Dozens kidnapped in northwest Nigeria after bandits invite them to talks

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By Reuters and Posted by TOE Armed bandits in northwest Nigeria abducted dozens of villagers whom they invited to a meeting ‌about potential peace negotiations, authorities and residents said on ‌Monday, highlighting the region’s worsening security. Police said 39 people were seized on Sunday ​when they went to a meeting in the forest near Magamin Diddi village in the Maradun municipality of northwest Zamfara State. Some local residents and officials said the number could be as ‌high as 50. According to ⁠a Zamfara State Police Command statement, the victims were meeting relatives of a bandit leader in ⁠an attempt to broker peace and ease restrictions on movement imposed on the community. Zamfara is at the centre of a long-running security ​crisis in ​which armed groups, locally referred ​to as bandits, carry ‌out mass kidnappings, killings and village raids. The violence has disrupted farming and displaced thousands. Security forces have deployed personnel and...
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Colombia says 57 soldiers kidnapped by civilians

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 Colombia’s army said on Sunday that 57 soldiers were kidnapped by civilians acting under pressure from FARC dissidents in a mountainous area of the country’s southwest.

The region, near El Plateado in the Cauca department, is a key zone for cocaine production and remains one of the most tense in the country’s ongoing conflict.

It says 31 soldiers were seized on Saturday while the rest were abducted on Sunday by a group of more than 200 people.

The military says the civilians are acting under pressure from dissidents of the Farc rebel group which agreed a peace deal with the government in 2016.

The mountainous region is a key zone for cocaine production and remains one of the most tense in the country’s ongoing conflict with rebel groups.

In a video statement on social media, Brig Gen Federico Alberto Mejia said four non-commissioned officers and 53 soldiers had been seized over the weekend.

“This is called kidnapping,” he said.

Reports in local media suggest that the EMC rebel group – the largest offshoot of the Farc – may have ordered the kidnappings.

The EMC has not commented on the issue.

The Micay Canyon is used for transporting cocaine to Pacific ports, and drugs are then illegally shipped to other countries.

SOURCE: BBC AGENCIES



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/xlYAmdQ

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