“KILLER COLD” RESULTS IN THE DEATH OF PEOPLE AND LIVESTOCK IN THE COUNTRY – A cold front has killed people in several Provinces and has decimated herds of livestock. Rural areas were said to have been experiencing the highest rates of mortality and internally displaced persons, many of whom lack access to adequate shelter are among those who died from exposure. Exacerbating the issue, electricity supplies from Uzbekistan have been halted and residents in cities and towns are only able to heat their homes for a few hours each night. While the Taliban claim the power shortages are due to ‘technical problems’, sources in the Palace have said it may have been caused by missed payments to Uzbekistan. Those who raise livestock in Badghis say they have lost approximately 10% of their herds over the past two days and fear more could die before the cold spell lifts.
FORMER MP SHOT AND KILLED AT HER HOME IN KABUL – Mursal Nabizada, an MP from the former regime and one of the many elected officials who remained in Afghanistan, was killed by unidentified gunmen in her home late on Saturday night. A bodyguard was also killed during the incident and a brother was wounded. An unconfirmed report stated that Nabizada had been propositioned for marriage by an unidentified senior Taliban intelligence officer on 3 separate occasions and she had repeatedly refused his advances.
Oh? That would explain it — the hussy!
Police say an investigation is underway.
UN CRITICIZES CENTRAL BANK FOR MISLEADING STATEMENTS ABOUT CASH ASSISTANCE PROGRAM – The Afghanistan Central Bank released statements on social media that suggested it had directly received an aid package valued at $40 million US dollars. The statements seemed to suggest the funds were deposited for use of the government. The posts elicited a strong response from UNAMA officials, clarifying the funds were not deposited in governmental accounts at the Central Bank and that funds were not provided to the Taliban for use in their operational budget. Some analysts believe the statement from UNAMA was directed both at the Taliban and to reassure some donor states who have been critical of the cash infusions.
LEAKED MINISTRY OF DEFENSE DOCUMENT CLAIMS THAT ISIS-K IS USING A CAMP IN PAKISTAN TO TRAIN RECRUITS – The document, provided by a source in the Ministry of Defense, says that ISIS-K is utilizing a training camp in the Tirah Valley of Khyber, Pakistan to train approximately 7,000 recruits. Apparently, a redacted version of the document was submitted to Pakistan’s Ambassador in Kabul. Another source thought the document was not based on fact but was meant to blunt criticisms from the government of Pakistan about possible TTP strongholds in Afghanistan.
SOME PASSPORT OFFICES SAID TO BE REOPENING – Some of the Provincial Passport offices have posted notices on social media saying they are reopening. We have yet to confirm the accuracy of these reports. The office in Nangarhar made an announcement on social media stating that “Citizens who have paid the fee to the bank before 23 October 2022…are informed to come to the Nangarhar police headquarters…”. We are attempting to determine if the Police Headquarters is officially involved in the process now and whether the offers are real.
DISTURBING RUMORS FROM KHOST PROVINCE THAT GIRLS IN GRADES 1-6 WILL NO LONGER BE ALLOWED TO ATTEND SCHOOL – A video circulating on social media, purportedly from a school in Khost Province shows young female students crying and screaming in a courtyard of the school while Taliban officials try to talk to them. According to the eyewitness who posted the video, the girls were told they could no longer attend school. There are reports the Mullah who administers the school was arrested and led away after he protested the closure. We do not know if this information is accurate and whether it would be a local/provincial/national policy. We assess that if the policy is a national one, there will be large-scale protests and demonstrations. In addition, such a move would likely make the Taliban a ‘pariah-state’ that would only be able to deal with other shunned nations such as Iran and Russia. It won’t be announced as a formal policy, anymore than the permanent ban on female education at the secondary and university levels has been announced as a formal policy. It’s just that the review and update of materials to meet Shariah strictures will somehow never be completed.
NEXT 24 HOURS
THE COLD FRONT IN AFGHANISTAN EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR ANOTHER 48HRS – Dangerous temperatures are expected to continue in the country. Cold injuries and/or death by exposure are a real risk and travel is strongly discouraged.
CENTRAL BANK TO AUCTION $14 MILLION DOLLAR TODAY – Concerns over the weakening Afghani against the dollar may be prompting more public auctions over the coming weeks.
SAVE THE CHILDREN PROGRAMS MAY BE SHUT DOWN AGAIN – While the well-respected NGO announced the limited reopening of their programs with female staff in select provinces, we do not anticipate they will remain open for long. A source in Kandahar claimed the supreme leader flew into a rage after hearing the announcement.
