sexual violence. More than 5,000 homes have been looted. Thousands of livestock have been taken. Tons of crops have been burned. “There is no access to clean water; electricity, phone communication, banking, health care, and access to humanitarian aid are blocked,” district leader Berhe Desta Gebremariam wrote. “People are unable to move around to save their lives because Eritrean troops completely put us under siege with no transportation, and people are condemned to suffer and die.” Looted farmers in the largely agricultural district have been left without the seeds to grow food, Berhe wrote, warning that without aid 2021 and 2022 will be catastrophic. The one aid delivery to Mai Kinetal that wasn’t blocked was based on a badly outdated 1995 census, meaning half the district’s residents were left out. The aid was later looted by Eritrean troops. Residents had been coming by foot from Mai Kinetal with word that people were starving, the Tigray regional health official said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. But the letter confirms the details and extent of the crisis. “It’s so terrible. It’s so terrible,” he said. “We know that people are dying everywhere.” Other unreachable districts remain silent, he said, as phone services are cut in much of Tigray. Asked about Mai Kinetal, a senior U.N. humanitarian official called it “an especially critical area for us to reach” and confirmed to the AP that aid had not made it into the district, and a number of others, since the conflict began. FILE – A young boy looks up as displaced Tigrayans line up to receive food at a reception center for the internally displaced in Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, May 9, 2021.Overall, the U.N. estimates that 1.6 million people remain in Tigray’s hard-to-reach areas, and the U.N. children’s agency last week warned that at least 33,000 severely malnourished children in hard-to-reach areas face the “imminent risk of death” without more aid. But humanitarian workers warn that the situation is especially fluid now amid some of the fiercest fighting yet. Even the unilateral cease-fire announced this week is designed not to last. Ethiopia’s government says it will end once the farming season in Tigray is over, which means September. How needed seeds and other supplies will reach farmers across the region in time is not clear. For Tigrayans with loved ones trapped inside inaccessible areas, the lack of information has meant months of fear and despair. “Every time I get to talk to someone who managed to flee from the area, it’s like a round of pain and shock again and again,” said Teklehaymanot G. Weldemichel, a diaspora Tigrayan from Mai Kinetal. He said his family home there had been shelled at the beginning of the war, and his parents later returned to find every item in the house taken by Eritrean soldiers, even photo albums and frames. One resident who fled to Sudan, Kibreab Fisseha, told the AP that a cousin with diabetes who stayed in Mai Kinetal had died because of lack of food. “Both my parents are still there,” Kibreab said. “They are hiding in the house and I hope they are fine until help comes.” Another Mai Kinetal resident told the AP he has been able to speak with his mother just once since the war began, in a short conversation about a month ago before phone service disappeared again. “I have been calling ever since the war started,” he said, giving only his first name, Tsige, to protect his family. He said his mother described fierce fighting as Eritreans took control of their village and many people fled. This selfie provided by Tsige, who gives only his first name, shows himself at Dogo Park, Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, Japan, April 7, 2019.Tsige’s father, in his 70s, was among those too old to leave. Eritrean soldiers one day came to the house and asked him to bring them water. He did, and the soldiers later spared him. But other residents who were found during house-to-house searches and suspected of links to the Tigray fighters were killed, Tsige said. Homes abandoned by fleeing families were burned. When another relative refused to hand over his cattle to Eritrean soldiers, they slaughtered him in front of his grandson, Tsige said. In all, he knows at least 11 people in Mai Kinetal who have been killed, including a deaf man in his 70s. “Every day could change the lives of my family,” said Tsige, who is studying in Japan and feels helplessly far away. “I have to prepare for the worst. Every few minutes you think about your family, are they alive?” Tsige is too young to know the famine that ravaged Ethiopia, especially the Tigray region, amid conflict in the 1980s and shocked the world, but he grew up hearing about it from his family. He pleaded for the international community to act and for Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to “be a human person” and end the war. “It’s happening now again, and we’re just watching it happen,” Tsige said. “I don’t want to see a documentary filmed after my family has died. I want action now.”
