2 More Militant Attacks Unsettle Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya — Only days after heavily-armed assailants stormed a crowded mall and killed scores of people in the capital, militants killed three people near the border with Somalia, Kenyan officials said Thursday, putting this country even further on edge.

South Africa 'turns corner' on HIV/AIDS, but still has a long way to go

JOHANNESBURG – As more than 2 million South Africans are now taking antiretroviral medications, many are optimistic that the country is on the verge of declaring victory against HIV/AIDS.

NBC News

Interpol issues 'white widow' alert at Kenya's request

Interpol issued an arrest notice at the request of the Kenyan authorities on Thursday for British terror widow Samantha Lewthwaite – dubbed the “white widow” – on charges of being in possession of explosives and conspiracy to commit a felony in 2011.

Attention Switches to Investigation of Kenyan Mall Siege

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenyan and American investigators began a sweeping inquiry on Wednesday into a shopping mall massacre here that killed scores of people, sifting through rubble, studying closed-circuit television footage and bringing in more resources to identify the attackers.

Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

A grief counselor, left, comforted Agnes Mutua, who had just identified her nephew, Christopher Chewa, 26, on Wednesday at a mortuary in Nairobi.

Clashes erupt in Guinea ahead of election

 

 Clashes between rival political parties erupted in Guinea’s capital Conakry on Monday, killing at least one person and injuring 50 others, the government said. 

At least one person was killed and more than 50 others wounded in Guinea’s capital Conakry during fierce clashes between supporters of rival political parties, the government said on Monday.
The fighting, which blocked roads leading to the city’s centre, comes just days before a long-awaited parliamentary election, which is scheduled to be held on Saturday.
The government issued a statement saying that a military police officer in training had been shot dead and that two other military police were wounded by gunfire. Another 49 people were injured in the clashes, according to the statement.
“Once again, the government appeals to political parties to calm down their supporters and abstain from violence against peaceful citizens,” it read.
The violence erupted despite a UN-brokered deal at the weekend to postpone the election, initially scheduled for Tuesday, to allow the electoral commission to address concerns raised by opposition parties over preparations for the vote.
Security officials on Monday issued warnings to people to limit their movements around the opposition stronghold neighbourhood in the capital where the clashes occurred.

Was UK’s 'white widow' involved in Kenya mall attack?

A British woman nicknamed the “white widow” has emerged as a possible suspect in Saturday's deadly terrorist attack carried out by al Shabaab Islamic militants on the Westgate mall in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
Speculation over the involvement of Samantha Lewthwaite, the wife of one of the suicide bombers who carried out the London 7/7 attacks, was fuelled by comments made by Kenya’s Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed on Monday, in which she said that a British woman was one of the attackers.
“From the information that we have, two or three Americans [were involved] and I think, so far, I have heard of one Brit... a woman ... and I think she has done this many times before,” she told the PBS NewsHour programme.
Should the minister’s comments prove accurate, Lewthwaite, who has been previously linked to terrorist activity and is wanted by Kenyan police over an alleged plot to bomb the country's coast, would appear a likely suspect.
Lewthwaite: From grieving widow to international terrorist
The daughter of a British soldier, Lewthwaite, 29, appears to have enjoyed an ordinary upbringing in the English market town of Aylesbury, around 45 miles northwest of London.
She first came to the attention of the British media in the wake of the July 7 bombings in London in 2005, which killed 52 people. Her husband, Germaine Lindsay, was one of four suicide bombers involved in the attack.
She met Jamaican-born Lindsay in an internet chatroom at the age of 17, two years after she converted to Islam.
Pregnant with the couple’s second child at the time, Lewthwaite initially seemed appalled by her husband’s actions.
“I totally condemn and am horrified by the atrocities which occurred in London," she said, describing Lindsay as "a good and loving husband and a brilliant father, who showed absolutely no sign of doing this atrocious crime".
The ‘myth’ of Samantha Lewthwaite
However, in the years following 7/7, media reports have linked Lewthwaite with a number of attacks across the Horn of Africa and named her as a prominent member of al Shabaab, earning her the nickname “white widow” in the press.
In February 2012 it was reported that Kenyan police were hunting for Lewthwaite after finding a fake passport containing her picture during a raid on a house linked to terrorist activity, while in August 2013 she was accused of orchestrating a grenade attack on a bar in Mombasa.
But while she is “undoubtedly involved in some way” with al Shabaab, “there is not a great deal of information” on Lewthwaite’s exact activities in recent years, Shiraz Meher, a senior fellow at the London-based International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, told FRANCE 24.
“She pops up periodically from time to time across the Horn of Africa. But there’s very little in the way of concrete facts,” he said.