What a pity he didn’t drive himself to a severe stroke...
As was witnessed when a few Provinces reopened schooling for girls, the Taliban sent detachments to rapidly close them down. We suspect this will happen in this case. We hope we are wrong.
Nota bene: The January 15th Afghan Digest can be seen here. But I judged there was nothing of interest to us at Rantburg, so I didn’t work up a post yesterday.
The security authorities of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan confirmed that Mursal Nabizada, a former Afghan Member of Parliament, and one of her security guards were killed in Kabul earlier today.
Khalid Zadran, the Spokesperson of the Kabul Security Department confirmed to Khaam Press that Mursal Nabizada, a former representative of Laghman ...Afghan province with a population of about 445,600, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a rural society. During the invasions of Alexander the Great, the area was known as Lampaka, wich is apparently Olde Macedonian for Laghman.The city of Mihtarlam serves as the bucolic capital of the province. The population is half Pashtun, the remainder Tadjik and Pashai. It had a repution for great wealth until it was conquered in the tenth century by Abu Mansur Sabuktigin.
He conquered it and set fire to the places in its vicinity which were inhabited by infidels, and demolishing the idol-temples, he established Islam in them, He marched and captured other cities and killed the polluted wretches, destroying the idolatrous and gratifying the Musulmans. After wounding and killing beyond all measure, his hands and those of his friends became cold in counting the value of the plundered property.
After that it was mostly notable for the production of dirt, rocks, and holy men... province in the Afghan Parliament was killed by unknown button men in the 12th district of Kabul city.
Khalid Zadar said that unknown button men entered Mursal Nabizada’s house in the "Ahmadsha Baba Mena" locality in the 12th district of Kabul city and shot two people to death last night.
He further added that perpetrators have not yet been identified and the reasons behind the killing remain unclear.
Meanwhile, ...back at the shootout, another bullet hole appeared in Butch's hat...... Mursal Nabizada’s brother was also maimed, however, his family has yet to comment on the terror incident.
The Spokesperson further added that investigations are underway, and will share the finding with the public in this regard in a timely manner.
Relatives of Nabizada said that button men killed her and a guard on Sunday morning at her house.
"I heard the gunfire and when we went down, they (attackers) had left and my daughter was lying on the ground with blood on the bed alongside my son. The guard was also killed," said Nabizada’s mother.
"There was no personal hostility. I don't know if it could have been a political issue, but there was no personal enmity," said the sister of Nabizada.
Mursal Nabizada was born in 1372 solar year in Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. She was elected as a member of the parliament in 2018 in the 17th round of the Lower House of parliament to represent the people of the capital city, Kabul.
[Garowe] A senior IS-Somalia commander who hails from Æthiopia has been killed by regional troops of Puntland ...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion... , the state confirmed in a statement, following a botched attack in one of the cop shoppes within the coastal region of Bari where the snuffies have a presence.
Puntland said Abu Bara al-Yamani, who hails from the Amhara region of Æthiopia, was killed on Thursday after security forces repulsed a terror attack targeting Bali-Dhidin cop shoppe within the Bari region. The commander has been on the radar in Somalia for a number of months.
His death was regarded as a major "victory" in the fight against violent mostly peaceful extremism in Somalia, a country that is also struggling to eliminate al-Shabaab ...... an Islamic infestation centering on Somalia attempting to metastasize into Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and similar places, all of which have enough problems without them... hard boys. Both IS-Somalia and al-Shabaab have tapped imported muscle into their systems and have been targeting both Kenya and Æthiopia.
IS-Somalia has struggled to grow and expand territory past the Bari region of the Puntland party because of formidable security teams and al-Shabaab animosity. The group has been at loggerheads with al-Shabaab snuffies for a number of years and seemingly lost the fight.
A little bit of bleach in the gene pool.
The IS-Somalia snuffies are said to have recruited fighters from Æthiopia and Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... but the number keeps reducing due to logistical challenges. The group rarely wages attacks in Bosaso and other neighboring towns due to the heavy presence of security forces within the Puntland region.
On Thursday, Bari region police commander Abdulkadir Jama Dirir said overnight IS attack on Balidhidhincop shoppe ’repulsed.’ A policeman and a hard boy were killed in the ensuing firefight, in an apparent reference to the commander, who was not immediately identified.
On August 19, 2021, IS-Somalia attacked Balidhidhin killing mayor Mohammed Ahmed Mumin, in what remains one of the worst attacks within the state. Puntland has pledged to work closely with the federal government of Somalia forces as the country counties with an offensive against the hard boys.
