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Nigeria: Questions Mount Over U.S. Airstrikes in Northern Nigeria$

By Leslie Varenne, MondAfrique: The American strikes carried out in Nigeria on Christmas Day raise serious questions. Beyond the confusion surrounding the objectives of the operation, inconsistencies in official statements, and the unclear nature of the targets, the...

Nigeria grapples with end of fuel subsidyF

By Alexandre Martins Lopes: Nigerians are struggling with surging fuel prices after newly elected President Bola Tinubu declared an end to popular subsidies, a move analysts and experts said was long overdue. On his first day in office, Tinubu kept to his campaign...

Nigeria: Dozen civilian militiamen killed by bandits in KatsinaF

Posted On 2 June 2020

Thirteen people died when villagers fought back against armed cattle thieves in northern Nigeria where rustling has been on the increase, police said on Saturday. Residents of four villages, organised in local militias, took on the livestock rustlers, said Katsina state police spokesman Gambo Isah said. “Thirteen people were killed and others injured,” Isah said. “We keep telling people who are only armed with muskets and machetes to avoid confrontation with bandits who came with Kalashnikov rifles,” he said.

Northwestern Nigeria has been wracked by years of violence between rival communities over land, attacks by heavily-armed criminal gangs and reprisal killings by vigilante groups. Cattle rustling and kidnapping for ransom have flourished in the security vacuum. The military has carried out air raids on camps in Katsina, President Muhammadu Buhari’s home state, and neighbouring Zamfara try to stamp out the attacks. Nearly 100 villagers were killed this week in northern Sokoto state.

The International Crisis Group warned last week that jihadist groups waging a decade-long insurgency in northern Nigeria are gaining influence in the northwest of the country. The Brussels-based researchers said the region risked becoming a “land bridge” to Islamist fighters across the Sahel.

AFP

Recent News from Nigeria

Nigeria Adjusts Airstrike Strategy Under Expanded U.S. Security Cooperation$

Nigeria is modifying how it conducts air operations against armed groups under a revised security arrangement with the United States. The new framework places greater emphasis on U.S. intelligence and reconnaissance support while shifting operational responsibility to Nigerian forces. The approach reflects Abuja’s effort to balance external assistance with domestic control amid ongoing security challenges in the country’s northwest.

Nigeria: Questions Mount Over U.S. Airstrikes in Northern Nigeria$

The U.S. airstrikes carried out in northern Nigeria on Christmas Day have triggered confusion and skepticism across the region. Conflicting statements from Washington and Abuja, uncertainty over the identity of the targeted groups, and reports from strike locations where no militants were found have raised serious questions about the operation’s objectives. In an already fragile security environment, the lack of clarity risks adding instability rather than addressing Nigeria’s complex security challenges.

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