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Israel-Palestine-Jordan
‘I captured one!’ — IDF recordings show more UNRWA staffers bragging of Oct. 7 crimes
2024-03-05
[IsraelTimes] 2 further workers accused of taking part in attacks bring number to 14; IDF says intel shows 450 employees are terror operatives; head of UN body warns it is at ’breaking point’

The IDF on Monday released audio recordings that it says incriminate two additional UNRWA employees who allegedly participated in the Hamas
...a regional Iranian catspaw,...
-led October 7 onslaught — bringing the total number of agency workers that Jerusalem says actively participated in the attacks to 14.

"I’m inside, I’m inside with the Jews," Mamdouh al-Qali, an Islamic Jihad
...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah...
terrorist whom the IDF says was employed as a teacher in a UNRWA school, is heard saying in one recording.

"How will you get home?" he is asked in the phone call, and he replies with a laugh: "When I die."

In another recording, an UNRWA teacher can purportedly be heard bragging about kidnapping Israeli hostages.

"We have female hostages, I captured one!" says Yusef al-Hawajara, a Hamas terrorist who worked as a teacher at a UNRWA school in Deir al-Balah, according to the IDF. "Everything’s fine I hope," he later says in the recording. "We will enter al-Aqsa Mosque."

He says that he entered into Israel, and "saw the sights... They shot them in the eyes... they did actions for liberations, God willing." Asked what he found while in Israel, he says, "One thousand shekels."

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari in an evening presser said that despite the "difficult content," the military chose to release the audio recordings to "remind and not forget."

"The massacre committed by Hamas on October 7 is the most documented massacre in history. Hamas murderous Moslems filmed their own cruelty. As time goes by, more and more testimonies are revealed, more intelligence every day," he said.

He said that in one of the recordings, a Hamas terrorist, who worked as a teacher at a UNRWA school in Deir al-Balah, tells his friend that he captured a "sabaya," a term used by Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
jihadists which means sex slave.

"The most difficult use of ’sabaya’ was by ISIS terrorists, who called the captured Yazidi women [in Iraq and Syria] this," Hagari added.

"In the conversation, the terrorist on the other side of the line describes a woman as a noble mare," he said.

Such comments "keeps us awake at night, and require the world to shout, as it did for the Yazidi women."

Hagari added that from testimonies of hostages who were released from Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
, "we have learned about the dangers the hostages are exposed to, especially the women and kiddies."

Last month, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant named 12 other UNRWA staffers whom it said participated in the massacre on October 7. The IDF said its intelligence shows that some 450 terror operatives in Gaza, mostly Hamas members, are also employed by UNRWA.

Jerusalem has long argued that UNRWA should be disbanded, and the recent allegations have led several donor countries to announce funding freezes, increasing concerns that the agency, which says it is the main conduit for aid for millions in the Strip during the Israel-Hamas war, could stop operating in Gaza and elsewhere in the Middle East within weeks.

The head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, warned on Monday in a letter to the General Assembly’s president that his agency is at a "breaking point," as donors freeze funding, Israel exerts pressure to dismantle the agency, and humanitarian needs soar.

UNRWA’s ability to carry out its mandate is "seriously threatened," Lazzarini said, urging member states to "provide the political support necessary to sustain" the agency.

Lazzarini has said that Israel has provided no evidence against his former employees. Last month, Israel revealed the identities of 12 UNRWA staffers who it said "actively participated" in the massacre.

Despite Lazzarini’s assertion, the UN fired the employees accused by Israel and has begun an internal probe.

Some hostages, who were released from Gaza during a weeklong truce in November, said that they were held in the homes of UNRWA members.

The IDF also revealed in February that Hamas hid a large subterranean data center directly under the UNRWA Gaza headquarters building in Gaza City. An entrance to the stronghold was found underneath a nearby UNRWA school.

Several countries — including the United States, Britannia, Germany, and Japan — suspended funding to UNRWA following the Israeli allegations. The total frozen amounts to $450 million — the equivalent of more than half the funds UNRWA received in 2023.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres
...Portuguese politician and diplomat, ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously, he was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees between 2005 and 2015. He was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and was the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party from 1992 to 2002. He served as President of the Socialist International from 1999 to 2005. In both a 2012 and 2014 poll, the Portuguese public ranked him as the best Prime Minister of the previous 30 years...
also tasked an independent panel with assessing whether UNRWA acts in a neutral fashion in the Israeli-Paleostinian conflict.