A look at the al-Shabaab militant group

But whether or not she has been directly involved in any terrorist acts, her importance to al Shabaab and the wider Jihadist movement is more symbolic, says Meher.
“The first thing is that she’s a convert to Islam, she’s white, English. She has great propaganda value.
“And her husband was a July 7 bomber, which gives her a kind of pedigree as a jihadist. It feeds into the ‘myth of Samantha’.”
Confusion remains over Lewthwaite’s role
Despite the rife press speculation, whether Lewthwaite, or any women for that matter, were involved in the Nairobi attack, remains unclear with conflicting reports coming from witnesses, security forces and the Kenyan government.
Early reports at the time of the attack, which began Saturday and led to a hostage standoff between the Islamists and police that was still in progress on Tuesday, cited witnesses who said at least one of the attackers was a woman.
However, Kenyan Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said earlier on Monday that all of the terrorists were male, though some had dressed as women, before being contradicted by Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed’s comments.
Meanwhile, a British security source told Reuters that it was possible that Lewthwaite was involved in the Nairobi siege. "It is a possibility. But nothing definitive or conclusive yet" the source said.
Meher believes it is “impossible to speculate” at this stage over Lewthwaite's possible involvement.
“There’s so much conflicting information even from government officials in Kenya,” he said. “It would be unusual though for a woman to be involved in this kind of attack.”
The British Foreign Office, meanwhile, has refused to comment on whether one of its citizens may have taken part in the attack.

Nairobi mall siege over, says Kenyan president

After a harrowing four-day siege in a Nairobi mall, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said security forces had defeated the terrorists and the assault was finally over in an address to the nation on Tuesday night.
"We have ashamed and defeated our attackers, that part of our task is completed," said Kenyatta.
"We have been badly hurt, but we have been brave, united and strong. Kenya has stared down evil and triumphed. We have defeated our enemies and showed the whole world what we can accomplish."
Kenyatta said 61 civilians and six members of the security forces died in the siege. He said five attackers had been killed and that there were 11 suspects in custody.
The Kenyan president also revealed that towards the end of the security operation, three floors of the Westgate mall had collapsed and there were several bodies buried in the rubble.
Kenyatta’s televised address to the nation came a day after the Kenyan Interior Ministry said security forces had taken control of the mall. But on Tuesday, sporadic gunfire and explosions were heard from the sealed-off site, prompting questions over whether the siege had finally ended and the site had been secured.
Kenyatta declared a three-day period of national mourning starting Wednesday.
The Somali militant group al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the Nairobi mall attack, which began on Saturday afternoon as the popular, upscale mall was packed with shoppers and families dining in the food court section.
An official investigation into the attack is currently underway.

KENYA Global jihad: smoke signals from Mumbai to Nairobi

In his speech on Tuesday night, Kenyatta acknowledged reports that one British woman and two or three Americans may have been involved in the attacks.
But the Kenyan president said he could not confirm the reports and that forensic experts were working to ascertain their nationalities.

The attack began on Saturday when an estimated 12 to 15 al Shabaab militants invaded the mall, wielding grenades and firing on civilians inside the complex, which includes shops for Nike, Adidas and Bose and is popular with foreigners and wealthy Kenyans.
The militants specifically targeted non-Muslims, and at least 18 foreigners were among the dead, including six Britons, as well as citizens from France, Canada, the Netherlands, Australia, Peru, India, Ghana, South Africa and China. Nearly 200 people were wounded, including five Americans.
The attack at the Westgate mall in Nairobi's Westlands neighborhood was the deadliest terrorist attack in Kenya since the 1998 al Qaeda truck bombing of the US Embassy in Nairobi, which killed more than 200 people.

Suspected Islamists kill scores in northeast Nigeria

An attack this week in northeastern Nigeria has left at least 142 people dead, an official in Borno state said Sunday. Suspected Boko Haram insurgents dressed as soldiers set up checkpoints along a highway and gunned down travellers.

By News Wires

 

The death toll from an attack in northeastern Nigeria that saw insurgents dressed as soldiers set up checkpoints and gun down travellers on a highway has risen to at least 142, an official said Sunday.
"We recovered 55 bodies on Wednesday and 87 on Thursday," Abdulaziz Kolomi, an official with the environmental protection agency in Borno state where the attack occurred, told AFP. The previous toll from the attack late Tuesday in the Benisheik area was 87.
The insurgents, suspected to be from Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, also burned scores of homes and buildings in the assault and left corpses littering the roadside.

