At least three men were killed in a village in Kenya’s coastal Lamu county in the early hours of Sunday during a raid by suspected Islamist militants, police and officials said.

At least five gunmen who spoke Somali came to Pandanguo village, searching for men. They interrogated them and some of them they killed, a survivor who was shot during the attack said from a local hospital.

The village sits about 40 km (25 miles) inland from the Indian Ocean town of Lamu, which is popular with Western tourists, and is 100 km from the border with Somalia.

“They asked me questions in the Somali language. When I struggled to respond, they shot me but hit my hand,” said the victim, who asked not to be named.

In the past, such attacks in Kenya have been carried out by al Shabaab, a Somali militant group which wants to punish Kenya for sending its troops into Somalia as part of an African Union peacekeeping force.

Al Shabaab, which is aligned to al Qaeda, did not claim credit for the attack and spokesman for the group could not immediately be reached.

But Mombasa county commissioner Nelson Marwa said the attack “resembles one of those executed by the al Shabaab,” though he said investigators were still looking into the reports that the attackers were speaking Somali.

In 2014, at least 60 people were killed in the area in a spate of attacks that targeted non-Muslim men. Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for those attacks.

Like the attack on Sunday, those attacks took place inland from the coast.

reuters.com

Minister of Foreign Affairs Khemaies Jhinaoui called for a “joint African action” to eradicate the terrorist threat on the continent.

“More than ever, the African countries are called to exert efforts to tighten the ranks so as to eradicate the scourge of terrorism,” underlined the Tunisian FM in a Foreign Ministry statement published Saturday.

At an address delivered on the 26^th African Union (AU) summit held on January 30-31, in Addis-Abeba, The Tunisian Foreign Minister supports “ a concrete and comprehensive approach able to dismantle the terrorist networks and dry its funding sources from informal economy, smuggling and transnational criminality, the statement adds.

Evoking the situation in Libya, Jhinaoui reasserted Tunisia’s attachment to “unity and territorial integrity of this sisterly country”, exhorting “the stakeholders to prevail dialogue in order to reach a government of national consensus in the shortest terms.”

On the fringes of the first-day works of the summit, the Foreign Minister had talks with Egyptian President Abdelfattah Al-Sissi as well as with his counterparts from Togo, Cameroon, Gambia and Rwanda, the statement specifies.  The consultation allowed to discuss means to boost bilateral co-operation relations in the different fields, in addition to appropriate means aimed to promote joint African action to meet the challenges, including notably terrorism, the same source indicates.

The inaugural session of the Summit was marked by the participation of a large number of African Heads of state and government, in addition Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

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United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, has told African Union (AU) leaders that he supports the continental body’s proposal to send 5000 peacekeepers to Burundi.

Burundi is being discussed during a closed session currently underway and continues to dominate in the AU summit. The country has been plunged into turmoil with at least 400 people killed and over 220 000 fleeing since violence erupted in April 2015.

This is after President Pierre Nkurunziza indicated he was seeking a third term in government. He’s opposed to the troop deployment, saying its interference in a sovereign country.

The UN Chief also discouraged African leaders from clinging to power. The UN meanwhile came under fire again for an un-reformed security council which remains to be a thorn in Africa’s flesh.

The AU summit draws to a close on Sunday and any pronouncement on Burundi will be closely watched.

sabc.co.za

The Nigerian military on Saturday alerted Nigerians to a new tactic it said Boko Haram terrorists have adopted in launching successful suicide bombings in locations in the North-west.

In a statement made available to PREMIUM TIMES, the spokesperson for the defence headquarters, Rabe Abubakar, said terrorists, known for using young female suicide bombers to launch attacks, have now switched to disguising as mad people to infiltrate locations.

Mr. Abubakar, a brigadier general, said, “It has come to the notice of the Defence Headquarters that Boko Haram, in their desperation to cause colossal havoc, have now devised a new method where they dress like mad persons to gain unsuspecting access to public areas to detonate bombs.

“The two male suicide bombers, dressed like mad women and carried out suicide bomb attack in Gombi, Adamawa State, is instructive in this direction. Five people lost their lives and several others were wounded in the heinous attack by these ungodly people.

“The Defence Headquarters therefore urges our fellow good citizens across the country to be wary of mad persons approaching markets, public places or crowded areas so as to nip this ugly trend in the bud.

