N'Djamena, Chad | AFP | Thursday 7/30/2015 - 18:39 GMT

Chad's parliament was to vote Thursday on a controversial anti-terror bill after a string of deadly Boko Haram attacks, raising fears among opponents and rights activists that the law may be used to curtail freedoms.

After suffering two suicide bombings in a month, including one in a bustling market in the capital N'Djamena, Chad has beefed up security in recent weeks.

It has already banned the wearing of the full Islamic veil, and on Thursday local authorities in the capital imposed a ban on begging.

Chad has helped spearhead a major regional offensive launched in early 2015 to fight the Nigerian militants, and N'Djamena is now set to host the headquarters of a new, more efficient multinational task force created in the face of a fresh surge of attacks.

The draft anti-terror bill has already been approved by Chad's government, and now needs parliament's approval to become law.

By Thursday evening, despite hours of debate, lawmakers had yet to come to a decision.

The law's vague definition of "terrorism" has raised concerns among the country's opposition and activists, who fear it could be used too sparingly.

It also extends the pre-charge detention period to 15 days, renewable twice.

The bill targets authors of both criminal attacks and acts that inhibit "the proper functioning of public services."

This definition "opens civil society organisations and political parties to repression under the cover of (fighting) terrorism," three Chadian unions said in a joint statement.

"When pensioners occupy the streets... to demand their pensions, they risk being branded terrorists. Even a simple speech can be seen as an apology for terrorism," opposition MP and leader Saleh Kebzabo said.

"No one wants terrorism," Kebzabo said, adding that the fight against Boko Haram has come as a "windfall to the Chadian government" and "allows for the organisation of repression before the presidential vote" slated for next year.

• Ban on bars, full veils -

Chad has taken steps to increase security since suicide attacks struck a school and a police building in N'Djamena in June, killing 38 people, and again in July, killing 15 in a market.

On Thursday, authorities in N'Djamena banned begging in the capital a week after two girls who were begging blew themselves up in neighbouring Cameroon.

The full Islamic veil has also been banned after several people wearing the garment carried out suicide attacks in Chad and neighbouring countries.

In a country where Muslims make up 53 percent of the population -- with Christians accounting for 35 percent -- the ban on the veil, including the face-covering burqa, prompted mixed reactions.

The tough prohibition was a first in Africa, but several regions of Cameroon and Niger have since followed suit.

On Thursday, N'Djamena mayor Ali Haroun also ordered bars to shut at 10:00 pm, except on Saturdays and on the eve of public holidays, when they are allowed to stay open until midnight.

In Cameroon, a 12-year-old girl suicide bomber killed 20 people last Saturday night in an attack on a bar in Maroua, which is situated southwest of the border from N'Djamena.

Raids and arrests by the security forces have shot up in recent months, with reports of hundreds of people detained in N'Djamena alone.

Amnesty International has condemned the "total impunity" in which serious rights violations take place in Chad.

"Human rights defenders, journalists and trade unionists were victims of harassment, intimidation, arbitrary arrest and detention," the London-based rights group said in its annual report for 2014-2015.

yas-cl/ser/mfp

© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse

N'Djamena, Tchad | AFP | jeudi 30/07/2015 - 18:36 GMT

par Stéphane YAS à N'Djamena et Célia LEBUR à Libreville

Le Parlement tchadien débattait jeudi d'un projet de loi antiterroriste élaboré après les premiers attentats sanglants de N'Djamena le mois dernier, un texte qui inquiète l'opposition et les défenseurs des droits de l'Homme.

Ouverts en début d'après-midi, les débats se poursuivaient dans la soirée sur le projet de loi, adopté en juin par le gouvernement. Il prévoit des peines de prison allant jusqu'à la perpétuité et un prolongement de la garde à vue à 15 jours, renouvelable deux fois.

Le Tchad, en pointe dans la coalition régionale formée début 2015 contre les islamistes nigérians de Boko Haram, a été frappé par deux attaques-suicides en moins d'un mois.

Le président Idriss Déby Itno a prévenu mi-juillet qu'il ne "reculerait jamais" devant les insurgés, à qui la coalition avait infligé de lourdes défaites en début d'année mais qui ont intensifié leurs raids ces dernières semaines. Lundi, 10 pêcheurs ont encore été égorgés par les islamistes sur les rives nigérianes du lac Tchad.

Une Force d'intervention conjointe multinationale (MNJTF), à laquelle participent le Nigeria, le Niger, le Tchad, le Cameroun et le Bénin, doit prendre prochainement le relais de la coalition régionale.

Dans le projet de loi tchadien, la définition du "terrorisme", jugée trop vague, inquiète la société civile sur place, qui craint des dérives liberticides.

Le projet vise en effet les auteurs "d'actes, de menaces (attentats, prises d'otages, etc...) commis par une organisation pour créer un climat d'insécurité, exercer un chantage sur le gouvernement ou satisfaire une haine à l'égard d'une communauté, d'un pays, d'un système". Sont également visés les actes portant atteinte au "fonctionnement régulier du service public".