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Princes William, Harry to Unveil Diana Statue as Royal Rift Simmers
They were once so close.Princes William and Harry grew up together, supported each other after their mother’s untimely death and worked side by side as they began their royal duties — two brothers seemingly bonded for life by blood, tradition and tragedy.But those links are now painfully strained as William sits in London defending the royal family from allegations of racism and insensitivity made by Harry and his wife, Meghan, from their new home in Southern California.Royal watchers will be looking closely for any signs of a truce — or deepening rift — on Thursday when William and Harry unveil a statue of their mother, Princess Diana, on what would have been her 60th birthday. The event in the Sunken Garden at London’s Kensington Palace will be their second public meeting since Harry and Meghan stepped away from royal duties over a year ago.A display to mark the 20th anniversary of the death of Britain’s Diana, Princess of Wales, a recreation of the desk where Princess Diana worked in her Sitting room at Kensington Palace, on display at Buckingham Palace in London, July 20, 2017.People shouldn’t expect a quick resolution of the conflict because the two men are fighting over core beliefs, says Robert Lacey, a historian and author of “Battle of Brothers: William, Harry and the Inside Story of a Family in Tumult.” William is defending the monarchy, and Harry is defending his wife. “It’s a matter of love versus duty, with William standing for duty and the concept of the monarchy as he sees it,” Lacey said. “And then from Harry’s point of view, love, loyalty to his wife. He is standing by her. These are very deeply rooted differences, so it would be facile to think that there can just be a click of the fingers.”But finding some sort of rapprochement between the princes is crucial to the monarchy as Britain’s royal family seeks to appeal to a younger generation and a more diverse population.BBC Under Mounting Pressure Over Princess Diana InterviewThe public broadcaster has been plunged into a major crisis of trust after an inquiry found her participation was secured through deception, fraud and forgeryWhen Harry married Meghan just over three years ago, it seemed as if they would be central figures in that next chapter of the royal story. The Fab Four — William and his wife, Kate, together with Harry and Meghan — were seen as a cadre of youth and vigor that would take the monarchy forward after the tumultuous 1990s and early 2000s, when divorce, Princess Diana’s death, and Prince Charles’ controversial second marriage to Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, cast doubt on the future of the institution.Meghan, a biracial former TV star from Los Angeles, was expected to be an important part of that effort, with Black and Asian commentators saying that for the first time there was a member of the royal family who looked like them.But the words “Fab Four” were quickly replaced in tabloid headlines by “Royal Rift.” First, their joint royal office was dissolved. Then, Harry stepped away from royal duties and moved his family to North America in search of a more peaceful life. William pressed on with royal tasks, including goodwill events like accompanying his grandmother to Scotland this week to tour a soft drink factory.The relationship was further strained in March when Harry and Meghan gave an interview to U.S. talk show host Oprah Winfrey. Harry confirmed rumors that he and his brother had been growing apart, saying “the relationship is ‘space’ at the moment” — though he added that “time heals all things, hopefully.” Harry also told Winfrey that his father, Prince Charles, didn’t accept his calls for a time.And then came the real shocker. The couple revealed that before the birth of their first child, an unidentified member of the royal family had expressed concern about how dark his skin might be. Days after the broadcast, William responded, telling reporters that his was “very much not a racist family.”But whatever their disagreements, out of respect for their mother, William and Harry won’t put their differences on display during the statue ceremony, said historian Ed Owens, author of “The Family Firm: Monarchy, Mass Media and the British Public 1932-1953,” which examines the royal family’s public relations strategy.”We’re not going to see any acrimony or animosity between the brothers on Thursday,” Owens said. “I think reconciliation is a long way off, but nevertheless these are expert performers. Harry and William have been doing this job for long enough now that they know that they’ve got to put, if you like, occasional private grievances … aside for the sake of getting on with the job.”Lacey believes William and Harry will ultimately reconcile because it is in both of their interests to do so.Harry and Meghan need to repair relations to protect the aura of royalty that has allowed them to sign the lucrative contracts with Netflix and Spotify that are funding their life in California, Lacey said. If they don’t, they risk becoming irrelevant like the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, who were shunned by the royal family after the duke gave up the throne in the 1930s to marry an American divorcee. His brother, Queen Elizabeth II’s father, then became king.”It’s very appealing, particularly in America, the idea that they rebelled against this stuffy old British institution,” Lacey said. “But there’s a point they can’t go too far, and they’re approaching that point.””On William’s side, it is impossible to go on ostracizing, boycotting the only members of the royal family who are of mixed race in a multiracial world of diversity,” he added.The critical moment may be next year, when the queen celebrates her platinum jubilee, marking 70 years on the throne.Under normal circumstances for these big occasions, the queen would want the whole family together on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, where the royals have traditionally gathered to wave to the public.”Who’s going to be on the balcony at Buckingham Palace?” Lacey asked. “That family grouping has surely got to include Meghan and Harry and their two children, Archie and Lili, alongside their cousins, the children of William and Kate.”