“Nigerians are also enjoined to be security conscious at all times and should endeavour to report any suspicious person or object to security agencies for prompt action.”

Meanwhile, a concerned group of Nigerians in Diaspora, based in the United Kingdom, has pledged to work with the Nigerian military through intelligence gathering and development of software needed for the counter-insurgency operations in the North East.

The group, led by the Chairperson of the House of Representative Committee on Diaspora matters, Rita Orji, made this pledge at the Defence Headquarters Abuja, during the presentation of an award to the Chief of Defence Staff, Gabriel Olonisakin.

Ms. Orji stated said the award was given to Mr. Olonisakin, a general, in appreciation of the gallantry and doggedness of the military in keeping the nation united despite predictions of a break-up of Nigeria before the 2015 general elections.

She noted that Nigerians in Diaspora acknowledged the sacrifices members of the Armed Forces were rendering towards keeping Nigeria safe from insurgency and insecurity.

The award of gallantry presented to the Chief of Defence Staff, according to Ms. Orji, was to say thank you to the members of the Armed Forces through the CDS so as to spur the military to do more.

Receiving the award, Mr. Olonisakin thanked the group for identifying with the military, especially at this trying period in the nation’s history.

He said the award was for the Nigerian military, both the dead and the living, as well as members of their families who also bore the brunt of the insecurity in the North East and other parts of the country.

The defence chief noted that terrorism was a global phenomenon and therefore urged Nigerians in the diaspora and international community to rise up to challenges and join hands to wage war against insurgency and terrorism.

Present at the occasion, apart from the group of Nigerians in diaspora, were some members of the House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora matter and the principal staff officers of the defence headquarters.

premiumtimesng.com

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Earlier this month, al-Shabab attacked an African Union (AU) base deep into AU controlled territory. This was followed up last week with an attack on civilians in AU-controlled Mogadishu. The attacks reminded the world, again, that although al-Shabab has lost some of its previous stature, it remains resilient. But, a new threat looms. Recently, al-Shabab has been struggling to counter the new threat of the self-proclaimed Islamic State’s growing influence in East Africa. As the Islamic State gains momentum, and the rival groups compete for recruits and jockey for position, they may both use attacks on AU troops and civilians to prove their legitimacy.

Paul D. Williams recently pointed out that al-Shabab has mutated in the past several years after the AU Mission in Somalia pushed al-Shabab out of Mogadishu. The terrorist group, which Williams calls “an increasingly extremist and transnational network,” uses large scale, isolated and sometimes international attacks to maintain relevance. The Westgate Mall attack, the attack on Garissa University, the 2010 bombings in Uganda, and the AU base attack last September are all part of this pattern. He also noted al-Shabab’s increased interest in destabilizing parts of Kenya. As the Kenyan government has often overreacted to al-Shabab attacks by targeting ethnic Somalis in Kenya, whom it blames for supporting al-Shabab, it seems likely that al-Shabab will continue attacking Kenyan targets in the hope of pushing disenfranchised Somalis toward their cause.

What is perhaps more worrying is the introduction of a new power struggle within al-Shabab’s ranks. Al-Shabab is no stranger to infighting, purges and leadership changes. But this round of infighting is unique in that it centers on the question of al-Shabab’s allegiance. Long an al-Qaeda affiliate, the Islamic State has aggressively pursued al-Shabab. Given the Islamic State’s global claims and recent expansions into Yemen and West Africa, it is not surprising that it wants to gain a foothold in East Africa.

With the exception of a small number of fighters who have defected to the Islamic State, al-Shabab has thus far resisted this merger. Although it is dangerous to generalize, the group is predominately regionally focused. It lacks the global ambitions of the Islamic State. It is possible that this is one area of global jihad that the Islamic State cannot penetrate. But there are factions within al-Shabab that think the group should operate more internationally. If groups sympathetic to or aligned with the Islamic State do begin to emerge and compete for recruits and prestige in Somalia, the tempo of attacks against civilians and AU troops seems likely to increase, potentially thwarting the progress that has been made in the country. Both al-Qaeda and Islamic State affiliated groups will use these attacks to prove themselves.