[ShabelleMedia] The victorious Somali troops dislodge al-Shabaab ...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... from a fixed base in the central region on Sunday, the latest in a series of successive territorial gains.
The government-run media reported that the army tanks rolled into Baraga Sheikh Amir area, which lies on the outskirts of the newly liberated Masagaaway in the Galgadud region.
Abdi Ali Gadid, a senior al-Shabaab commander fell to the hands of the troops after his fellow fighters unexpectedly vacated their bases before the arrival of the SNA.
The army officials in the region said Gadid was detained while smuggling weapons to his group. His capture is yet a blow to al-Shabaab as it losses grip on most of its strongholds.
Galmudug ...a semiautonomous region in central Somalia, bordering Puntland on the north. Galmudug is not trying to obtain international recognition as a separate nation, but rather considers itself autonomous within the larger Somali federalism, for what that's worth... state said it hails the victory against al-Shabaab by the SNA, its troops, and community fighters, who took the war inside the group’s hideouts after the president’s call.
On Saturday, the combined forces took over Elhur, a strategic area close to Harardhere town in the Mudug region following a bloodless offensive, according to military sources.
Since the current war began last year, the government said dozens of villages in the Galgadud, Hiran, and Middle Shabelle regions have been liberated during an all-out assault.
[Garowe] Three separate al-Shabaab ...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... explosions left at least 30 people dead in the federal republic of Somalia, police said, with the attackers said to have targeted innocent civilians as the country continues with the offensive against the team which controls huge swathes of rural central and southern Somalia.
For the last six months, the country has been fighting the murderous Moslems with unrelenting zeal, with the Somalia National Army [SNA] getting a major boost from the US Africa Command, the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS] and the local militia who have taken weapons against the group.
Police said the first two explosions took place at Jalalaqsi leaving at least 12 people dead and at least 11 others fatally injured. The explosions came in quick succession as a suicide boom-mobile detonated while making an entry into a crucial checkpoint within the sparingly populated town.
The third blast, police said, took place at Bulo-Burde, a town that has been exchanging hands between the security forces and the al-Shabaab Death Eaters. For the last six months, the local security teams have liberated the town a couple of times only to lose it again to the determined Death Eaters.
Police said the earth-shattering kaboom at Bulo-Burde left at least 18 people dead and 24 others critically maimed. The al-Shabaab murderous Moslems are losing strategic towns to security forces according to reports by the US Africa Command, which has been playing a key role in assisting the local forces to overcome the Death Eaters.
The Jalalaqsi explosion targeted a checkpoint which is near the station of Djiboutian troops serving in the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS]. It is not a surprise for the murderous Moslems to often target military Forward Operating Bases across the country in their cowardly attacks.
Al-Shabaab has in return reverted to abduction and spontaneous attacks as retaliation to sustained military operations in central and southern Somalia. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud recently revealed that the local forces could completely take charge of the Galmadug and HirShabelle states.
On Saturday, President Hassan Sheikh hosted a meeting in Villa Somalia with some of the foreign diplomats based in Mogadishu. The presidency said the current war, SNA's taking over security responsibility from ATMIS, completing the constitution, debt relief, and federalism in Somalia were discussed.
The international community has been keen to boost local governance as a way of effectively handling al-Shabaab which threatens to overthrow the fragile UN-backed federal government of Somalia. al-Shabaab murderous Moslems also had over 250 banks and 70 mobile money transfer firms closed following an operation by the government.
[Dawn] Suspected bandidossnuffies kidnapped roughly 60 women in insurgency-wracked northern Burkina Faso ...The country in west Africa that they put where Upper Volta used to be. Its capital is Oogadooga, or something like that. Its president is currently Blaise Compaoré, who took office in 1987 and will leave office feet first, one way or the other... , local officials and residents said on Sunday.
Roughly 40 were seized 10 kilometres southeast of Arbinda on Thursday and about 20 others were kidnapped on Friday to the north of the town, the sources said.
Several managed to escape and return to their villages to raise the alarm, they said.
The landlocked West African country is one of the poorest and most volatile nations in the world.
Since 2015, it has been grappling with an insurgency led by bandidossnuffies affiliated with Al Qaeda
...that would be JNIM...
and the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group, that has killed tens of thousands and displaced around two million people.
"The women got together to go and gather leaves and wild fruits in the bush because there is nothing left to eat," said one resident, adding that they had left with their carts on Thursday.
"When they didn’t come back, we thought that their carts had had a problem. But three survivors came back to tell us what happened," said another resident.
