Nigeria: Boko Haram Group Suspected in Deadly Attacks

Abuja---At least 23 people have died in separate attacks in north-eastern Nigeria suspected to have been carried out by members of the Islamist group Boko Haram.

On Monday 18 people were killed when gunmen attacked hunters selling game meat at a market in Damboa. Similarly five people died on Tuesday in a gun attack on a group of men playing draughts in Kano.

The hard-lined Islamist sect, Boko Haram has been wagging insurgency in Nigeria, mainly in the predominantly Muslim north in bid to establish an Islamic state.

Government officials in Damboa in Borno state have confirmed the Monday attack at a market that targeted hunters selling meat from animals such as monkeys and pigs. Strict devotion to Islam forbids eating of such type of game meat and gambling.

"Gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram came to the town market and shot dead 13 local hunters on the spot while five others died from their injuries at the hospital," Abba Ahmed, a local government official told journalists.

In Kano, the main city in northern Nigeria about 500km west of Damboa, gunmen riding on motorbikes opened fire on a group of people playing draughts at an outdoor spot, in a drive-by shooting incident.

Boko Haram has been trademarked with the use of gunmen on motorbikes in many of its attacks that have also targeted police installations and churches alongside leisure spots.

Over 1,400 lives have been lost, with at least 640 deaths reported last year alone in the wake of Boko Haram insurgency since 2010.

Efforts by the government to draw the radical group into peace talks to end the long-standing insurgency have severally failed, as the group continues to infuse terror in its pursuit to instill Islamic laws throughout Nigeria which is divided along Muslim north and mostly Christian south.

Despite of a brutal repression from the government that seemed to destroy its network, the group which has been reported to have connections with the global terror ring, al-Qaeda, has regrouped and become fierce in its recent attacks.

Cairo, Egypt

Egypt’s Morsi criticizes French intervention in Mali

Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi has opposed France’s military intervention in Mali to reclaim the rebel-held north saying that such action could fuel further unrest in the entire region.

French and Malian troops launched a military offense in northern Mali on January 11 in efforts to reclaim the region that has seen huge displacements since the takeover by Islamist rebels.

The French intervention has won support in the west following its endorsement by the UN Security Council and has amassed popularity in Mali, though regional leaders have criticized the operation.

Speaking during the opening session of an Arab economic summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Morsi criticized the French mission saying it “could aggravate the conflict in the region” stressing that “any intervention should be peaceful and aimed at development.”

“We do not accept at all the military intervention in Mali because it will fuel conflict in the region,” Morsi said.

Morsi’s Reproach comes as the west continues to back the French mission. Earlier this week both the US and UK agreed to further their assistance of the operation with intelligence and transport planes.

German becomes the latest western nation to declare support for Paris. Chancellor Angela Merkel said “we cannot let them down, they are our partner”, but excluded possibilities of sending German troops to Mali at the moment.

Meanwhile French and Malian troops continue to advance northeast, seizing several central towns from the rebels in their push to reclaim back the rebel-held region.

On Monday, the joint troops seized control of Diabaly, Konna and Doutenza, three strategic towns in central Mali.

Diabaly, 350km north of the capital Bamako, is reported to have had harboured the main cluster of rebels south of the frontier, until French air strikes forced them to flee or attempt to blend in with locals.

France says it intends to swiftly hand the mission over to the regional bloc, Ecowas that had won approval to deploy 3,300 troops in Mali.

A recent offense southwards by Islamist rebels threatening to overrun the capital Bamako prompted request by the interim government for the former colonial powers to intervene at the height of the threat that would consequently risk security in the wider region.

The rebel takeover in northern Mali has resulted in more than 7000 people fleeing to neighbouring countries in the past few weeks. UN has reported of over 400,000 Malians being displaced in the past year.