All of this is bad news for the Somali people trying to rebuild their country. Al-Shabab will continue to see these types of attacks as necessary to bolster and support its narrative and legitimacy. Upstart Islamic State groups will see the attacks as necessary for the same reason. In early December 2015, President Hassan Sheikh Mohammad wrote after the Paris attacks that Somalia would “battle against the global phenomenon” that al-Shabab and the Islamic State represent. Unfortunately, Somalia may soon be facing both.

nationalinterest.org

Four Malian soldiers were killed, the army said, in two separate attacks in the country’s desert north where an Islamist insurgency has re-erupted in recent months.

A military vehicle escorting a civilian truck convoy hit an improvised explosive device on the road between the northeastern towns of Gao and Gossi, the army said in a statement.

“Following this explosion, the Malian army lost three men in the vehicle and registered three wounded,” it said.

Earlier, military sources had said that one soldier was killed and a second injured when a truck taking water to outlying army positions was attacked at a checkpoint near the city of Timbuktu.

The Islamist insurgency that has simmered since French forces drove the militants out of major northern towns two years ago has flared up again recently with raids intensifying and fighters mounting daring attacks further afield.

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which operates in northern Mali, has claimed two major attacks on hotels that killed dozens, many of them foreigners, in November in Mali’s capital Bamako and this month in Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso.

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Rights group Amnesty says it has found five possible mass graves near Burundi’s capital, where security forces are accused of killing scores of people in December.

Meanwhile, Burundian police said they had arrested two foreign journalists who were reporting on armed groups.

Violence in the country began last April, when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced he would seek a third term.

At least 439 people have died and 240,000 have fled abroad, the UN says.

African Union (AU) leaders are due to discuss the crisis in Burundi at a summit in Ethiopia.

They want Mr Nkurunziza to accept peacekeeping troops to prevent Burundi sliding into ethnic conflict, but analysts say he is unlikely to agree.

Amnesty says satellite images show disturbed earth at sites in the Buringa area on the edge of the capital Bujumbura that are consistent with witness reports.

“These images suggest a deliberate effort by the authorities to cover up the extent of the killings by their security forces and to prevent the full truth from coming out,” said Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty’s regional director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes.

At least 87 people were killed in December’s crackdown, which came after military bases were attacked by gunmen, but the UN said the true number may be much higher.

The UN said it was also analysing satellite images to investigate reports of at least nine mass graves, including one in a military camp said to contain more than 100 bodies.

Meanwhile, police said they had arrested French journalist Jean-Philippe Remy, Africa bureau chief for French daily Le Monde, and British photojournalist Phil Moore, as well as 15 other people on Thursday.

“The two foreigners were arrested in the company of armed criminals,” the security ministry said in a statement, adding that a mortar, a Kalashnikov rifle and pistols were also seized.

Le Monde has demanded their release (in French) while the Foreign Correspondents’ Association of East Africa said it was “extremely concerned” by the arrests.

The two journalists have covered the region for many years and have won awards for their work.

bbc.com

Two female suicide bombers hits Chibok Market in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State, killing 14 people and leaving over 30 others seriously injured.

It was learnt that the Chibok market had been shut down since the attack on the Government Girls’ Secondary School, during with over 200 students were abducted Boko Haram insurgents and was just reopened yesterday.

“The market was opened today (yesterday), and the suicide bombers struck at exactly 12:54 p.m. Eight people died on the spot, while over 30 were rushed to Uba General hospital in Askira Local Government with two of the victims in critical condition,” a party chairman in Chibok, Lawan Pogu told newsmen in Maiduguri. Another resident, Mallum Chibok told our correspondent that the insurgents struck despite the presence of tight security in the town.

According to him, the idea to reopen the market was opposed, adding however that some people said normalcy had returned. “I cannot understand the reason why government is insisting that normalcy has returned when you cannot go to Chibok from Maiduguri through Damboa?

The road is still closed because Boko Haram is still operating 21 kilometres away from Maiduguri.
“Today, they opened the market and we lost 14 people with over 30 hospitalised. From what we are being told now as we speak, some of the people who were taken to the hospital gave up as soon as they reach the hospital in Uba.

“Look at it; they said another six more people died making the number 14. Since the attack I have received more than 100 calls and more calls and text messages are coming in. This is very unfortunate and unbelieving. It is sad for us,” Chibok said.

nationalmirroronline.net