The same person said about 20 women, who had not known about the first abduction, were subsequently taken the next day, eight kilometres north of Arbinda.
"In both groups, some women managed to escape and returned to the village on foot," the resident added. "We believe that the kidnappers took them to their bases."
HUMANITARIAN DISASTER
According to local officials who confirmed the abductions, the army and its civilian auxiliaries have carried out unsuccessful sweeps of the area.
Arbinda is in the Sahel region ... North Africa's answer to the Pak tribal areas... of northern Burkina Faso, an area under blockade by murderous Moslem groups and with limited food supplies.
The town and surrounding areas are regularly beset by murderous Moslem attacks which often target civilians.
In Aug 2021 80 people, including 65 civilians, were killed in an attack on a convoy taking them to Arbinda.
In December 2019, 35 civilians were among a group of 42 people who died in an attack on the town itself.
In many parts of Burkina, crops can no longer be cultivated because of the conflict.
The population of Arbinda is heavily dependent on outside food supplies.
In November, Idrissa Badini, a civil society front man, raised alarm about the situation in Arbinda: "The population, which has used up its reserves, is on the verge of a humanitarian disaster," he said.
The United Nations ...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly... says nearly one million people are living in blockaded areas in the north and east.
Disgruntled army officers carried out two coups last year in a show of anger at failure to roll back the insurgency.
An alleged terrorist bombing of a Pentecostal church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka Republic of Congo, which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principle industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material... killed 10 people and injured at least 39 more on Sunday.
The government of Congo accused Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... terrorist group the Allied Democratic Forces ...the ADF is one of several murderous Moslem groups in NE Congo. In 2019 the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on them for the usual reasons. They don't appear to be affiliated with al-Qaeda or Islamic State, though ISIS claims their work from time to time — they just like killing infidels.... of the attack.
"The Government strongly condemns the kaboom visibly perpetrated by ADF terrorists, this Sunday 15/01/2023, against citizens in full worship in the parish of the 8th Community of Pentecostal Churches of Congo in the city of Kasindi in North Kivu," Congo's Ministry of Transportation and Communication said in a statement.
The church is located in Kisindi, a town in Congo's North Kivu province about 5 miles away from Beni, which is known to have heavy ADF activity.
The bomb used in the attack was an improvised bomb.
Military spokesperson Antony Mualushayi said the scene is under control and an investigation is underway.
The U.S. Congress describes ADF as an "armed group primarily active in the Democratic Republic of Congo." In its September report on the organization it said the group has pledged allegiance to ISIS and poses a threat to long-running efforts by the United States to help stabilize the DRC.
Details of the attack are hazy, but Congolese military front man Antony Mualushayi said the "terrorist act" happened in a Pentecostal church in North Kivu province's Kasindi, a town on the border with Uganda.
A Kenyan was arrested following the kaboom, he added, although the perpetrator of the attack in the turbulent region remains unclear.
The explosion killed at least 10 people and maimed 39, Mualushayi said, revising up an initial corpse count of five. Both tolls were provisional, he said.
Joel Kitausa, a local civil-society figure, also put the corpse count at 10, and said 58 people had been maimed.
But the front man for Uganda's military operation in the DRC, Bilal Katamba, said on Sunday evening that 16 people had been killed in the blast, and 20 maimed.
"The attackers used an IED to carry out the attack and we suspect ADF is behind the attack," he added.
AFP was unable to independently confirm the corpse count.
The DRC's communications ministry said on social media that the attack was apparently carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which the Islamic State group claims as its affiliate in central Africa.
The ADF is one of the deadliest of the more than 120 gangs in eastern DRC, many of them the legacy of regional wars that flared at the turn of the century.
It has been accused of slaughtering thousands of Congolese civilians and carrying out kabooms in Uganda. ADF operatives have also planted bombs in towns in North Kivu in the past.
'MORE VISIBLE AND MORE LETHAL'
In 2021, the United States labelled the ADF a "foreign terrorist organization" with links to the Islamic State group. The militia is active mainly in North Kivu and neighbouring Ituri province.
The same year, a joint Congolese-Ugandan military operation began targeting the ADF inside the DRC.
But the attacks have continued.
A report by independent experts for the UN Security Council, released in December, said the ADF had "continued its geographic expansion" despite the Congolese-Ugandan military operation, killing at least 370 civilians since April 2022.
It also warned that the ADF was changing tactics: opting for "more visible and more lethal" kabooms in urban areas, said the report.
In April last year, for example, a woman detonated a boom jacket in a bar in North Kivu's capital Goma, according to the independent UN experts. Six people died in the attack and 16 more were maimed.
Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi placed North Kivu and Ituri under a so-called state of siege in 2021 in a bid to stem the violence, with military officials replacing civilian administrators.
The measure has also largely failed to stop attacks against civilians.
Kidnapping for recruitment without having to raise a finger? Evilly efficient.
[INTELLIGENCEBRIEFS] Mozambique’s Defense Minister, Cristóvão Chume has warned the country’s youth against being lured to Cabo Delgado Province with seeming well-paying jobs. He warned that a lot of the youth are being lured to CD with the promise of well-paying jobs in the LNG projects and other projects. However, some people cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go... instead of getting the promised jobs, they are forced to join the terror organization and kill people or be killed.
This was revealed by the minister during the ceremony to launch the military census in Malema, in the northern Mozambican province of Nampula. He said that current intelligence indicates that young people deceived with promises of jobs "are being taken to Cabo Delgado to be part of the terrorists" and when they arrive in the province they are "forced to kill and destroy the Mozambican patrimony.
Cabo Delgado province has been in crisis for the past five years with the jihadists insurgency gradually morphing into what is currently known as the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... Mozambique (ISM). ISM has been accused of recruiting members both locally from within the province as well as from other provinces and the neighbors like Tanzania and South Africa. Despite there being a regional force from SADC and Rwanda, the militancy has shown resilience and continues to peddle senseless violence and has gone ahead to displace tens of thousands of people and kill thousands.
Bandits in the early hours of Sunday attacked St. Peters and Paul Catholic Church located along Daza Road, Kafin-Koro in the Paikoro Local Government Area of Niger State and burnt the priest, Very Rev. Fr. Isaac Achi to ashes.
A source in the area told SaharaReporters that Fr. Achi's assistant identified as Father Collins also sustained gunshot wounds and was rushed to an undisclosed hospital for treatment.
The source said Fr. Achi was recently transferred to Madalla Gay Pareeh in the state but was in Kafin-Koro, his former home parish when the incident occurred.
Confirming the incident to SaharaReporters, the Niger Police Public Relations Officer DSP Wasiu Abiodun, in a statement, said the incident occurred at about 3 am on Sunday.
In a statement sent to SaharaReporters, Abiodun said, "On 15/01/2023 at about 0300hrs, armed bandidos invaded the Gay Pareeh residence of one Rev. Father Isaac Achi of St. Peters and Paul Catholic Church, along Daza road, Kafin-Koro, Paikoro LGA.
"Unfortunately, the bandidos reportedly attempted to gain entrance into the residence, but seems difficult and set the house ablaze, while the said Rev. Father was burnt dead.
"A colleague of the Rev. Father identified as Father Collins was equally shot in the shoulder while trying to escape from the scene.
"Police tactical teams attached to Kafin-Koro Div were immediately drafted to the scene, but the hoodlums had escaped before the arrival of the teams.
"The lifeless body of Father Isaac was recovered while Father Collins was rushed to the hospital for treatment.
"The Commissioner of Police, Niger State Command CP Ogundele Ayodeji had dispatched a reinforcement team to the area and effort is ongoing to apprehend the assailants as investigation into the unfortunate attack has commenced."
Some button men have again reportedly attacked the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Imo State, killing one person.
The button men numbering about 20 stormed the INEC office at Ahiazu local government headquarters in two SUVs on Saturday.
The hoodlums reportedly wore attire suggesting they were members of the Eastern Security Network (ESN).
ESN is the bully boy wing of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a secessionist group seeking to break away from Nigeria.
The hoodlums reportedly searched for INEC workers distributing permanent voter cards (PVC) but discovered that the officials were yet to arrive for work, Daily Post reports.
However, the way to a man's heart remains through his stomach... when they could not find any INEC staff member, they reportedly beckoned on a vigilante identified as Ekene from Umuokirika Ahiazu Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State, standing amid people who came to collect their PVCs.
When they could not force him into the boot of one of their vehicles, they shot him twice in the head and chanted 'no election in Biafra land', then zoomed off through Mbaise -Aba branch Road.
The dead body of the guard has been deposited at a morgue.
Meanwhile, ...back at the pond, Gloria slowly backed away from the eight-foot bull frog. If the creature croaked she would surely be deafened... efforts made by SaharaReporters to speak with the Police Public Relations Officer of the state police command, CSP Mike Abattam, were unsuccessful as he did not immediately respond to enquiries regarding the attack.
“Hey boss! Long distance phone call from New York — dude says he’s a citizen reporter for an internet news site. You got time to talk to him right now?”