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Germany, Italy Complete Troop Exit From Afghanistan
Germany and Italy have removed their last remaining soldiers from Afghanistan, ending almost two decades of deployment to the war-torn country alongside U.S. and other coalition troops. The United States and NATO plan to fully withdraw their militaries from the South Asian nation by September 11 in line with orders by U.S. President Joe Biden. The drawdown process formally started on May 1.Germany announced its military withdrawal without much fanfare shortly after the last 250 German soldiers were airlifted Tuesday night out of their base in northern Afghanistan.“After nearly 20 years of deployment, the last soldiers of our Bundeswehr have left Afghanistan this evening,” German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said in a statement she tweeted.“They are on their way home. A historic chapter comes to an end, an intensive deployment that challenged and shaped the Bundeswehr, in which the Bundeswehr proved itself in combat,” she wrote.The minister thanked the 150,000 German men and women who had been part of the mission in Afghanistan since 2001, saying they could be proud of their achievements.Germany has lost 59 troops, 39 of them in battles or insurgent attacks, during the course of their service, according to the German army. “You will not be forgotten,” said the German defense minister while paying tribute to those killed and wounded in service in Afghanistan.Germany still had about 1,100 soldiers in the country when Biden announced his withdrawal plans in mid-April. They were part of a non-combatant NATO-led military mission tasked to train, advise and assist Afghan soldiers battling the Taliban insurgency.A spokesman for Afghanistan’s National Security Council said while NATO countries are winding down their military missions, that does not mean bilateral state-to-state ties are also ending.An Afghan National Army soldier walks inside the Italian Camp Arena military base after Italian forces left the camp in Guzara district of Herat province, June 30, 2021.“Afghanistan maintains close ties and cooperation with Germany. They have conducted extensive training of our police forces and that collaboration will continue,” said Rahmatullah Andar in a video statement.Italy said Wednesday its military mission to Afghanistan also had ended after dozens of the last remaining Italian soldiers were flowing out of the country.Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini made the announcement after Italian troops landed at Pisa’s international airport from the western Afghan city of Herat next to the Iranian border.Officials said that 50,000 Italian soldiers served in Afghanistan over the past 20 years, and 53 of them died during the course of service while 723 others sustained injuries. NATO’s senior civilian representative in Afghanistan, Stefano Pontecorvo, reassured Afghans of the alliance’s continued engagement as it completes the withdrawal of the military forces. “This is not the end of our partnership. Together, we are entering a new phase in our relationship,” Pontecorvo said in a vide message his official released. “The military may be leaving but my civilian office and myself will be staying and we are committed to supporting the Afghan security forces through financial assistance and through training.” Fighting has surged across Afghanistan since U.S.-led international forces began leaving. Taliban insurgents claim to have captured more than 100 of the country’s 419 districts within the past two months.Afghan commando forces are seen at the site of a battlefield where they clashed with Taliban insurgents in Kunduz province, Afghanistan, June 22, 2021.A spokesman for NATO’s Resolute Support mission told AFP the withdrawal of their forces is proceeding in an “orderly and coordinated manner.”The Taliban advances have raised fears they aim to regain control of Afghanistan by force once all international forces exit the country.The U.S.-led international coalition invaded Afghanistan in October 2001, just days after the terror strikes on American cities that killed nearly 3,000 people.The military invasion ousted the Islamist Taliban from power for sheltering al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden and his aides, whom the United States says plotted the carnage. The Taliban later launched a deadly insurgency against Afghan and foreign troops. Now, they currently control or hotly contest nearly half of Afghan territory.Armed men who are against Taliban uprising guard their check post, at the Ghorband District, Parwan Province, Afghanistan, June 29, 2021.The foreign military drawdown stems from a February 2020 deal Washington negotiated with the Taliban to end what has been the longest war in U.S. history. In return, the insurgents stopped attacks on international forces and pledged to prevent terrorists from using Afghan soil for foreign attacks. The Taliban also opened peace talks in Qatar last September with representatives of the U.S.-backed Afghan government. But the dialogue has since stalled without making any significant progress, nor has the process eased hostilities between the two Afghan rivals.The U.S. commander of foreign troops in Afghanistan said Tuesday he was deeply concerned about the deteriorating security situation.Gen. Austin Scott Miller, who is overseeing the troop exit, told reporters in the Afghan capital, Kabul, that the overall security situation “is not good,” saying recent insurgent territorial gains were concerning.Brown University’s Costs of War Project estimated in April this year that the two-decade-long war in Afghanistan had killed 241,000 people, including more than 2,400 American soldiers, and cost the United States $2.26 trillion to date. Some Information from Agence France-Presse was used in this report.
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Germany Completes Troop Exit from Afghanistan
Germany has removed its last remaining soldiers from Afghanistan, ending almost two decades of deployment to the war-torn country alongside U.S. and other coalition troops.The United States and NATO plan to fully withdraw their militaries from the South Asian nation by September 11 in line with orders by U.S. President Joe Biden. The drawdown process formally started on May 1.Germany announced its military withdrawal without much fanfare shortly after the last 250 German soldiers were airlifted Tuesday night out of their base in northern Afghanistan.“After nearly 20 years of deployment, the last soldiers of our Bundeswehr have left Afghanistan this evening,” German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said in a statement she tweeted.“They are on their way home. A historic chapter comes to an end, an intensive deployment that challenged and shaped the Bundeswehr, in which the Bundeswehr proved itself in combat,” she wrote.The minister thanked the 150,000 German men and women who had been part of the mission in Afghanistan since 2001, saying they could be proud of their achievements.Germany has lost 59 troops, 39 of them in battles or insurgent attacks, during the course of their service, according to the German army. “You will not be forgotten,” said the German defense minister while paying tribute to those killed and wounded in service in Afghanistan.Germany still had about 1,100 soldiers in the country when Biden announced his withdrawal plans in mid-April. They were part of a non-combatant NATO-led military mission tasked to train, advise and assist Afghan soldiers battling the Taliban insurgency.A spokesman for Afghanistan’s National Security Council said while NATO countries are winding down their military missions, that does not mean bilateral state-to-state ties are also ending.