Cette définition "expose les organisations de la société civile, les partis politiques à des répressions sous couvert du terrorisme", affirment la Ligue tchadienne des droits de l'Homme (LTDH), l'Union des syndicats du Tchad et le Syndicat des enseignants du Tchad dans un communiqué conjoint.

"Lorsque les retraités vont occuper la rue devant la caisse de retraite pour revendiquer leurs pensions, on risque de les traiter de terroristes. Même un simple discours pourra être qualifié d'apologie du terrorisme", abonde le député Saleh Kebzabo, chef de file de l'opposition.

Autre crainte soulevée par le texte: la garde à vue, qui passe de 48 heures à 15 jours renouvelables deux fois sur autorisation du parquet. Ce délai, "trop long", peut ouvrir la voie "à des actes et traitements inhumains et dégradants", jugent la LTDH et les syndicats.

• Lois antiterroristes 'à la mode' -

"Les lois antiterroristes sont très à la mode en ce moment. Tunisie, Côte d'Ivoire, Tchad... On va tous y passer", raille Saleh Kebzabo.

Dans un contexte de menace jihadiste grandissante, plusieurs pays ont effectivement adopté en juillet des lois antiterroristes controversées, introduisant la peine de mort - en Tunisie - ou permettant des écoutes téléphoniques et des perquisitions poussées - en Côte d'Ivoire.

"Personne n'est favorable au terrorisme", mais la lutte contre Boko Haram "est une aubaine pour le gouvernement tchadien", juge le député d'opposition, affirmant: "Cela lui permet d'organiser l'appareil répressif avant la présidentielle" prévue en 2016.

Les autorités tchadiennes ont considérablement renforcé les mesures de sécurité après les attentats-suicides à N'Djamena en juin (38 morts) et en juillet (15 morts, revendiqué par Boko Haram).

Le maire de N'Djamena a ainsi annoncé jeudi l'interdiction de la mendicité dans la capitale.

Le port du voile islamique, qui permet aux kamikazes de camoufler des explosifs, est déjà interdit, fouilles et perquisitions se multiplient, et plusieurs centaines d'arrestations ont eu lieu ces derniers mois à N'Djamena.

Avant même le tour de vis lié aux tueries islamistes, les organisations internationales de défense des droits de l'Homme dénonçaient régulièrement les pratiques du pouvoir du président Déby, arrivé aux affaires par un coup d'Etat en 1990.

Selon le dernier rapport d'Amnesty International (2014-2015), de "graves violations des droits humains ont continué d'être perpétrées dans une impunité quasi totale" au Tchad.

"Des défenseurs des droits humains, des journalistes et des syndicalistes ont subi des actes de harcèlement, des manœuvres d'intimidation, ainsi que des arrestations et des détentions arbitraires", et "des membres des forces de sécurité ont tué plusieurs personnes, notamment des manifestants, lors de rassemblements de protestation", déplore Amnesty.

yas-cl/tmo

Maiduguri, Nigeria | AFP | Friday 7/31/2015 - 02:28 GMT

by Ola Awoniyi

Nigeria on Thursday named the head of a new multinational force created to fight Boko Haram jihadists carrying out a wave of attacks, as the country's outgoing defence chief of staff warned its military was underfunded and poorly equipped.

The announcement came as Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was in Cameroon in a bid to forge a stronger regional alliance against the Islamists, while the Nigerian military said it had rescued dozens of people held hostage by the militant group.

Abuja on Thursday said Major General Iliya Abbah, who previously commanded military operations in the oil-rich Niger Delta, will head the five-nation Multi-National Joint Task Force.

The force, made up of 8,700 troops from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin, is expected to be more effective than a current alliance in the battle to end Boko Haram's six-year insurgency, which has claimed some 15,000 lives.

It is expected to go into action within days, with Buhari saying during his visit to Cameroon that it would be ready "by the end of this month".

In a joint statement after their talks in Yaounde, Buhari and Cameroon's President Paul Biya expressed "their common determination to eradicate Boko Haram... and agreed to intensify the exchange of information between the two countries".

They will also beef up security along their shared border, the statement added.

The regional task force will be headquartered in Chad's capital N'Djamena, but few other specific details have emerged, raising concerns that its deployment may face delays.

Abbah, a Muslim from northern Nigeria, previously served as the army's military secretary, where he was responsible for promotions, postings and retirements, and was also part of Nigeria's contingent to peacekeeping operations in Sudan's troubled western Darfur region.

• 'Invisible enemy' -

Despite the creation of the multinational force, Nigeria's outgoing chief of defence staff warned on Thursday that the country's military "lacked the relevant equipment and motivation to fight an enemy that was invisible and embedded with the local populace".

In a speech to mark his retirement after he was sacked by Buhari this month, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh said Nigeria's forces were "neglected and underequipped to ensure the survival of certain regimes, while other regimes, based on advice from some foreign nations, deliberately reduced the size of the military and underfunded it".

He did not elaborate on which regimes or foreign countries he was referring to.