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has alleged that killer herdsmen chased out from Oji River in Enugu State have moved to some communities in Anambra State from where they will launch attacks on communities in the state.
Who chased the Fulani out?
IPOB in a statement by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, warned the people of Anambra to be prepared for what it described as the invasion of 'Fulani ... a peculiarly brutal tribe of Moslem herdsmen infesting Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and probably other places that are light on law and order and heavy on tribal identity... jihadists' into their state.
According to the secessionist group, "Intelligence information at our disposal has it that the Fulani faceless myrmidons a.k.a herdsmen chased out from Enugu State, mostly from Oji River Province, are trooping into Anambra to invade some unspecified communities there".
IPOB accused the Nnewi North Local Government Transition Chairman, Chris Obiora, of being the brains behind the influx of Fulani herders into the local government area.
It, therefore, asked the people of the area to hold Obiora responsible for any attack by Jihadists on any of their communities.
"The Fulani faceless myrmidons (herdsmen) trooping into Nnewi and Awka, who claimed to come for business are actually faceless myrmidons coming for attacks. Engr. Chris Obiora, the Nnewi North Transition Chairman, and his gang are the brains behind the influx of Fulanis to Nnewi North. These satanic agents being aided into Nnewi are coming to increase insecurity, kidnapping, raping of women, and terrorism.
"We want the sons and daughters of Nnewi North to hold their TC Chairman responsible for any Fulani attacks in any community because this man is working with our enemies."
IPOB also called on the state governor, Charles Soludo to watch the Nnewi North TC chairman closely and be ready to take immediate action "because he is importing faceless myrmidons to Nnewi".
The group noted that "Nnewi is in the heart of every righteous Igbo man and woman because it is the home of our eternal leader, Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu".
"Moreover, Nnewi stands tall as a Biafran industrial revolution center providing a high level of employment to many Igbo youths. Nnewi is a very important and strategic place that needs to be protected. Any form of terrorist attack at Nnewi will be a big blow to Biafra and to Ndigbo in particular," the statement said.
IPOB further alleged that "the Fulani stooges called Engr Chris Obiora and Ethelbert Iheri are using Anambra State Vigilante Groups (AVG) in hunting and killing innocent members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB."
"We are reminding the criminal elements that we are watching them, and nobody should blame IPOB when we repay them with their own coin.
"Since Soludo formed the AVG group, we have not seen these vigilantes chase Fulani out of our farms and bushes. Instead, AVG is going after innocent citizens and IPOB members.
"This will be the last time we are going to warn them to stop abducting IPOB members," the group added.
It reiterated that "ESN and IPOB don't kill the people we are protecting, but those coming after us will kill themselves. Engineer Chris Obiora and his cohorts should restrain themselves from attacking IPOB members or face the consequences. We are not their enemies, and neither are we involved in any criminal activities.
"Meanwhile, ...back at the game, the Babe was wondering why the baseball kept getting bigger and bigger. Finally it hit him... IPOB worldwide is appealing to those having intentions to attack the Hausa community in Ihiala LGA to stop. Hausas are not the same as Fulanis. Hausas came into Igbo land for business while Fulanis came to conquer Igbo Land.
"As our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has said that innocent Hausas are free to do legitimate business in Biafra without molestation. We are not after the Hausas, but we are after invading terrorists. Governor Soludo, we appreciate your efforts to demand the release and surety of our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and every IPOB member worldwide. Thank you.
"Gov. Soludo and every concerned Nnewi citizen should be prepared and ready to confront the invading faceless myrmidons because they have perfected plans to camp and later invade the state. IPOB will be willing and ready to work with those who are willing to secure our land from Fulani terrorists."
#Houthi intelligence agents stormed the "Prodigy Systems" offices in Sanaa that manages data collection on citizens who are eligible for humanitarian aid, in cooperation with international organizations.#Yemenpic.twitter.com/UVKBQddexg
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] Tensions escalated in in Hadhramaut province, eastern Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... , after the "First Military Region" loyal to Islah Party sent military reinforcements to the outskirts of the strongholds of the UAE-affiliated factions on the coast of Hadhramaut.
Local sources stated that the first military region pushed a battalion to the Wadi al-Ayn district, which is one of the strategic areas linking between the valley and the coast of Hadhramaut.
Dozens of Islah party turbans deployed today, Saturday, on board military vehicles in the streets and entrances of Seiyun city, the sources added.