The European Commission, recognizing steps taken by the UN and its refugee agency, said Friday that it would release 50 million euros ($54 million) in UNRWA funding.

The United States — the top contributor to the chronically underfinanced agency — was among the first countries to suspend aid. It diverted some funds to other UN agencies.

But Guterres has insisted that no other agency has the capacity to replace UNRWA, which, in addition to providing humanitarian aid, manages schools and hospitals.

NGOs including Save the Children and Action Against Hunger made the same point in a joint statement, warning of the "complete collapse" of the humanitarian response in Gaza, where food and water shortages are widespread.

UNRWA employs some 30,000 people in the West Bank and Gaza, Leb
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
, Jordan and Syria — with some 13,000 of them in the Gaza Strip.
Related:
UNRWA employee: 2024-02-23 UNRWA chief: We've reached a breaking point
UNRWA employee: 2024-02-06 UN chief forms body to investigate charges against UNRWA
UNRWA employee: 2024-02-04 Emirates announces $5 million to beleaguered UNRWA for Gaza reconstruction
Link


Africa Subsaharan
Staff Of International NGO, Action Against Hunger Regains Freedom From Boko Haram After Four Years
2023-05-21
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Link


Africa Horn
Two killed in Al-Shabaab attack in Kenya amid anti-militant push in Somalia
2022-12-13
[Garowe] The al-Shabaab
...... the personification of Somali state failure...
Lions of Islam killed two people in Kenya in the latest attack which targeted the Northern Frontier District [NDF] of Mandera, a few months after the Lions of Islam kidnapped four people and drove them to Somalia, just across the border.

According to authorities in Kenya, the Lions of Islam attacked a vehicle between Jabibar and Bamboo in Mandera North. They were driving in a Land cruiser along the dangerous Rhamu-Elwak road which connects to Wajir and Garissa in northeastern Kenya.

Onesmus Kyatha, the Mandera County Commissioner, confirmed the incident and said a reinforcement had been sent to the area to pursue the attackers. Three other passengers were on board when the incident happened, and the victims were a father and his son.

Locals said the gang was after the vehicle for use in Somalia where they are facing pressure from the local administration. The Lions of Islam are facing hard times in Somalia where the government has launched a full-blown war against them.

The NPR officers who were heading to Gari village are nursing injuries at Rhamu Sub-county Hospital, police said. Witnesses said the gang opened fire on the speeding car after the driver refused to stop, leading to a confrontation that lasted for some minutes.

According to The Star, this comes days after the bandidos bully boyz stole a four-wheel drive car belonging to a Mandera resident.

The vehicle was rented by a local agency -Action Against Hunger- operating in Takaba for a medical campaign and was attacked between Elram and Falama areas south of Mandera when it was robbed on December 8, 2022.

Al-Shabaab Lions of Islam are running away from Somalia following the ongoing crackdown, and Kenyan authorities have already arrested seven of them who are said to have tried to cross over the border. The Lions of Islam are said to be of Tanzanian and Æthiopian origin.
Link


Africa Subsaharan
Islamist militants execute four aid workers in northeast Nigeria
2020-07-23
[Jpost] Islamist bully boyz in northeast Nigeria
... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border...
have executed four aid workers and a private security guard, according to a video seen by Rooters on Wednesday.

International Rescue Committee and Action Against Hunger, both aid groups, confirmed the killing of their colleagues and other humanitarian workers in statements condemning the executions.

Last month, the bully boyz released a video in which the hostages identified themselves.

"You that are working for infidel organizations, you are working to deliver their mandate but they do not care about your plight," said a man wearing a balaclava in the video, with the five captives wearing red blindfolds and kneeling in a row in front of him. "This is why whenever we abduct you, those organizations do not show any form of concern," he said.

When the man finished his speech, he and four other men in balaclavas and military fatigues shot the captives.