“Afghanistan maintains close ties and cooperation with Germany. They have conducted extensive training of our police forces and that collaboration will continue,” said Rahmatullah Andar in a video statement.NATO’s senior civilian representative in Afghanistan, Stefano Pontecorvo, reassured Afghans of the alliance’s continued engagement as it completes the withdrawal of the military forces. “This is not the end of our partnership. Together, we are entering a new phase in our relationship,” Pontecorvo said in a vide message his official released. “The military may be leaving but my civilian office and myself will be staying and we are committed to supporting the Afghan security forces through financial assistance and through training.” Fighting has surged across Afghanistan since U.S.-led international forces began leaving. Taliban insurgents claim to have captured more than 100 of the country’s 419 districts within the past two months.Afghan commando forces are seen at the site of a battlefield where they clashed with Taliban insurgents in Kunduz province, Afghanistan, June 22, 2021.A spokesman for NATO’s Resolute Support mission told AFP the withdrawal of their forces is proceeding in an “orderly and coordinated manner.”The Taliban advances have raised fears they aim to regain control of Afghanistan by force once all international forces exit the country.The U.S.-led international coalition invaded Afghanistan in October 2001, just days after the terror strikes on American cities that killed nearly 3,000 people.The military invasion ousted the Islamist Taliban from power for sheltering al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden and his aides, whom the United States says plotted the carnage. The Taliban later launched a deadly insurgency against Afghan and foreign troops. Now, they currently control or hotly contest nearly half of Afghan territory.Armed men who are against Taliban uprising guard their check post, at the Ghorband District, Parwan Province, Afghanistan, June 29, 2021.The foreign military drawdown stems from a February 2020 deal Washington negotiated with the Taliban to end what has been the longest war in U.S. history. In return, the insurgents stopped attacks on international forces and pledged to prevent terrorists from using Afghan soil for foreign attacks. The Taliban also opened peace talks in Qatar last September with representatives of the U.S.-backed Afghan government. But the dialogue has since stalled without making any significant progress, nor has the process eased hostilities between the two Afghan rivals.The U.S. commander of foreign troops in Afghanistan said Tuesday he was deeply concerned about the deteriorating security situation.Gen. Austin Scott Miller, who is overseeing the troop exit, told reporters in the Afghan capital, Kabul, that the overall security situation “is not good,” saying recent insurgent territorial gains were concerning.Brown University’s Costs of War Project estimated in April this year that the two-decade-long war in Afghanistan had killed 241,000 people, including more than 2,400 American soldiers, and cost the United States $2.26 trillion to date. Some Information from Agence France-Presse was used in this report.
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Pentagon Will Leave Large Number of Troops in Afghanistan to Protect US Embassy, Airport
The U.S. will leave a number of troops that is much larger than a typical security detail to guard its embassy in Kabul, along with American forces at the Kabul airport to help protect the vital facility for a time, the Pentagon confirmed Tuesday. “Afghanistan is not going to be treated like any other nation where we have a Marine security guard. I mean, it’s Afghanistan, and we understand the dynamic nature of the security threat there,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters during a briefing Tuesday. FILE – Pentagon spokesman John Kirby speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, April 19, 2021.Kirby added that the U.S. was “still working out some of the details of what the security situation is going to look like at the airport.” “As you and I speak, there are U.S. troops at the airport. What the future of that looks like, we just don’t know right now,” he said. The Pentagon would not confirm reports about the specific numbers of troops that will stay after the withdrawal is complete. The Associated Press reported last week that roughly 650 U.S. troops are expected to remain in Afghanistan to provide security for diplomats after the withdrawal, which is set to be largely completed in a couple of weeks. FILE – Afghan commando forces are seen at the site of a battlefield where they clashed with Taliban insurgents in Kunduz province, Afghanistan, June 22, 2021.Since May 1, when the withdrawal began, the Taliban have doubled the number of districts they control, according to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Long War Journal. The Taliban have grabbed hold of more than 80 districts in the past two months, for a total of 157 Taliban-controlled districts. In an interview with VOA earlier this month, General Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, said the U.S. is not planning to support Afghan forces with airstrikes after the U.S. troops withdrawal is complete. He added that counterterrorism strikes in Afghanistan will be limited to instances when attack plans have been discovered to strike the U.S. or allied countries, according to the top U.S. commander in the Middle East. “That would be the reason for any strikes that we do in Afghanistan after we leave. (It) would have to be that we’ve uncovered someone who wants to attack the homeland of the United States, one of our allies and partners,” McKenzie told VOA. VOA Exclusive: CENTCOM Head Says US Will Not Support Afghan Forces with Airstrikes After Troop WithdrawalThe general’s comments appear to refute a report by the New York Times Asked Tuesday whether the U.S. was reconsidering its post-withdrawal strategy to include defensive strikes against the Taliban, Kirby declined to “hypothesize” but stressed “the violence remains too high.” “What we’d like to see is the Taliban returned to the peace process in a credible way. And as we see the events on the ground unfolding, it certainly calls into question the sincerity of their efforts to be a legitimate credible participant in the peace process,” he said. Kirby added Tuesday that the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan will not necessarily mean the end of NATO’s train, advise and assist mission, but deferred to NATO for more details. “It is my understanding that with the completion of the retrograde of U.S. forces, retrograde/withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, excepting, of course, whatever is left behind to protect our diplomatic presence, that that does not necessarily mean the end of Resolute Support,” Kirby said. The U.S. has vowed to continue financially aiding the Afghan military, along with providing “over-the-horizon” advising and aircraft maintenance support. NATO has said it will continue training Afghan forces in a location outside of Afghanistan.