Buhari dismissed Badeh and the entire military top brass who served under his predecessor as president Goodluck Jonathan in a demonstration of the newly-elected leader's quest for a fresh start in the battle against Boko Haram.

The Nigerian president, in his remarks in Cameroon, also complained of a lack of resources, saying: "After the promises of G7 countries to help the region defeat Boko Haram, we are waiting for training, equipment and intelligence assistance."

Buhari visited Washington last week but returned empty-handed because the United States is prohibited by law from sending weapons to countries that fail to tackle human rights abuses, a stance the Nigerian leader said was helping Boko Haram.

Boko Haram has stepped up its attacks since Buhari took office in May, unleashing a wave of violence that has claimed more than 800 lives in just two months.

In another gruesome attack reported Thursday, Boko Haram militants slit the throats of 10 fishermen in villages on the shores of Lake Chad in northeastern Nigeria on Monday, a fisherman and a resident told AFP.

• Buhari's regional diplomacy -

The extremist group, whose name loosely translates as "Western education is forbidden", launched their armed insurgency in 2009 and claim to want to found a strict Islamic caliphate in and around northeastern Nigeria.

Since taking office, Buhari has also visited Chad and Niger, which have also suffered from attacks by the Islamist fighters and sent troops to take part in operations.

Buhari is expected to visit Benin, a small country on Nigeria's western border, on Saturday after his return from Cameroon.

Nigeria's army, meanwhile, said it had rescued 59 people held hostage by Boko Haram in the country's restive northeast, including 29 women and 25 children.

Mallam Modu Goni, one of the hostages rescued, said a large number of militants had abducted him and several fellow villagers last week, and that he was forced to go "several days without food before the army rescued us yesterday".

Earlier this week, the army said it had freed 30 other hostages, including 21 children.

Boko Haram has abducted thousands of civilians, including children, in raids on villages and towns inside Nigeria and abroad. Non-Muslims are forcibly converted to Islam.

The movement has also forced young teenage girls and women to become suicide bombers.

In the past eight days alone, such bombers have killed at least 47 people in attacks at crowded places, including a market and a popular bar, in towns in both Nigeria and Cameroon.

ola-ade/psr/jom

© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse

Above-average temperatures and rainfall lead to flooding in Central Asia

[Extract]

Central Asia Weather Hazards

1. High temperatures during the first half of July have led to mudflows and flooding, damaging infrastructure and displacing populations across eastern Tajikistan.

2. Above-average rainfall has triggered flash floods and river and lake inundation in several provinces of Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Locally heavy rainfall is forecast in the region, continuing the risk of floods and other adverse ground impacts in the region.

Temperature: During the last week, above-average temperatures prevailed throughout much of eastern Kazakhstan, with the largest anomalies (5° C or more) observed in the Almaty and East Kazakhstan provinces.
High temperatures during the first half of July have led to mudflows and flooding, which has also resulted in damaged infrastructure and displacing populations across eastern Tajikistan. During the next week, the GFS model indicates that normal to above-normal temperatures will persist across eastern Kazakhstan with below-normal temperatures expected throughout Afghanistan, Tajikistan and southern Pakistan.

Precipitation: Since early July, average to above-average rains in western Kazakhstan has gradually decreased moisture deficits and has led to an improvement in ground conditions in the region. Further south, heavy rainfall associated with the Indian monsoon has triggered numerous floods, affecting thousands of people and damaging infrastructure throughout parts of the Badakhshan province of eastern Afghanistan, as well as several provinces in Pakistan. During the next week, the GFS model suggests a continuation of locally heavy rainfall throughout eastern Tajikistan, eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, sustaining the risk of floods by the end of July.

MINUSMA notes with concern that acts contrary to the spirit of the agreements and arrangements relating to the ceasefire and the Peace Agreement as well as allegations of grave human rights violations and abuses have been recorded in several locations, in particular in the regions of the north. These acts are attributed to elements of movements who have signed the Agreement.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of MINUSMA, Mr. Mongi Hamdi, continues to be in contact with the leaders of the movements in question to urge them to work together for the consolidation of peace and to demonstrate restraint by ensuring that the agreements that have been concluded are strictly and rigorously respected, in spirit and letter, by all their structures and on all levels.

The MINUSMA Force has deployed the means it has at its disposal to ensure a rigorous follow-up on acts and allegations of violations. This particularly includes assessment missions to the locations where violations were reported and investigation missions by the mixed observation and verification teams (“Equipes Mixtes d’Observation et de Vérification”, EMOVs).

For its part, the Human Rights Division has deployed missions on the ground to establish the facts and responsibilities regarding violations and allegations that violations have been committed. MINUSMA continues to follow up on all the identified cases and to remind the parties concerned of their obligations in accordance with the Security Council’s resolutions and applicable national and international law.