The execution underscores the increasing risk for aid workers in northeast Nigeria, where a decade-long conflict with Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
and Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
's regional ally has fueled one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. Since Nigeria's military withdrew into garrison towns they call "super camps," the northeast has become deadlier for many civilians, leaving previously safe major roads, much of the countryside and smaller towns unprotected.
Link


Africa Subsaharan
Four aid workers say Islamist militants abducted them in northeast Nigeria
2020-06-30
[Jpost] Islamist bandidos hard boyz have kidnapped four aid workers and a private security worker in northeast Nigeria
... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border...
, the hostages said in a video seen by Rooters on Monday.

The hostages identified themselves and said they each worked for different organizations. With just their heads and shoulders showing against leafy plants outdoors, they named large aid groups Action Against Hunger, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and REACH.

"I am appealing to the International Rescue Committee to come and rescue me," said one of the hostages, who gave his name as Luka Filibus.

The incident underscores the increasing risk for aid workers in northeast Nigeria, where a decade-long conflict with Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
and Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
's regional ally has fuelled one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

The abduction is also a sign of how dangerous the region has become since Nigeria's military withdrew into garrison towns they call "super camps", leaving previously safe major roads, much of the countryside and smaller towns unprotected.

Nigeria's army has this year touted major victories against the holy warriors, but recent attacks and the abductions undermine the claims.

While the hostages did not name Islamic State or Boko Haram, they referred to their captors as soldiers of the "khalifa". Previously, captives have used the term to refer to Islamic State West Africa Province, rather than Boko Haram.
Link


Africa Subsaharan
Armed group claims killing 4 humanitarian hostages in Nigeria, aid organisation says
2019-12-15
[DAWN] An gang that kidnapped humanitarian workers in northeastern Nigeria five months ago has claimed it killed four hostages, international aid agency Action Against Hunger said on Friday.

Six people were kidnapped in July near the town of Damasak, in the state of Borno, where gunnies operate. The krazed killer Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
in West Africa Province (ISWAP), which split from the krazed killer group Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
that began its insurgency in 2009, has become the dominant krazed killer group in the region.

The decade-long insurgency has caused the deaths of some 30,000 people and driven 2 million to flee their homes.

Action Against Hunger said one of its employees, two drivers and three health ministry workers were kidnapped. In September it said one of the hostages had been killed.

On Friday, the humanitarian agency said the group claimed to have killed four of the remaining five hostages.

"Action Against Hunger condemns these latest killings in the strongest terms and deeply regrets that its calls for the release of the hostages have not been acted upon," it said.

The organization called for the "immediate release" of its staff member, Grace, who remains in captivity.

Link


Africa Subsaharan
Armed group says it killed 4 hostages kidnapped in Nigeria -non profit
2019-12-14
[Jpost] An gang that kidnapped humanitarian workers in northeastern Nigeria five months ago has claimed it killed four hostages, international aid agency Action Against Hunger said on Friday.

Six people were kidnapped in July near the town of Damasak, in the state of Borno, where Islamist Lions of Islam operate.

Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
in West Africa Province (ISWAP), which split from the krazed killer group Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
that began its insurgency in 2009, has become the dominant jihadist group in the region. The decade-long Islamist insurgency has caused the deaths of some 30,000 people and driven 2 million to flee their homes.

Action Against Hunger said one of its employees, two drivers and three health ministry workers were kidnapped. In September it said one of the hostages had been killed.

On Friday, the humanitarian agency said the group claimed to have killed four of the remaining five hostages.

"Action Against Hunger condemns these latest killings in the strongest terms and deeply regrets that its calls for the release of the hostages have not been acted upon," it said.

It also called for the "immediate release" of its staff member, Grace, who remains in captivity.
Link


Africa Subsaharan
Jihadists Execute Aid Worker Abducted in Nigeria, Says NGO
2019-09-26
[AnNahar] Jihadists aligned to the so-called Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
group have executed one of six aid workers kidnapped in July in northeast Nigeria
... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border...
, charity group Action Against Hunger said Wednesday.

"The gang holding captive an employee of Action Against Hunger (ACF), two drivers and three health ministry personnel, have executed a hostage," the Gay Paree-based organization said in a statement.

"Action Against Hunger condemns in the strongest terms this liquidation and urgently calls for the release of the hostages."