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Ethiopia’s Government Declares Unilateral Cease-fire in Tigray
Rebels in Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region warned Tuesday their troops would seek to destroy the capabilities of Ethiopian and Eritrean forces, despite the Ethiopian government’s declaration of a unilateral cease-fire in the region. The Ethiopian government announced the cease-fire on state media late Monday, saying it would take effect immediately. The announcement came after nearly eight months of conflict in the region and as troops of Tigray’s former governing party entered the regional capital, Mekelle, prompting cheers from residents. A spokesman for the Tigrayan forces battling Ethiopia’s government warned Tuesday in an interview with Reuters the rebel Tigray Defense Forces would enter neighboring Eritrea and Ethiopia’s Amhara region to pursue “enemy” forces if necessary. Later Tuesday, a senior member of Tigray’s regional government told The New York Times that Tigray’s leadership committed to “weaken or destroy” the capabilities of the Ethiopian and Eritrean armies “wherever they are.” U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price issued a written statement late Tuesday saying the cease-fire “could be a positive step if it results in changes on the ground to end the conflict, stop the atrocities, and allow unhindered humanitarian assistance.”In this Friday, May 7, 2021 file photo, a woman walks past Ethiopian government soldiers by the side of a road north of Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia.Price said the United States is calling for “the immediate, verifiable withdrawal of all Eritrean forces from Ethiopian territory,” which he said is a necessary step for “an effective, sustainable cease-fire and in accordance with the Ethiopian government’s March commitment to do so.” VOA journalists in Mekelle said they have not seen government soldiers in the city since Sunday. Rebel troops from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which previously governed the region, announced on the party radio that their forces had entered Mekelle. “We are 100% in control of Mekelle,” Getachew Reda, a TPLF spokesperson, told Reuters on Tuesday. Clashes that occurred on the outskirts of Mekelle have since ended, Reda said. “Our forces are still in hot pursuit to south, east, to continue until every square inch of territory is cleared from the enemy,” he said. Reuters reported that it could not independently confirm that the TPLF was in full control of the capital. Agence France-Presse reports the TPLF launched a major offensive last week and cited an interim government official Monday who said the fighters were closing in on the city when government troops left. Monday’s developments come after the Tigray interim administration, appointed by the federal government, called for a cease-fire to allow aid to be delivered to thousands of people facing famine in the region. At a U.S. congressional hearing Tuesday on the conflict, U.S. Agency for International Development Administrators Sarah Charles told lawmakers the “U.S. believes famine is likely already occurring” in the region. She said the U.S. estimates between 3.5 to 4.5 million people need “urgent humanitarian food assistance” and that up to 900,000 of them are “already experiencing catastrophic conditions.” WATCH: US response to cease-fireSorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 11 MB480p | 16 MB540p | 20 MB720p | 42 MB1080p | 81 MBOriginal | 257 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioState Department official Robert Godec said at the hearing that Eritrea “should anticipate further actions” if the announced ceasefire does not improve the situation in the region. “We will not stand by in the face of horrors in Tigray,” Godec said. An Ethiopian government statement carried by state media said the cease-fire would allow farmers to till their land and aid groups to operate without the presence of military troops. It said the cease-fire would last until the end of the farming season but did not give a specific date. The country’s main planting season lasts through September. The United Nations says the nearly 8-month-old conflict in Tigray has pushed 350,000 people to the brink of famine, calling it the world’s worst famine crisis in a decade. Several U.N. Security Council members, including the United States, Britain and Ireland, have called for an urgent public meeting to discuss the developments. Diplomats said no date has yet been fixed for the meeting, and it had not been decided whether it would be a public or private session. On Monday, the United Nations children’s agency said Ethiopian soldiers entered its office in Mekelle and dismantled satellite communications equipment. UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said in a statement “This act violates U.N. privileges and immunities … We are not, and should never be, a target.” Violence in the Tigray region had intensified last week after a military airstrike on a town north of Mekelle killed more than 60 people. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus accused Ethiopian authorities of blocking ambulances from reaching victims of the strike. An Ethiopian military spokesman said only combatants, not civilians, were hit in the strike. Fighting between the Ethiopian government and the TPLF broke out in November, leaving thousands of civilians dead and forcing more than 2 million people from their homes. Troops from Eritrea, Ethiopia’s neighbor to the north, and Amhara, a neighboring region to the south of Tigray, also entered the conflict in support of the Ethiopian government. VOA’s Horn of Africa Service contributed to this report. This report contains information from the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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US Lawmakers: Ethiopian Cease-fire Likely Only Temporary
Tigrayan troops retook the capital of Mekelle this week prompting the Ethiopian government to declare an immediate cease-fire in the eight-month-long conflict. But U.S. lawmakers warned Tuesday the cease-fire may be only temporary and will likely not prevent a looming famine impacting millions in the region. VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson has more.
