Boko Haram now sends girls to war front –HRW

 

   

. Abductions, killings won’t affect ceasefire deal –FG
Boko Haram has been forcing abducted women and girls to go to the front line to help fight the military, according to report by the Human Rights Watch, HRW.
The group has taken more than 500 women and girls hostage since it began its insurgency in 2009, the group said yesterday.
The sect last weekend abducted 30 teenagers in Borno State. Boko Haram has declared a caliphate in areas it controls in the North-East.
The group had intensified abductions since May 2013 when the Federal Government imposed a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, HRW said.
The HRW report comes as three girls who escaped Boko Haram after being abducted in April told their story to BBC Hausa Service.
In an animation of their story, the girls described their fear of being shot or hunted down by Boko Haram, and the dangerous journey back to safety.
The group estimates that over 4,000 civilians have been killed in more than 192 attacks since May 2013 in the North-East and in Abuja.
At least 2,053 civilians were killed by Boko Haram in the first half of 2014, it says. In the report, a 19-yearold woman said she was held in militant camps for three months last year.
In one operation, she was given a knife to kill one of five vigilantes captured by Boko Haram. “I was shaking with horror and couldn’t do it.
The camp leader’s wife took the knife and killed him,” she said. On another occasion, she was forced to accompany the men to the front line.
“I was told to hold the bullets and lie in the grass while they fought. They came to me for extra bullets as the fight continued during the day.
“When security forces arrived at the scene and began to shoot at us, I fell down in fright. The insurgents dragged me along on the ground as they fled back to camp,” the woman said. HRW said it had interviewed 30 women and girls who had either fled captivity or were released by Boko Haram.
They included 12 of the 57 girls, who managed to escape when the militants raided Government Girls’ Secondary School, Chibok, in April. Boko Haram is still holding 219 of the girls it abducted during the raid, sparking a global campaign for their release.
On October 17, the Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh said the military had agreed a truce with the sect and he was hopeful that the girls would be freed within one week.
However, Boko Haram has not commented on the alleged deal and the girls have not been released. HRW said Boko Haram seemed to pick victims arbitrarily, though students and Christians were particularly targeted.
One young woman held in a camp described how combatants placed a noose around her neck and threatened her with death until she renounced her religion.
The women and girls interviewed said that some Boko Haram commanders appeared to make efforts to protect them from sexual violence.
However, HRW said it had documented eight cases of sexual violence perpetrated by fighters and most cases of rape occurred after the victims were forced to marry.
In a related development, the Federal Government yesterday said that the recent violations of the ceasefire agreement reached with members of the insurgents would not stall the ongoing effort to stop the reign of terror in the North-East. It said that much progress had so far been made in that regard.
This is even as the French and German governments have pledged to support Nigeria in its fight against terrorism and other human and natural disasters, especially the Ebola Virus Disease, EVD.
Foreign Affairs Minister, Ambassador Bashir Wali, disclosed this at the end of a trilateral meeting with the German Foreign Minister, Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his French colleague, Mr. Laurent Fabius in Abuja yesterday.
He said that Nigeria was doing everything possible to abide by the terms of the agreement reached with the terror group.
The minister also disclosed that the release of the Chibok girls was part of the negotiations, assuring that government would soon make public statements in that regard. Wali said: “Yes, there is a ceasefire and negotiation is still going on and we expect that a lot of progress will be made. Very soon we will announce where exactly we are.
“The negotiation going on is too delicate for us to start making pronouncements until after we are sure of what we have been able to achieve.
“The Chibok girls are part of the discussions, they are part of the negotiations we are doing and it requires a lot of the spirit of giveand- take.
“At this stage, I have to thank the President of Chad for facilitating this whole process that is going on in N’djamena. “The question of the abduction of some girls, of course, is something that has been going on in the country for some times, not by Boko Haram but by some miscreants and criminals.
“We also suspect that some dissidents of the main Boko Haram body probably would have done that to break the ceasefire, but this is not something that could threaten the negotiation that is going on and we shall make efforts to bring back those that have been kidnapped.”
The two European countries had earlier said they would champion the establishment of the white helmet force initiative in Europe that would respond very rapidly once there was any reported disaster in the country and the region.
The two ministers also commended the ongoing negotiations with Boko Haram and the efforts to get the Chibok girls released and to put an end to insurgency. They also committed themselves to supporting the victims of the insurgency.
The envoys, who had earlier paid a visit to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Atahiru Jega, expressed satisfaction at the efforts of the commission to have free and credible elections in the country in 2015.
“The white helmet programme will take time because it will be proposed and accepted by our colleagues, but the aim in Europe and abroad as it will apply to Africa is to be more efficient in helping to fight human and natural disasters and to help humanitarian situations,” the French minister said.
The envoy noted that at the moment, Nigeria was faced with two critical challenges, including the threat of Boko Haram and the EVD. He commended the efforts of Nigeria in tackling the two challenges, particularly the Ebola virus and pledged Europe’s support on training for the country.
“It is not just enough to show respect for the efforts Nigeria has already made but also to provide the European support and that is why we are not only here to discuss the issue but to provide the programmes for which we are training the initial 200 healthcare professionals in the country so that they cannot only provide support for their own health systems but also help in the region for people who are mostly affected by Ebola in order to contain this disease,” he added.
The German minister commended Nigeria on the fight against Boko Haram. He stated that his visit provided an opportunity for the German government to support the efforts being made for a ceasefire and to free the abducted Chibok girls.
“We are here to talk about the support we can provide in other areas, other possibilities, for example, border management so that we can prevent Boko Haram from withdrawing into neighboring countries.
“We decided in Germany to have very strong restrictions on the export of small weapons over the African continent. “Concerning our contributions in fighting terrorism, we have an agreement between Nigeria and Germany that the GIZ is educating and training parts of the Nigerian police and the army aimed at fighting the insurgents.”
Meanwhile, fighting between the Cameroun military and suspected Boko Haram militants has been going on in towns and villages since about one month ago. At least, 250 people have been reportedly killed. People have been fleeing the Camerounian border communities, including Amchide, Banki, Fotokol, Makambara, Djokana, Tourou, Dingding, Dombam and Damang, where fighting has been raging.
Ahminou Djafarou of Dingding said assailants killed 22 people in the village before Camerounian forces arrived. Djafarou said he was grateful to the Cameroun government and military for saving their lives.
Cameroun’s military spokesman, Col. Didier Badjeck, said at least 250 people, including nine soldiers and many civilians, have been killed along the 500-kilometre boundary that separates Nigeria’s Borno State, the base area of Boko Haram, from northern Cameroun. Badjeck said Boko Haram had an impressive arsenal of war weapons, and attacks towns and villages regularly to extend their territory from Borno State into Cameroun’s border villages.
He said late last week, Boko Haram fighters fired rockets when Cameroun’s Chief of Defence, Gen. René Claude Meka, visited the border areas to encourage his soldiers.
Badjeck said the militants attack every day, and were trying to seize the town of Fotokol. A few months ago, the militants seized the Camerounian border town of Ashigashia and occupied it for a month before being driven away. Meka is defiant and vows to defeat Boko Haram in Cameroun, saying Boko Haram should know that Cameroun would use all available means to destroy them.
He said they would not find refuge in Cameroun. Cameroun’s Communication Minister and government spokesperson, Issa Tchiroma, has refuted allegations that the Nigerian group has already installed itself in Cameroun. “Allusion is being made of an armed rebellion under the cover of Boko Haram in Cameroun.
This is a bunch of unfounded fragrant allegation,” Tchiroma said. “Everyone knows who Boko Haram is and what their motivations from their base in Nigeria are.”