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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Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger announce exit from International Criminal Court

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The military-led West African countries Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have announced their withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, denouncing it as “a tool of neocolonial repression.”

The announcement, in a joint statement published on Monday, is the latest example of diplomatic upheaval in West Africa’s Sahel region following eight coups between 2020 and 2023.

The three countries, which are ruled by military officers, have already split from the West African regional bloc ECOWAS and formed a body known as the Alliance of Sahel States. They have also curbed defence cooperation with Western powers and sought closer ties with Russia.

Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have been members of the ICC, located in The Hague, for more than two decades. But their statement said they viewed the court as incapable of prosecuting war crimes, crimes against humanity, crimes of aggression and genocide. It did not specify examples of where the countries believed the ICC had fallen short.

The three countries are battling Islamist militant groups that control large swathes of territory and have staged frequent attacks on military installations this year.

Human Rights Watch and other groups have accused the militants as well as the militaries and partner forces of Burkina Faso and Mali of possible atrocity crimes.

In April, United Nations experts said the alleged summary execution of several dozen civilians by Malian forces may amount to war crimes.

The ICC has had an investigation open in Mali since 2013 over alleged war crimes committed primarily in the northern regions of Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal, which had fallen under militant control. Later that year, France intervened to push back the insurgents.

The Mali investigation was opened following a referral from the government at the time.

SOURCE: REUTERS AND AGENCIES



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/LHQPq5z

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