This comes nearly two days after the UAE-backed factions sent military reinforcements to Jathma camp near the city of Seiyun, the stronghold of the commands of the Islah Party turbans and the Saudi forces in Yemen’s eastern regions.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2023 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[8 views]
Top|| File under: Muslim Brotherhood
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... ’s southern province of restive Lahj ... a Yemeni governate located in the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula. It is the stomping grounds on the southern secessionist al-Harak movement on Sunday witnessed a new tribal uprising against Emirati factions, as public anger continued, demanding the expulsion of the Saudi-led coalition forces and their Presidential Council.
Thousands of rustics of Radfan district held protest against the continuing murdering of its sons by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC)’s militia.
This came after the UAE-backed factions killed two recruits from the Radfan tribes, Majid al-Halimi and Fadel al-Jabali.
Local sources said that button men from the Security Belt forces affiliated with the STC fired directly at the demonstrators in an attempt to disperse them, injuring a number of them.
The protesters demanded the departure of all the STC’s units from the directorate, vowing to pursue the STC’s groups to deport them from the province.
The recent protests come in the context of a widespread tribal uprising in the districts of Lahj governorate against the Saudi-Emirati coalition factions.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2023 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[12 views]
Top|| File under: Houthis
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] Emirati factions On Sunday, pushed military reinforcements to Mahrah province, eastern Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... This was reported by Yemen News Portal, based on testimonies of Tribal Sources.
According to tribal sources, units of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC)’s militias arrived in the last hours in the al-Masilah, coming from the city of Mukalla in the neighboring Hadhramaut province.
The reinforcements come in the context of an Emirati plan to tighten its grip on the strategic governorate, especially as the STC began withdrawing its factions from Hadhramaut, following its failure to control the oil-rich province.
The escalation of Emirati factions is expected to trigger a new round of direct confrontations between the Saudi-Emirati coalition factions in Mahrah, in the context of similar conflicts along the southern Yemeni governorates.
Mahrah tribes have previously thwarted the STC’s attempts to deploy its forces in the governorate’s directorates, in light of a wide tribal resistance against the coalition forces and their factions.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2023 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[12 views]
Top|| File under: Southern Transitional Council
[Dawn] A man, in his 60s, has been arrested in connection with an investigation linked to the discovery of traces of uranium found in a cargo package at London’s Heathrow Airport, the UK Metropolitan Police said on Sunday.
The man was arrested on suspicion of a terror offence on Saturday and was released on bail as part of the investigation, the police added.
A very small quantity of uranium was detected in a package that arrived at Heathrow Airport on Dec 29.
Richard Smith, head of London Police’s Counter-Terrorism Command, said that despite the arrest, the incident does “not appear to be linked to any direct threat to the public”.
Officers attended an address in Cheshire and took the man to a police station in north west England. He was later released on bail until a date in April.
Uranium can be used for civilian power generation and scientific purposes and is a key ingredient in nuclear weapons. Certain isotopes emit radiation that can be harmful to humans, and the metal itself is toxic if ingested or inhaled.
Security Forces Busted Hideout in Surnkote Tehsil Of Poonch District Arm's and Ammunition Recovered Including 3AK Rifle,3AK Megazin,28 AK Round And 1UBGL Throurar. #jammukashmir#securityforcespic.twitter.com/ehTh8dtpzV
[GREATERKASHMIR] A shootout between security forces and snuffies started at Redbugh area of Central Kashmir ...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there.... 's Budgam district on Sunday, police officials said.
They said that the exchange of fire was triggered after forces cordoned off the area following inputs about the presence of bully boyz there.
"Encounter has started at Redbugh, Magam area of Budgam. Police and security forces are on the job. Further details shall follow, " Kashmir Zone Police said in a tweet.
[IsraelTimes] Footage shows man struggling with soldiers near settlement of Ofra; military says Ahmad Kahla, 45, refused to be questioned, violence ensued
A Paleostinian man was rubbed out by Israeli soldiers on Sunday morning near the West Bank settlement of Ofra, north of Ramallah while scuffling with troops after refusing to be questioned, the military and Paleostinian health officials said.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, troops identified a suspicious vehicle near the settlement that allegedly refused to stop for a routine inspection.
"Following the identification of this suspicious activity, the soldiers used riot dispersal means in order to detain one of the suspects in the vehicle," the IDF said in a statement.
The army said a "violent mostly peaceful confrontation" began, during which the suspect attempted to grab a soldier’s gun. "The soldiers used live fire toward the suspect," the IDF said, adding that he was hit.
Unclear partial footage of the incident showed the man scuffling with troops, before gunshots ring out.