“Thanks to the constructive spirit, of dialogue and of compromise, of the parties to the Peace Agreement, the process of settling the Malian crisis definitively and sustainably has reached a very promising phase for a better future for the Malian people as a whole, and the activities on the ground have to reflect the commitments that have been made,” Mr. Hamdi said. “The main condition for the success of this process, for which responsibility lies first and foremost with the Malian parties, is trust between the parties and, most of all, the trust and assurance of the population and international community that the parties are serious and are acting in good faith in fulfilling their commitments through concrete and tangible actions,” Mr. Hamdi continued. “These violations are therefore unacceptable and absolutely have to stop immediately. Those responsible for these grave violations of human rights have to be held accountable for their actions. I urge all the parties to work together and multiply their efforts to ensure the necessary order and discipline within their respective structures and ranks and to raise their supporters’ awareness about the importance of the Peace Agreement and the perspectives it offers, as well as on the consequences of violations of the ceasefire and human rights as foreseen in Resolution 2227 of the Security Council and the provisions of applicable international law,” Mr. Hamdi stressed.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of MINUSMA, Mr. Mongi Hamdi, met with the Minister of Solidarity, Humanitarian Action and Reconstruction of the North, Mr. Hamadou Konaté, this morning.

They discussed the need to ensure that peace dividends materialize on the ground as soon as possible to improve the living conditions of the population and to strengthen Malians’ confidence in the implementation of the Peace Agreement through concrete and tangible actions. The Head of MINUSMA and the Minister agreed upon the establishment of a Task Force to identify priority projects in this area.

Mr. Hamdi also addressed the situation on the ground, and particularly in the regions of the north, with his interlocutor. The Special Representative and the Malian Minister agreed on the need to work together to ease tensions. They stressed the importance for all parties to respect their obligations in accordance with the Peace Agreement and to comply with human rights law.

They agreed on the need to rapidly advance in the implementation of confidence-building measures between the parties to the Agreement, in particular the release of detainees. The Head of MINUSMA assured the Minister that the Mission stands ready to ensure the transport of individuals who are not suspected of being implicated in acts of terrorism or grave violations of human rights.

MAROUA, 31 July 2015 (IRIN) - A month ago, the main market in the Cameroonian town of Maroua was bustling with traders and buyers. Now it is a place of fear and suspicion, bordering on paranoia.
Five suicide bombings in just 13 days in the Far North Region, all blamed on Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, have made people jittery. Thousands of troops have been sent north by the government in distant Yaoundé and draconian security measures have come into force across much of the country.

“Since the attacks, nobody dares to come to my bar or any other social gathering along this street,” Clement Tchinda told IRIN outside his premises in central Maroua. “Business has more than collapsed and I don’t know what to do with the rest of my goods.”

The wave of suicide bombings began on 12 July in the town of Fotokol, north of Maroua on the Nigerian border. Two women concealing explosives under their burkas targeted an army bar and a military camp and killed 14 people, including a Chadian soldier. Authorities in the Far North Region responded days later by banning full-face Islamic veils, including the burka, and ordering Muslims to seek permission before gathering in large groups.

But on 22 July, Maroua itself – the capital of the Far North Region, which is 100 kilometres inside Cameroonian territory – became the target. Two girls, reportedly as young as nine and dressed as beggars, carried out the attacks. The first explosion hit the central market. The second ripped through a densely populated residential neighbourhood. Three days later, last Saturday, another suicide bomber, reported to be a teenage girl, blew herself up in a popular night spot.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which killed at least 48 people and injured scores more, but they are widely seen as retaliation for Cameroon’s involvement in the regional force against Boko Haram. Since a joint offensive earlier this year, the militant group has stepped up attacks in Chad and Niger, the other members of the coalition that border its stronghold in northeastern Nigeria. Maroua is also the base for the Cameroonian military’s operations against the Islamists.

Crackdown hurts livelihoods

Since the latest attacks in Maroua, the government has clamped down, determined to prevent potential suicide bombers from infiltrating deeper into Cameroon and committing attacks in urban centres like Yaoundé and the commercial capital Douala. The burka ban – extended to include all kinds of bulky clothing on men or women – has been imposed across much of the country.

“Any person who tries to hide his or her identity will be considered as a suspect and people should immediately report and stay away from such persons,” local politician Donatien Bonyomo said, announcing tough new measures in the central department of Noun.

“No individual who cannot be identified should be seen taking public transport, on a motorcycle or using any means of movement,” he added. “Any person wanting to wear [a burka] should stay at home.”

While this decision has caused some controversy, many Cameroonians – in a country where about 20 percent of the population is Muslim, most of them in the Far North Region – are in favour of the ban.

“If this will protect the life of innocent people then it should be banned,” Maroua resident Alijah Moussa told IRIN.

A curfew is in place from 8pm until 6am in northern and border regions, where business hours are also limited to between 6am and 6pm. There are also widespread restrictions on movement, military checkpoints on the roads, arbitrary searches of people, vehicles and goods, and on-the-spot ID checks.

Despite this climate of fear, many Cameroonians complain not of the threat from Boko Haram but that their livelihoods are being compromised.