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World Awaits Clarity on Tigray Cease-fire
A day after the Ethiopian federal government abruptly suspended nearly eight months of military operations against rebels in its Tigray region, communications with the country’s northern region remained sketchy at best, and humanitarians were hopeful the truce would hold so aid could reach the hundreds of thousands of people struggling in famine-like conditions. “The consequences and impact of the immediate cease-fire remain unclear,” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters Tuesday. He said the organization’s aid operations have been constrained in recent days because of the fighting but would resume pending a security and access assessment. “We are looking at supply routes into Tigray in consultation with our security colleagues and logistic experts,” Dujarric said, adding that land routes and the airport in Tigray’s capital, Mekelle, are closed. FILE – Children, who fled the violence in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, wait in line for breakfast organized by a self-volunteer, in Mekelle, the capital of Tigray region, June 23, 2021.The International Committee of the Red Cross has also temporarily limited its movements outside Mekelle and is monitoring developments closely. “The situation in the region is very volatile, but Mekelle looks quiet now,” ICRC regional spokesperson Alyona Synenko said from Nairobi, where she has been in contact with ICRC staff on the ground. “Shops are open, we see people in the street. Communication networks are down, internet is not working.” The United Nations says some 350,000 Tigrayans are coping with famine-like conditions because of the fighting. On Tuesday, USAID official Sarah Charles put the number closer to 1 million in testimony to the U.S. Congress. “Of the 6 million people that live in Tigray, we estimate that 3.5 million to 4.5 million are in need of urgent humanitarian food assistance,” she said. “Of these, 700,000 to 900,000 people are already experiencing catastrophic conditions.” Without scaled up aid deliveries, she said, “we will likely see widespread famine in Ethiopia this year.” Humanitarian pause On Monday, the federal government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed unexpectedly announced it was pausing military activities against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front to “help ensure better humanitarian access and strengthen the effort to rehabilitate and rebuild the Tigray region,” which it was bombing as recently as one week ago. Aly Verjee, a London-based researcher for the U.S. Institute of Peace who specializes in East Africa, said that there are two theories as to why Abiy chose this moment to declare a cease-fire, and that the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. FILE – Staff members put files on shelves at the Ayder referral hospital in Mekelle, June 24, 2021.”One is that the ferocity of the [Tigrayan] forces’ actions has prompted the federal government to resort to a cease-fire,” said Verjee. “The second is that the federal government had been planning this, recognizing the humanitarian situation is deteriorating and something needed to be done.” Abiy has been under intense Western pressure to end the fighting. The U.S. restricted economic and security assistance to Ethiopia because of the fighting and imposed visa restrictions on some Ethiopian officials. The European Union has also warned that it is “ready to activate all its foreign policy tools.” What lies ahead? A senior State Department official warned Tuesday that the country is at an inflection point, and what the parties do now will determine its future. “If the government’s announcement of a cessation of hostilities does not result in improvements, and the situation continues to worsen, Ethiopia and Eritrea should anticipate further actions,” Acting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Robert Godec told a congressional hearing on the situation. “We will not stand by in the face of horrors in Tigray.” Eritrean troops have been fighting the Tigrayan rebels on the side of the Ethiopian military. It is not yet clear whether they have also pulled back or departed. FILE – Workers carry sacks of wheat for food distribution to people who fled the violence in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, organized by the local NGO Relief Society of Tigray, in Mekelle, the capital of Tigray region, June 22, 2021.But the halt in the federal government’s offensive does not mean the danger has passed for Ethiopia or the Horn of Africa region. Cameron Hudson, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center, said there are concerns that the country could still break apart along ethnic lines, much as Yugoslavia did in the early 1990s. “The idea that the Tigrayans are now fully in control of their territory suggests that they are very unlikely to seek a new kind of political union with Ethiopia and will in fact do their best to exert greater autonomy over the region,” Hudson said. He noted simmering ethnic tensions in several other parts of the country, which has a population of 113 million. “What lesson will they draw from the Tigrayans possibly beating back the government’s military, and then exerting greater autonomy for themselves in their region?” Hudson asked. VOA’s Kate Pound Dawson and Jesusemen Oni contributed to this report.