The Paleostinian Authority Health Ministry said the man had been killed by the gunfire. He was named as Ahmad Kahla, 45, from the nearby Paleostinian town of Silwad.
Initial, unconfirmed reports by Hebrew-language media had suggested the suspect and several others were first hurling stones at a nearby military post and said the man then ran toward troops while allegedly brandishing a knife, before being shot.
The IDF did not say Kahla was armed or had been hurling stones in its statement.
The army added that the incident would be investigated further.
[IsraelTimes] Paleostinian button menshot up a bus carrying Israelis traveling along the West Bank’s main north-south highway on Sunday afternoon, causing no injuries, the military and local officials said.
The Israeli bus driver reported coming under gunfire on Route 60, near the West Bank city of Halhul, not far from Hebron. Images from the scene showed one impact on a window near the driver’s seat.
Local officials and first responders said there were no injuries aboard the bulletproof bus traveling between the settlement of Kiryat Arba and Jerusalem.
The Israel Defense Forces said troops scanning the area for suspects found several shell casings.
Police officers closed off the highway in both directions in the area for about an hour following the attack.
In recent months, Paleostinian button men have repeatedly targeted military posts, troops operating along the West Bank security barrier, Israeli settlements and civilians on the roads.
It’s not the first time Al Nusra and Turkey have coordinated efforts.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else ...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State... (HTS, formerly al-Nusra ...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ... Front) deployed about 150 of its holy warriors on Idlib’s northwestern border with The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... in coordination with Ottoman Turkish forces this week. The move is reportedly meant to prevent residents from attempting to cross into Turkey.
"Over the past few days, 150 HTS holy warriors were assigned to 22 border observation posts, starting from Zurzur all the way to Atma, in northern Idlib, and to Harem, in northwestern Idlib," an HTS source told North Press.
"This deployment is only the first phase and will be followed by more in the vicinity of Atma in order to prevent any attempted entry into Ottoman Turkish territories from Idlib," the source added.
"This move by HTS was carried out in coordination with Ottoman Turkish forces and border guards through communications and meetings in the last few days," the source noted.
According to the source, despite the high costs of smuggling, residents are continuing to enter Turkey due to the prevailing security chaos and poor living conditions in HTS-held areas.
The source stressed that these steps are the first of their kind, and reflect the extent of Turkey’s dependence on HTS in implementing its projects in the region.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2023 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[13 views]
Top|| File under: Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (al-Nusra)
The US-led Global Coalition sent on Sunday military reinforcements to its bases in the countryside of Hasakah, northeastern Syria.
North Press correspondent said that the reinforcements consisted of 50 trucks that carried military vehicles and fuel tankers.
He added that the reinforcements entered the Coalition’s base at the town of Shaddadi, south of Hasakah city.
The Coalition’s base at Shaddadi is considered one of the Coalition’s most important in northeast Syria, given its strategic location which connects Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor Governorates.
The Coalition continue to bring in reinforcements to northeast Syria within the framework of its battle against the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS), which has recently increased its operations in the region.
[NPASYRIA] Two soldiers of the Syrian government forces were killed on Sunday after an IED went kaboom! with their vehicle in a town in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria.
A military source from the government 17th division told North Press, "An IED was planted in an unpaved road near an outpost of the government forces in al-Mayadin desert, 40km east of Deir ez-Zor city. It went kaboom! when a military vehicle carrying logistics for the 17th division passed over it."
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the earth-shattering kaboom killed two soldiers from the 17th division, destroyed logistics and damaged the vehicle.
The government forces deployed troops at the blast site in a bid to search and find the perpetrators.
On January 8, a government officer was found dead days after he went missing the western desert of Deir ez-Zor.
These kind of attacks are usually carried out by sleeper cells of the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS), which continue to attack government forces in the Syrian Badia (desert) by planting IEDs and setting ambushes.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[AfghanDigest] LAST 24 HOURS
...Afghan province with a population of about 445,600, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a rural society. During the invasions of Alexander the Great, the area was known as Lampaka, wich is apparently Olde Macedonian for 
...... an Islamic infestation centering on Somalia attempting to metastasize into Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and similar places, all of which have enough problems without them...
...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka 
...the ADF is one of several murderous Moslem groups in NE Congo. In 2019 the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on them for the usual reasons. They don't appear to be affiliated with al-Qaeda or Islamic State, though ISIS claims their work from time to time — they just like killing infidels....
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
... a peculiarly brutal tribe of Moslem herdsmen infesting Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and probably other places that are light on law and order and heavy on tribal identity...
...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it 
...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