“I’ve just been told not to sell on the streets anymore,” 16-year-old Salif Bashir told IRIN in Maroua.

He said he used to sell phone chargers and other gadgets to passersby during school breaks to pay for his studies.

“I don’t know how I’ll be able to support myself when schools reopen in September. I’m scared of the bombings, but I just can’t stay at home.”

Ismael Sani, a lorry driver who transports goods between Cameroon and Chad, shared Bashir’s anger. “My truck is stopped at several places when [crossing the border]. Some of my goods are taken apart and some end up being destroyed because the military wants to know what I carry.”

Finding the enemy within

The sudden need to have ID papers has serious implications for migrants, refugees and internally displaced people in Cameroon. There are now more than 74,000 refugees from Nigeria living in the Far North Region alone, according to local authorities. Thousands more Cameroonians have also fled the border violence and are now IDPs. Cameroon’s counter-insurgency operations have contributed to a new round of displacement. All are in need of aid.

More than 500 migrants and refugees from Nigeria, Chad and Niger – who had been living in Cameroonian border towns – were recently escorted to camps at the Nigerian border by immigration officers after failing to produce proper identification documents.

“These measures concern only those who are living without regular papers,” said Albert Mekondané Obonou, prefect of Logone and Chari, a department at the northern tip of Cameroon that is part of the Far North Region. “We want to know all those who are living with us in order to better protect our territory and people.”

But many Cameroonians displaced by the violence say they fled Boko Haram without their papers. “I am hoping that the authorities will understand us and help to produce the identification documents,” Moussa Dhubu told IRIN, anxious not to be sent back towards the border danger zone with other suspected foreigners.

Many refugees face similar problems as they were never officially registered and have chosen to live among host populations or as nomadic cattle farmers, and not in camps.

“The new security measures mean that many will go hungry and impoverished in this region, where many depend on small trading to sustain their livings,” said David Magulu, a fellow at the University of Maroua.

He pointed out that many Cameroonians in the Far North Region are uneducated and never deemed it necessary to apply for identification papers. “Some don’t even have birth certificates,” Magulu said.

“How will this group of people who mostly practise hawking survive without falling victim to these measures?”

At times likes this, aid is vital. But most projects, including those formerly run by the United Nations, the World Bank, the Chinese and international faith groups, have been cut back or abandoned because of the security situation.

Marthe Wandu, a spokesperson for local NGO ADELPA said vital UN projects in the Far North Region such as one to reduce infant and prenatal HIV/AIDS morbidity and mortality “have been slowed down by Boko Haram threats.”

The three worst affected areas in the far north, where many health clinics have closed down, cannot be reached.

The UN, which has raised its threat level for the region from 3 (moderate) last year to 5 (high) this year, says it has become difficult to deliver aid to most in-need communities in the Far North Region due to fear of attacks and kidnap. Trucks hired by the government to carry food to the military and IDP camps in the region now require an armed escort. The price for Cameroon’s involvement in the fight against Boko Haram is high.

mkn/jl/ag

The crisis in CAR has forced more than 1 million people to flee their homes. Today, more than 368,000 people remain displaced, living in the bush, in camps or with host families. They are among the 2.7 million Central African who depend on aid to survive, including 1.2 million people food insecure. Although the overall political situation in the country has improved, continued insecurity due to banditry and sporadic inter communal violence is hindering the ability of aid organizations to reach those in need of assistance and the redeployment of authorities and state basic services throughout the country. Neighbouring Cameroon, Chad, DRC and Congo still host more than 462,000 Central African refugees.

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Friday 7/31/2015 - 14:01 GMT

At least 10 people were killed when Boko Haram Islamist gunmen raided a village in Nigeria's northeastern Yobe state in a revenge attack against local vigilantes, an official said Friday.

Some 32 gunmen on motorcycles raided the village of Kukuwa-Gari at around 10:30 pm (2130 GMT) on Wednesday, killing 10 people including two women, said Baba Nuhu, a member of the local government council.

"They burnt more than half of the village, including food silos and livestock on which the people depend for their livelihood," Nuhu said.

"The attack came two ‎days after two Boko Haram members who came into the village were identified by residents and mobbed to death," Nuhu said, adding that "the attack was obviously in reprisal" over their killing.

News of the attack was slow to emerge because the insurgents have destroyed telecom masts since the insurgency began in 2009.

‎The Gujba area of Yobe state, where Kukuwa-Gari village is located, has been hard hit by Boko Haram violence in the past but has seen relative calm since troops reclaimed it in March.

In September 2013 scores of students of an agricultural college in the area were massacred as they slept in their dormitories.

In February last year dozens of students of a boarding secondary school in the main town of Buni Yadi were also killed in a gun attack on their hostels.

Boko Haram claimed responsibility for both attacks.

abu-ade/ser

© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Friday 7/31/2015 - 21:54 GMT

by Aminu Abubakar with Ola Awoniyi in Abuja

A female suicide bomber and Boko Haram gunmen killed 16 people in Nigeria as the commander of a new multinational force tasked with fighting the Islamists pledged on Friday to crush the insurgency "very soon".