The group said it was "extremely concerned and is fully mobilised to ensure that the remaining hostages can be quickly and safely reunited with their families".

The six Nigerian aid workers -- one woman and five men -- were seized by jihadists affiliated to the Islamic State group during an ambush on their convoy close to the border with Niger on July 18.

The Islamic State West Africa province (ISWAP) group released a video in the wake of the abduction of the female ACF staff member pleading for the release of the hostages with her five male colleagues behind her.

The kidnapping was the latest to target aid workers in the conflict-hit region after the abduction and killing of two female workers for the International Committee of the Red Thingy (ICRC) last year.

The announcement of the latest execution comes after the army last week shut down ACF offices in northeast Nigeria, accusing the organization of supplying "food and drugs" to the jihadists.

ISWAP is a splinter group of jihadist group Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
that swore allegiance in 2016 to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

It has repeatedly attacked military bases and targeted aid workers in northeast Nigeria.

The decade-long insurgency has killed 35,000 people and displaced about two million from their homes in northeast Nigeria.

Boko Haram fighters have kidnapped huge numbers of women and kiddies across the region.

The group drew worldwide attention with the kidnapping of 276 girls from a school in Chibok in 2014.
Related:
Action Against Hunger: 2019-07-26 NGO Action Against Hunger Confirms 6 Aid Workers Kidnapped in Nigeria
Action Against Hunger: 2019-07-20 NGO Says Staff Member, Five Others, Missing After Deadly Nigeria Convoy Attack
Action Against Hunger: 2013-06-28 'Severe Humanitarian Crisis' in CAR
Related:
ISWAP: 2019-09-14 Six Nigerian soldiers dead in Islamist Militants' attacks
ISWAP: 2019-08-14 Eight killed in Nigeria jihadist attacks, say military
ISWAP: 2019-08-02 Dozens killed in Nigeria fighting between army, jihadists
Link


Africa Subsaharan
NGO Action Against Hunger Confirms 6 Aid Workers Kidnapped in Nigeria
2019-07-26
[AnNahar] Charity group Action Against Hunger (ACF) confirmed Thursday that six aid workers had been kidnapped in northeast Nigeria
... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border...
, shortly after a jihadist group released a video purporting to show them.

The Gay Paree-based charity, which provides food aid to poor communities around the world, said a staff member, two drivers and three health workers working for a local ACF programme were in the video.

The group said it "demands the liberation of its staff member and her colleagues."

"These are humanitarian workers who chose to devote their lives to helping the most vulnerable communities in Nigeria and they are only motivated by the values of solidarity, humanity and neutrality," it added.

Jihadists aligned with the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
group released a video showing the captives on Thursday.

In the three-minute recording, a woman wearing a bright blue hijab says she is an kidnapped aid worker. She addresses the camera in English while seated in front of five men she describes as her colleagues.
Link


Africa Subsaharan
NGO Says Staff Member, Five Others, Missing After Deadly Nigeria Convoy Attack
2019-07-20
[Jpost] One Action Against Hunger staff member, two drivers and three other health workers are missing after an attack on a convoy in northeast Nigeria
... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border...
in which one driver was killed, the aid organization said in a statement on Friday.

"We are deeply saddened by this tragic incident as these colleagues are dedicated to providing life-saving assistance to individuals and families," Action Against Hunger said of Thursday's attack.

Islamist bandidos bad boys carried out the attack and kidnapped the surviving members of the convoy, sources told Rooters earlier on Friday.
Link


Africa Subsaharan
'Severe Humanitarian Crisis' in CAR
2013-06-28
[An Nahar] A dozen relief agencies in the Central African Republic on Thursday warned that the whole population of the poor, landlocked nation faced a serious humanitarian crisis after a coup in March.

"The whole population of the Central African Republic, 4.6 million people, is affected by a severe humanitarian crisis in the wake of the coup d'etat and the political instability that followed it," said a statement signed notably by Action Against Hunger, Save the Children and Secours Catholique (Catholic Relief).

"The United Nations
...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks...
estimates that the CAR needs about 97 million euros ($126 million) in aid, but donations received for the moment meet only 43 percent of these needs," the statement added.