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Brexit: Children in Care Threatened With Becoming Undocumented in United Kingdom
They are called Adam or Nastashia, they are Europeans and live in the United Kingdom where they have been placed in homes or foster families, victims of chaotic journeys. Some of these children are now at risk of becoming undocumented as a result of Brexit.”This means that they will not have the right to live in the United Kingdom,” warns Marianne Lagrue, an official of the association Coram Children’s Legal Center which helps them. “They will not be able to access free health care, work, receive benefits, rent housing, learn to drive and have a bank account,” she told AFP.At 18, they also risk deportation from a country where they have often resided for a long time. Because since the United Kingdom definitively left the orbit of the European Union on January 1, it is no longer possible to settle there freely or to continue to reside there without special procedures, as was the case. before. While migration rules have been tightened for new arrivals from the EU, those who were already on British soil on December 31, 2020 can retain their rights provided they register, by June 30 at the latest, via the ” settlement scheme.”The program is considered a “success” by the government, with some 5 million temporary or permanent residence permits granted – far more than the number of EU nationals previously estimated at over 3 million. But it also has its drop-outs. “It’s simple if you have a job, if you are doing well with digital technologies (the requests being made mainly online, Editor’s note) and if you have all your documents,” notes Azmina Siddique, from the association The Children’s Society, interviewed by AFP. It is much more complex for children in care or young adults who have been placed: some find it difficult to prove their identity, provide the required residence documents or obtain the necessary support for their procedures, which are the responsibility of their legal guardian or the authorities. The Coram association cites the example of Adam, a 4-year-old Romanian boy born in London and separated from his mother. He cannot obtain a passport from his embassy – his father, whose consent is required, is unknown – and social workers are struggling to prove his place of residence before his placement. There is also Nastashia (assumed name), 17, broken with her family. Born in the UK, she does not have a passport and has encountered great difficulties in registering. “Many do not even realize that they are not British,” says Azmina Siddique. The impact can be “very traumatic” and “hold them back in life.”Difficult to know their exact number, the nationalities of the children placed not being collected in the United Kingdom, where the identity card does not exist. According to the Interior Ministry, 3,660 vulnerable young people (up to 25 years old) have been identified as eligible for residency status, 67% of whom had submitted an application at the end of April. A figure largely underestimated according to associations which evoke up to 9,000 of them. The ministry assured to work “closely” with these and the local authorities with in particular a support of 22 million pounds (25.6 million euros). He also promised to accept late requests if there are “reasonable grounds.”This is insufficient, regrets Azmina Siddique: from July 1, children who have missed the deadline will be “without protection” until a request for regularization has been submitted and then accepted. An interval which can extend over years, she emphasizes, and which exposes them to the hostile environment policy towards immigrants deployed by the executive. “These children could become the next Windrush generation,” she warns, referring to the scandal over the treatment of thousands of Caribbean immigrants who legally arrived in the UK between 1948 and 1971, but denied rights for lack of necessary documentation. The3Million, an association defending European citizens in the UK, urges the government to provide physical proof of residence status, which the government does not consider necessary.More broadly, according to the U.K. think tank in a Changing Europe, up to hundreds of thousands of people could find themselves without status, including the elderly, the homeless, victims of domestic violence or children wrongly considered by their parents as being covered by theirs. “If the government is not able to regularize the children for which it is responsible, what about children in vulnerable families (…) or vulnerable adults?” Asks Marianne Lagrue.
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Terrorism Spreading ‘Unabated’ Across Africa, Warns US Commander
The United States and its Western allies are being forced to confront a grim reality in Africa where years of work to blunt the spread of terrorism, whether inspired by al-Qaida, the Islamic State or local groups, has fallen short, and could soon be eclipsed by the need to focus on adversaries like China and Russia.”Despite all of our best efforts this terrorism continues to spread,” the commander of U.S. forces in Africa, General Stephen Townsend, told a virtual defense forum Tuesday.“The spread of terrorism has continued relatively unabated,” Townsend added, noting the fate of future efforts could depend on the U.S. Defense Department’s ongoing force posture review, which will determine whether his command will get more troops or resources or be asked to find ways to do more with less.FILE – In this Feb. 8, 2017 file photo, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend takes a tour of an area north of Baghdad, Iraq. (U.S. Africa Command photo)This is not the first time Townsend has called attention to Washington’s struggles to prevent the expansion of terrorist groups and ideologies across Africa.The U.S. general sounded the alarm last year, telling lawmakers, “Western and international and African efforts there are not getting the job done … ISIS and al-Qaida are on the march.” Around the same time, U.S. Africa Command began changing its language when talking about terror groups in Africa, speaking of “containing” rather than “degrading” them.This past November, the Pentagon’s inspector general was equally blunt in its final report on U.S. counterterrorism operations in Africa, warning that key terror groups, like the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab in Somalia and various affiliates of the Islamic State terror group, also known as ISIS or IS, were maintaining their strength if not growing. However, Townsend’s latest assessment comes just a day after the 83-member Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS announced its intent to form an Africa task force to push back against the terror group’s expansion on the continent. It also comes as U.S. military leaders wait for the results of a force posture review, initiated by the administration of President Joe Biden, to determine how Washington can best allocate troops and resources as it focuses more on the dangers posed by the growing great power competition with China and Russia.Earlier this month, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers he would not predict when the review would be complete, but he assured them that the focus “will be to make sure that whether it’s in Somalia