Major General Iliya Abbah's appointment in an Abuja ceremony as chief of the 8,700-strong force came as a woman bomber on a tricycle killed six people in a busy market in Maiduguri, the largest city in Nigeria's restive northeastern Borno state.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who won the election in March this year on a promise to defeat the jihadists, said Friday the new task force would "lead to the speedy defeat and elimination of Boko Haram", according to a statement.

Meanwhile reports emerged that the jihadists had struck neighbouring Yobe state, killing at least 10 people including two women on Wednesday evening in a revenge attack against local vigilantes, a local official told AFP on Friday.

The suicide attack in Maiduguri was the latest in a wave of Boko Haram bombings -- often by female bombers -- targeting markets in Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon that have killed and wounded scores in the past month.

Boko Haram has kidnapped thousands of civilians, including women and children, with many either forced or indoctrinated into joining the extremists, rights groups say.

"The attack (on the Gamboru) market happened around 6:30 am (0530 GMT) as the grocers were arriving," Babakura Kolo, a vigilante in Maiduguri, told AFP.

"From accounts we gathered from people around, the woman arrived on a taxi tricycle, as every woman grocer does. She blew herself up as soon as the tricycle stopped in the midst of other tricycles dropping traders off," Kolo said.

Another local resident was at home when he heard the blast, and he rushed to the scene immediately afterwards.

"The place was littered with victims and burning rickshaws," he told AFP.

Gamboru market is the second largest in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state and birthplace of Boko Haram, which has killed at least 15,000 people since its bloody insurgency began in 2009.

The extremist group, whose name roughly translates as "Western education is forbidden", has carried on its campaign of attacks on security forces, suicide bombings and bloody raids on villages across Nigeria's north and eastern borders despite a major regional military campaign against them.

• Lake Chad offensive -

The new multinational force, whose troops Abbah said would be deployed "any time from today", is expected to be more efficient than the regional offensive launched in February.

The force will contain troops from Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad, with Benin also committed to help.

"I assure (you), by the will of God, that I will live (up) to expectations and we will see the end of this menace very soon," Abbah said in Abuja.

However Buhari has recently complained of a lack of resources, raising concerns over the force's chances of defeating Boko Haram once and for all.

The Chadian army has gone ahead and waged a vast offensive of its own in the past fortnight, targeting Islamists holed up around Lake Chad and claiming to have killed "117 terrorists".

Two soldiers have died and two were injured, a military spokesman said.

Alayi Wari, who fled his home in Fitinewa on Lake Chad for Nigeria, told AFP Boko Haram had stormed 10 villages in the past month, and that the army has since recaptured seven.

But Bullu Dagi, who has fled his home in Midi, said the villages were still "virtually deserted".

"Although most of the these villages have been reclaimed, residents are still afraid to return," Dagi said.

• Hideout -

Boko Haram has used the Lake Chad region as a hideout to fall back from offensives by Nigerian and Chadian troops inside Nigeria. The lake lies where the borders of Cameroon, Chad and Nigeria converge.

The region has seen a surge in violence since Buhari took office in May vowing to crush Boko Haram's campaign for an Islamic caliphate.

The latest attacks follow a visit this week by Buhari to Cameroon to discuss a stronger regional alliance in the wake of an unprecedented wave of five suicide bombings there.

Two of those attacks killed at least 33 people in the northern market town of Maroua, where a police officer on Friday confirmed a report that they had arrested three youths on Thursday, one allegedly carrying a plastic bag full of explosives.

abu-ade/ser/rob

IDPs high on the agenda

This quarter, IDMC launched its flagship report the Global Overview:
People internally displaced by conflict and violence. The report revealed that, as of the end of 2014, a record-breaking 38 million people were displaced within their own country by conflict or violence.
This is equivalent to the total populations of London, New York and Beijing combined. With internal displacement figures reaching a record high for the third year in a row, 11 million people were newly displaced by violent events in 2014 alone. Never in the last 10 years of IDMC’s global reporting have we reported such a high estimate for the number of people newly displaced in one year

Yaoundé, Cameroun | AFP | vendredi 31/07/2015 - 19:25 GMT

Plus de 2.000 ressortissants nigérians en situation irrégulière ont été expulsés jeudi du Cameroun vers leur pays, dans le cadre des nouvelles mesures sécuritaires visant à prévenir le risque d'attentats-suicides par les islamistes de Boko Haram, selon des sources concordantes.

L'hebdomadaire régional L'Oeil du Sahel parle d'"environ 2.500 Nigérians illégaux +raflés+ à Kousseri", dans la région de l'Extrême-Nord du Cameroun, et renvoyés jeudi dans leur pays "via des couloirs sécurisés. Il a posté sur sa page Facebook une photo montrant plusieurs camions-bennes où s'entassent des centaines de personnes sur le départ.

Une source proche des autorités régionales a confirmé que "plus de 2.000 Nigérians en situation irrégulière ont été expulsés de Kousseri", sans donner plus de précisions.