A rebel coalition, the Seleka alliance, ousted president Francois Bozize in the highly unstable country in March and one of the Seleka leaders, Michel Djotodia, became the new head of state. Unrest has persisted since the change of regime.

According to the non-governmental organizations, "more than 60,000 children and families are suffering from severe food shortages. More than 200,000 children and families have been forced in the past six months to flee their homes and need emergency shelter, food and medical care."

The relief agencies added that food and health issues were considerably worsened by insecurity, killings and looting. They also denounced many cases of rape and sexual abuse, particularly affecting children, and concluded that "the current humanitarian crisis is the worst the country has known".
Link


Africa North
French, Malian Troops Seize Northern Islamist Towns
2013-01-26
[An Nahar] French and Malian troops advanced on the key Islamist stronghold of Gao on Friday after recapturing the northern town of Hombori, as the forces of Evil struck back by bombing a strategic bridge.

The French-led assault against the radical Islamists controlling northern Mali entered its third week with a strong push into the vast semi-arid zone amid rising humanitarian concerns for people in the area facing a dire food crisis.

"At present, Malian and French soldiers are in Hombori. There are no longer any Islamists on the ground," said a teacher in the town which lies 920 kilometers (575 miles) north of the capital Bamako and 200 kilometers west of Gao.

A Malian security source said the troops would press on to the eastern city of Gao, one of the three major northern towns along with Kidal and Timbuktu, where the al-Qaeda-linked Islamists have imposed brutal sharia for 10 months.

Two French men were kidnapped in Hombori in November last year and are still in captivity. The Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed the abduction.

The security source added that in the west, the French-led forces who had recaptured the town of Diabaly on Monday, were pushing towards the town of Lere with the aim of "taking control of Timbuktu" which lies further north.

Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal were seized by an alliance of Tuareg rebels -- who wanted to declare independence of the north -- and hardline Islamist groups in April last year.

The Islamists hijacked the rebellion and sidelined the Tuaregs to implement radical Islamic laws, flogging, stoning and executing transgressors, forbidding music and television and forcing women to wear veils.

La Belle France swept to the aid of the weakened Malian army on January 11 as the Islamists pushed south towards the capital Bamako amid rising fears the zone could become an Afghanistan-like haven for terrorism.

They have bombarded both Gao and Timbuktu with Arclight airstrikes, sending the Islamists fleeing.

However,
some people cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go...
the faceless myrmidons remained on the offensive, blowing up a key bridge linking Gao to neighboring Niger on Friday, where more than 2,000 Chadian soldiers and 500 troops from Niger are being deployed to open a second front against the Islamists from the east.

"The Islamists dynamited the Tassiga bridge. No one can pass to Niger or come to Gao," said the owner of a transport business, Abdou Maiga.

A security source from Niger confirmed the strike.

A Malian trader, Oumar Maiga, told Agence La Belle France Presse by telephone that a truck headed towards the bridge had failed to notice it was no longer there and crashed, killing two and injuring three.

Aid groups warned of rising food insecurity as fighting escalated in the drought-wracked Sahel.

French aid group Action Against Hunger (ACF) raised fears "that an armed ground intervention from Niger will cut the last access route to supply basic goods (food and medicine) to people in the region," a statement said.

The French-led offensive has received broad international support, but there has also been increasing alarm about reports of rights abuses by Malian soldiers against ethnic Tuaregs and Arabs.

"Like in previous northern Malian conflicts, many civilians of Arab and Touareg origin have been targeted by the military simply because of their ethnicity and unsubstantiated rumors that they are protecting the rebels, said Yacouba Kone, of the UK-based Christian Aid.

The International Federation of Human Rights Leagues said at least 31 people had been executed in the central town of Sevare, and some bodies dumped in wells, according to local researchers.

Meanwhile,
...back at the buffalo wallow, Tex and his new-found Indian friend were preparing a little surprise for the bandidos...
west African defense chiefs planned to review progress on the limping deployment of their forces to Mali at an emergency meeting in Ivory Coast on Saturday.

The Economic Community of West African States has pledged more than 4,500 soldiers to help Mali retake its Islamist-occupied north, but the deployment has been delayed by financing and logistical problems.

An additional 2,000 soldiers from Chad, which is not an ECOWAS member, are also to be deployed.
Link



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