NIGERIA Boko Haram: Rocking the Nigerian boat

The motivation behind the assault was not immediately clear, but Boko Haram members have repeatedly carried out revenge attacks against residents over the emergence of vigilante groups that have formed to assist the military.
Benisheik was also the scene of deadly clashes on September 8 between suspected Boko Haram gunmen and vigilantes.
Residents described a gruesome assault on Tuesday, saying the attackers singled out people from Borno, while letting people from other regions pass through checkpoints.
One security source said in the wake of the attack that "they came in droves, driving about 20 pickup trucks."
Army General Mohammed Yusuf, who briefed the state governor on the attack, said troops ran out of ammunition while combatting the assault. He said the insurgents were armed with "anti-aircraft guns."
Northeastern Nigeria has seen an outburst of violence in recent days, leaving scores of people dead and casting doubt over the effectiveness of a military assault seeking to end Boko Haram's four-year insurgency.
The insurgents say they are fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north, but their aims have repeatedly shifted and much of their recent violence has targeted defenceless civilians.

NIGERIA The Boko Haram terror chief who came back from the dead

In mid-May, Nigeria declared a state of emergency across the northeast, Boko Haram's stronghold, and launched a sweeping offensive aimed at crushing the group's four-year insurgency.
While the military has claimed major successes in the campaign, the attacks may have simply shifted from cities to more remote areas.
The phone network in Borno has been switched off since the emergency measures were imposed, a move the military said was aimed at blocking the Islamists from coordinating attacks.
Some have suggested that the lack of phone service has prevented civilians from sounding the alarm during attacks. It has also made it difficult to verify information from the region.
The insurgency was estimated earlier this year to have killed at least 3,600 people since 2009, including deaths caused by the security services, but the current toll is likely much higher.
Nigeria is Africa's top oil producer and most populous country, roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominately Christian south.
(AFP)

Nigeria's Boko Haram unrest: Scores killed in Borno state

Nigeria's army and Boko Haram militants have engaged in a fierce gun battle in the north-eastern Borno state, reportedly leaving scores dead on either side.

The army says it killed 150 militants, while 16 soldiers died and nine more are missing.

However, local media report that around 100 soldiers may have died.

BBC Nigeria analyst Bashir Abdullahi says it is clear that the army still faces a tough battle with Boko Haram.

Mali announces first post-war cabinet

Mali's first post-war prime minister, Oumar Tatam Ly (left), has appointed a 34-person cabinet featuring a number of old hands and a new ministry charged with reconciliation following 18 months of rebellion and war in the west African nation.

Kagame’s party scores landslide win in Rwanda

Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s ruling party has scored a landslide win in parliamentary elections, taking 76% of the vote, the Electoral Commission said on Tuesday. The RPF party has kept a tight grip on the country for almost two decades.

 

Rwanda’s ruling party held onto power with a widely-expected landslide victory in parliamentary elections, provisional results showed on Tuesday, reinforcing President Paul Kagame’s grip on the country.

France takes centre stage at Mali presidential inauguration

Leaders from Morocco to Gabon will cheer on the inauguration of Mali's new president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on Thursday, while France, which launched military action to free its former colony of an Islamist insurgency, will take pride of place.

France will take centre stage Thursday at the inauguration of Mali's new president Ibrahim BoubacarKeita (pictured), as the former French colony enters a new era of democracy after months of political chaos.

Kenyan lawmakers back withdrawal from the ICC

Angered over the upcoming trials of Kenya's president and his deputy, lawmakers voted Thursday to withdraw from the International Criminal Court. If the UN approves the move, Kenya would become the only country ever to give up ICC membership.

Kenya’s parliament on Thursday passed a motion to withdraw from the International Criminal Court just before the country’s president and deputy president face trial at The Hague for allegedly orchestrating postelection violence more than five years ago.
Citing the fact that the United States and other world powers are not members, the majority leader of Kenya’s parliament on Thursday argued that Kenya should withdraw from the statute that created the ICC.

Raid kills 150 Boko Haram Islamists, Nigeria says

A raid on a Boko Haram camp in northeast Nigeria killed 150 Islamists and left 16 soldiers dead, the army said on Wednesday. The latest army offensive was launched last week after Boko Haram ambushed soldiers in the area, killing at least 40.

A military strike on a Boko Haram camp in Nigeria's restive northeast last week left about 150 Islamists and 16 soldiers dead, the army said Wednesday, amid reports of dozens of troops killed.

AIDS-related deaths have fallen by nearly 40% since 2005 in Eastern and Southern Africa

A ten-fold increase in access to antiretroviral therapy has contributed to significant declines in AIDS-related mortality and an average increase in life expectancy across the region

Rwanda votes in parliamentary elections

© AFP

Rwandans headed to the polls on Monday to vote in the country’s parliamentary elections, which are widely expected to be a shoo-in for President Paul Kagame’s powerful Rwandan Patriotic Front.

M23 rebels 'withdraw' from DR Congo frontline

M23 rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo declared a ceasefire Friday after days of clashes with UN-backed forces. Their retreat comes as Rwanda, accused of supporting the rebels, reportedly moved troops towards the Congo-Rwanda border.