"Depuis qu'il y a eu des attentats (dans la région), les autorités ont expulsé de nombreux Nigérians", a confirmé un responsable d'ONG locale, Mey Aly. Selon lui, la plupart sont des "Nigérians ayant fui les exactions de Boko Haram" pour se réfugier au Cameroun.

Ces expulsions interviennent alors que le président nigérian Muhammadu Buhari a achevé jeudi une visite de 24 heures au Cameroun, où il a rencontré son homologue Paul Biya. Les deux chefs d'Etat se sont engagés à renforcer la coopération entre leurs pays pour combattre les insurgés islamistes.

Entre le 12 et le 25 juillet, la région de l'Extrême-nord, frontalière des fiefs nigérians de Boko Haram, a été visée par trois attentats-suicides - dont deux dans la capitale régionale, Maroua - ayant fait au moins 44 morts.

Le poste-frontière camerounais de Kousseri occupe une position stratégique, un simple pont le séparant de la capitale tchadienne N'Djamena, également frappée à deux reprises par des attentats-suicides depuis le mois de juin.

La sécurité a été considérablement renforcée dans l'Extrême-nord du Cameroun, où le port du voile islamique a été interdit pour éviter que d'éventuels kamikazes s'en servent pour dissimuler des explosifs.

"Avec ces attentats, le ton des autorités a changé" et s'est durci, explique une source sécuritaire à Maroua. "Elles ont demandé que les étrangers (notamment les Nigérians) et les déplacés des zones frontalières (où sévit Boko Haram) rentrent chez eux", a-t-elle précisé.

En outre, vendredi, "environ 300 enfants camerounais des écoles coraniques de Maroua ont été mis dans les cars" qui devaient les ramener chez eux dans leurs villages, a indiqué une source proche des autorités locales. "Cela s'est fait à la demande de leur encadrement", qui redoutaient que des insurgés réussissent à les approcher et tentent de les utiliser pour des attentats-suicides, selon cette source.

L'insurrection de Boko Haram ensanglante depuis 2009 le Nigeria, où elle a fait plus de 15.000 morts, et s'est étendue depuis plusieurs mois au Tchad et au Cameroun voisins, touchés à leur tour par des attentats-suicide meurtriers inédits sur leur sol.

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Yaoundé, Cameroon | AFP | Friday 7/31/2015 - 20:05 GMT

Cameroon has deported more than 2,000 Nigerians who were living in the country illegally as part of new security measures intended to prevent suicide attacks by Boko Haram jihadists, sources said Friday.

Regional newspaper L'Oeil du Sahel reported that about 2,500 Nigerians had been "rounded up" in Kousseri, in the far north of Cameroon, and sent back to their country on Thursday.

The weekly posted a photo on its Facebook page showing several departing trucks crammed with hundreds of passengers.

A source close to regional authorities confirmed that "more than 2,000 'irregular' Nigerians have been expelled from Kousseri".

Mey Aly, an official from a local NGO, said that most of the Nigerians "had fled the atrocities of Boko Haram" to take refuge in Cameroon.

Thursday's deportations came just a day after Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari visited Cameroon for talks on how to combat the escalating regional threat from Boko Haram.

Buhari and Cameroonian counterpart Paul Biya pledged to strengthen cooperation between their two countries in the fight against the insurgents.

Between July 12 and July 25, Cameroon's far north, on the border with Boko Haram's Nigerian strongholds, suffered three suicide attacks -- two in the regional capital, Maroua -- leaving at least 44 people dead.

The Cameroonian border post at Kousseri -- which has been hit by two suicide attacks since June -- occupies a strategic position, with just a bridge separating it from Chad's capital N'Djamena.

Authorities in Cameroon's far north have taken significant steps to boost security, including banning women from wearing the full face-veil amid fears that suicide bombers could use the garment to conceal explosives.

"With these attacks, the tone of the authorities has changed," said a security source in Maroua. "They have asked that foreigners (notably Nigerians) and displaced people in the border areas go home."

Some 300 Cameroonian children were removed from their Koranic schools in Maroua and taken back to their villages on Friday, according to a source close to local authorities, as the schools' managers feared that insurgents could try to use them for suicide attacks.

Boko Haram's bloody insurgency in Nigeria has left more than 15,000 people dead since 2009 and has increasingly spread across the country's borders, with Chad and Cameroon suffering deadly suicide bombings in recent months.

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UNDP has begun to implement a programme of early recovery in the northeast of Nigeria that will create hundreds of jobs while promoting peace and social cohesion among conflict-affected communities.

The violence in the northeast has destroyed lives and communities and displaced 1.4 million people, while 4.5 million are at risk of going hungry. Funded by the Government of Norway to the tune of USD 1.7 million, the programme will help communities in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States to making a living, as well as establish new networks to prevent conflict and promote dialogue.

UNDP will train an initial 500 women and youths so they can acquire the skills to work in a diversity of trades and disciplines, including producing metals, electrical installation, plumbing, computer and cellphone repair and catering. Many of them will also learn how to do book-keeping and accounting so they can operate small businesses of their own.