or some other place in the world, that terrorists don’t have the ability to threaten our homeland.”Ongoing US force posture review-“I won’t predict when we’ll complete that work” per @SecDef Austin”The focus will be to make sure that whether its in #Somalia or some other place in the world that terrorists don’t have the ability to threaten our homeland” he adds— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) June 17, 2021SomaliaSomalia-based al-Shabab, which boasts as many as 10,000 fighters, has been a particular concern.Al-Shabab is “the world’s largest, best financed, most kinetically active arm of al-Qaida,” Townsend warned Tuesday, noting that, left alone, the group could eventually pose a risk not just to the region but to the United States itself.”We see threats there to African stability. We see threats in #Somalia to regional stability. We even see potential threats there to the US homeland” per @USAfricaCommand’s Gen Townsend re #alShabaab— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) June 29, 2021 And he warned efforts to contain the terror group were not helped by former President Donald Trump’s decision to pull all U.S. troops from the country this past December.”There’s really no denying our fairly sudden repositioning out of Somalia earlier this year has introduced new layers of risk and complexity,” he said.”The best way to engage with partners is side-by-side and face-to-face,” Townsend said. “We have limited opportunities to do that when we fly in and fly out to do training and advising.”Concerns have only grown, with senior Somali military officials telling VOA additional U.S. restrictions on airstrikes in Somalia — there has not been a single U.S. airstrike since January 20 — have only further emboldened al-Shabab, an assessment supported by intelligence from United Nation member states.US footprintIt remains to be seen how much that will change after the U.S. completes its force posture review, with top officials repeatedly stressing the need to confront China as the biggest “pacing challenge” while also emphasizing the existential threat posed by Russia’s military.“We’ve given our recommendations to our civilian leaders and we’re waiting on them to make their judgments,” Townsend said.Washington’s European allies, however, are hoping the U.S. at least finds a way to continue support for the Somali government.”We are welcomed there and invited by the Somalian government,” Vice Admiral Hervé Bléjean, director-general of the European Union Military Staff, said Tuesday, speaking at the same virtual forum as Africa Command’s Townsend.“The war is far from over and they need some help,” Bléjean said. “You can really feel the atmosphere of the insecurity there.”Central African RepublicBléjean and other European officials also see a need for the U.S. to stay involved beyond Somalia, especially in response to Russia, which has sent mercenaries from the Kremlin-linked Wagner Group to Libya and the Central African Republic.”I was in Central African Republic last week. I saw Wagner … they are everywhere,” he said. “They bring nothing to the country except immediate security answers, maybe, at the price of committing a lot of … violations of human rights and atrocities.”#Russia’s #Wagner mercenaries are “dragging Central African forces with them in those wrong behaviors” per @DGEUMS— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) June 29, 2021 “[The Russians] are very happy that they are destabilizing [the situation],” Bléjean added.The way forwardOther officials and experts worry that whether due to Russian mercenaries, climate change or terrorism, the threat from Africa is only poised to grow, and that it will be worse without help from Washington.“We’re finding an enormous arc of instability,” said Portuguese Minister of National Defense João Gomes Cravinho. “As the U.S. shifts its focus to the Indo-Pacific, it is very important that through engagement with the European Union, the U.S. should remain a relevant partner.”Former African security officials, like Samira Gaid, who served as a senior adviser to former Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire, also see a need for the U.S. to stay.“The support provided by the U.S. is tangible … towards defeating the insurgency,” she said, expressing hope Washington might take on “more of a leadership role in the security sector among [Somalia’s] partners.”Critics of the U.S. approach to counterterrorism in Africa, though, caution that terrorism and instability will just spread if Washington continues to engage in the same way it has for the past several years.“The U.S. is losing the war,” said Jennifer Cafarella, research director at the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War.“We have marshaled a considerable effort over the last two decades against various [terror] elements,” she said, noting there have been short-term victories. “But all of this activity has not actually prevented these groups from adapting and evolving.”Harun Maruf contributed to this report.
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Experts Concerned as Boko Haram Terrorists Pledge Support to Islamic State
A 13-minute-long video shows fighters from both factions chanting in solidarity. Soon afterward, the Boko Haram fighters pledge their support for the newly appointed Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) commander, known as “Khalifa Muslimai,” meaning, “The leader of all Muslims.”A Nigerian military spokesperson was not immediately available to comment. But security expert Senator Iroegbu said a fusion of both groups could mean more lethal attacks.”They now have the ability to consolidate their energy,” Iroegbu said. “There will be consolidation of leadership, resources, intelligence, which will be more difficult for the Nigerian state to deal with. When they had two factions, you could easily infiltrate an ability to work one against the other.”Boko Haram and ISWAP have been clashing for control of territory for many years.Boko Haram is known to hold larger bases in northeastern Nigeria’s Borno and Adamawa states.In May, the group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, reportedly blew up himself in order to avoid capture by ISWAP — although it must be noted that Shekau has been reported dead many times before.Darlington Abdullahi, a retired high-ranking air force officer, said ISWAP will likely take control of more areas but said the rivalry between the groups is not over.”They’re a more tested set because they’re coming from an environment where they’ve been at war with very strong nations,” Abdullahi said. “The battle between the two groups will still continue for a while but on the whole there’s more danger for the lives of people around generally.”Abdullahi said government security forces must act without delay or there will be repercussions.”At this stage is when all elements, all forces should be brought against them because they’re still trying to find their footing and trying to get other elements of Boko Haram into their fold,” Abdullahi said.ISWAP is known for often targeting the military and easily recruiting civilians from communities. Experts fear that ISWAP’s reign will make the Islamist insurgency much more difficult to control and set back years of progress.
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