With the economy in these three states at a standstill, and the livelihoods of communities and households disrupted, the jobs will go a long way toward helping families to sustain themselves and restart their lives once the conflict has ended.

Working through the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), UNDP is also providing seeds, equipment and training so 1,400 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Adamawa and Borno States can grow and sell their own food.

In addition, the programme will establish an early warning system in the three States and Gombe State, allowing people to report incidents through text messages and dedicated social media platforms. The information will immediately be collected by monitors within the respective States who will transmit it to relevant authorities for follow-up action. In order to help prevent and resolve conflicts, programme participants will be trained in various aspects of conflict prevention and transformation, and community outreach.

Thanks to the programme, psychosocial counselling and support for trauma healing will be dispensed to victims of violence, including many women and girls.

Earlier this month, UNDP, working with local partners, began to screen victims of the insurgency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States, identifying close to 300 of them as eligible to participate in the programme. This exercise will continue in the coming weeks so as to identify more victims to be supportes.

UNDP will work with beneficiaries for an initial period of 6 months to one year. They will be given secure accommodation and will paid a monthly stipend of USD100 for the entire period of the training. At the end of the training, they will be assisted with equipment to establish their own businesses.

UNDP Nigeria is building on the success of a similar intervention targeted at victims of violent conflict implemented in Jos, Plateau State, North Central of Nigeria.

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) monitors trends in staple food prices in countries vulnerable to food insecurity. For each FEWS NET country and region, the Price Bulletin provides a set of charts showing monthly prices in the current marketing year in selected urban centers and allowing users to compare current trends with both five - year average prices, indicative of seasonal trends, and prices in the previous year.

Rice, millet, sorghum, and maize are the primary staple foods in Senegal. Groundnuts are both an important source of protein and a commonly grown cash crop. Imported rice is consumed daily by the vast majority of households in Senegal particularly in Dakar and Touba urban centers. Local rice is produced and consumed in the Senegal River Valley. St. Louis is a major market for the Senegal River Valley .Millet is consumed in central regions where Kaolack is the most important regional market. Maize is produced and consumed in areas around Kaolack, Tambacounda, and the Senegal River Valley .Some maize is also imported mainly from the international market. High demand for all commodities exists in and around Touba and Dakar. They are also important centers for stocking and storage during the lean season. The harvests of grains and groundnuts begin at the end of the marketing year in October; and stocks of locally produced grains are drawn down throughout the marketing year. Senegal depends more on imports from the international market for rice than from cross border trade which mainly includes cattle from Mali and Mauritania that supply Dakar and surrounding markets .

Des déficits de consommation chez les pauvres du centre et du sud du pays

MESSAGES CLÉS

 L’absence de stocks alimentaires familiaux, l’importante baisse des revenus saisonniers et des programmes d’assistance insuffisants placent les ménages pauvres du centre et du sud du pays en insécurité alimentaire de type Crise (Phase 3 et 3 ! de l’IPC) entre juillet et septembre.

 Bien qu’on s’attende, dans les prochains mois, à des conditions pastorales et des apports agricoles qui augmenteront leur accès à la nourriture, les ménages pauvres des zones citées, seront en situation de Stress (Phase 2 de l’IPC) entre octobre et décembre.
Les remboursements des dettes, la diminution du cheptel, et l’arrêt des programmes d’assistance réduiront l’impact de ces apports pendant ce période, contribuant à des niveaux élevés d'insécurité alimentaire.

 Contrairement aux centres urbains, les prix des animaux sont, depuis juin, en forte baisse dans les zones rurales. Les mauvaises conditions pastorales ont entraîné des surventes atypiques dont les méfaits sont accentués par les courtiers. Les ménages d’éleveurs pauvres du pays ayant des déficits de protection de leur principal moyen d’existence resteront en situation très accentuée de Stress (Phase 2 de l’IPC) jusqu’en septembre.

 Les prévisions d’un hivernage probablement moyen nous autorise à considérer que les zones actuellement en situation de Stress(Phase 2 de l’IPC) bénéficieront, entre octobre et décembre, de conditions pastorales favorables et des récoltes pluviales qui placeront les ménages pauvres en insécurité alimentaire Minimale (Phase 1 de l’IPC).

Local rice and sorghum are the most consumed food products by poor households in Mauritania followed by imported wheat which is a substitute that these households turn to the most. Local rice is grown in the river valley (in the southern regions of Trarza, Brakna, Gorgol and Guidimakha). Sorghum is produced in all areas of production (rainfed) and in flood-recession areas. However, a significant portion is imported from Mali and Senegal. Mauritania depends greatly on food imports (70% in a good agricultural year and 85% in a bad year) than on internal production. Nouakchott is the principal collection market for imported products and also the distribution market where traders acquire supplies for the secondary markets referenced below.
Cooking oil is consumed mainly in urban areas. The sale of animals is a lifestyle in all areas and an important source of income and food.