At least 20,000 flee insurgency-hit town in Nigeria, governor says
Borno state has witnessed an upsurge in attacks by suspected Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) assailants this year, raising concerns that the militants are making gains again after years of intense attacks by the military.
Borno state governor Babagana Zulum visited Marte, which is close to the border with Cameroon, to assess the security situation and meet military officials there.
His visit followed a raid on Marte's army base last week in which militants temporarily overran the installation. At least five soldiers were killed and others went missing in the attack.
'Marte was resettled about four years ago, but unfortunately, over the last three days, it was ransacked and was displaced again,' Zulum told reporters on Sunday.
'About 20,000 people left Marte for Dikwa (town).'
Zulum, who also visited Rann, another town where an army base was attacked last week, will on Monday head to Kalawa Balge district where 23 farmers were killed by suspected militants.
At least two million people have been displaced and thousands killed by the insurgency in Nigeria in the last 16 years, according to humanitarian groups.
Zulum's state government resettled residents in Marte as part of a programme to shut camps for Internally Displaced Persons in Borno capital Maiduguri and upheld the plan as a model for other towns previously controlled by insurgents.
But many Marte residents now fear that their lives could be upended again if attacks continue.
Boko Haram and Islamic State-backed ISWAP have been adapting their tactics, including using drones for surveillance, security analysts and the military say.
Zulum said leaving residents to live in a camp in Dikwa town was a big threat as it would leave young men 'vulnerable to recruitment by insurgents.'
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IOL News
a day ago
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The Spectacle of Innocence: How the Narrative of 'Stolen Children' Became the West's Weapon of War
The portrayal of children in the Ukraine-Russia conflict serves as a potent tool of propaganda, revealing the complexities behind the narratives that shape public perception and policy, writes Gillian Schutte. Image: IOL / Ron AI In war, the image of a suffering child has long been one of the most potent tools of propaganda. A child is the cipher of innocence, the mirror of adult failure, the vessel into which we pour our grief, outrage, and moral certainty. It is no wonder, then, that in the ongoing geopolitical conflict between NATO-backed Ukraine and Russia, children have become a front line in the information war. The Washington Post's tear-soaked profile 'Thousands of Ukraine's children vanished into Russia. This one made it back' follows the return of 12-year-old Illia Matviienko, a child allegedly abducted, reprogrammed, and rescued just in time from the clutches of Russian state adoption. It is a finely crafted narrative. Illia is traumatised but eloquent. His grandmother is tireless and brave. His toys are metaphors. His memories are edited for maximum effect. But behind the Lego blocks and Garfield plush toys lies a darker machinery of manipulation. The story reads like it was written by a Pentagon-funded scriptwriter, with emotional cues planted at every paragraph break, not to report on the tragedy of war, but to mobilise sentiment for war. Let us look past the misty-eyed storytelling and ask the harder questions. What really happened to Ukraine's children? Who is keeping the score? And who benefits from turning their suffering into clickbait diplomacy? The Propaganda Template, From Wag the Dog to Wag the Child The Washington Post, long known for its role in manufacturing consent for U.S. foreign policy, frames Illia's ordeal as evidence of systematic Russian child theft. His story becomes the keystone in a broader claim: that tens of thousands of Ukrainian children have been deported, re-educated, and erased by the Russian state. The article even cites figures: 'at least 19,500 children' according to Yale University's Conflict Observatory, whose funding, incidentally, is being cut under Donald Trump's administration. Ukrainian officials inflate the figure still further: 'maybe 50,000, maybe 100,000.' No one knows for sure. No one can prove anything. But certainty is not required in the spectacle of war propaganda, only repetition and righteous tears. The real figures? According to Russia's official delegation at the Istanbul peace talks, led by Vladimir Medinsky, the only list ever presented to Moscow by Ukraine contains 339 names. Russia says it has already returned 101 of these children. Ukraine, for its part, has returned 22 Russian children who ended up in its care. These are verifiable exchanges. And yet the Western press refuses to mention these facts. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading Selective Suffering, Why Is Only One Child a Headline? The case of Illia Matviienko is tragic. But why is it the story? Because it performs well. It has all the ingredients of pathos: dead mother, lonely boy, forbidden adoption, grandmother's heroism, poetic justice. It sells. It moves. It inflames. But in Russia's version of events, there are also children traumatised by shelling, evacuated from war zones, not abducted. Many were found alone in buildings or hospitals. Others were taken to safety at great personal risk by Russian soldiers, some of whom died in the effort. And when relatives come forward, parents, aunts, grandmothers, the children are reunited. No obstacle, no cover-up. Just bureaucracy and war. Yet these stories are not told. There are no Washington Post front pages for the Russian soldier who saves a wounded child under fire. There is no Pulitzer bait in the case of a child returned to a reunited family in Donetsk. These children do not cry in English. They are not crying for NATO. Manufactured Numbers, Manufactured Consent Russia has repeatedly demanded evidence: names, documents, statements from parents. None have been forthcoming. The Ukrainian and U.S. positions rely on estimates, projections, and a deep well of emotional speculation. Russia, meanwhile, says: here is the list you gave us, here are the returns we've made. The disparity between accusation and evidence is not accidental. It mirrors the propaganda campaign that preceded the war in Iraq, the intervention in Syria, the bombardment of Libya. Western soft power thrives on emotional shorthand: Saddam's incubator babies, Gaddafi's Viagra-fuelled soldiers, and now Putin's child kidnappers. It is a pattern. The facts are fluid. The imagery is fixed. What Russia Says, and the West Won't Print Medinsky's statement in Istanbul was clear. Russia is open to verification. Russia is returning children. Russia is establishing regular exchanges. It has proposed temporary ceasefires in 'grey zones' so commanders on both sides can collect the corpses of fallen soldiers, a practical and humane suggestion, met with silence. Meanwhile, Western media focuses on Lego toys and bedtime trauma. It does not ask why Ukraine will not publish a full list of the missing children. It does not examine the political utility of these stories in maintaining Western support, arms supplies, and diplomatic cover. Nor does it question why the first move in any peace negotiation is not truth and reconciliation, but a spotlight on Russian war crimes. The narrative must be secured before the facts can catch up. The Illusion of Innocence Yes, Illia's story is heartbreaking. All war stories involving children are. But to isolate it from the broader matrix of wartime reality, to use it as a blunt weapon against the Russian state, to decontextualise and sentimentalise it into a moral fable, is to exploit that child all over again. War is complex. 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But we should be suspicious of which children we are told to care about, and why. The portrayal of children in the Ukraine-Russia conflict serves as a potent tool of propaganda, revealing the complexities behind the narratives that shape public perception and policy, writes Gillian Schutte. Image: IOL
Daily Maverick
2 days ago
- Daily Maverick
Condemn Gaza genocide, academics, staff urge Stellenbosch University
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'Unlike several other South African universities, Stellenbosch University as an institution has been largely silent on this issue. A Senate motion calling for an immediate ceasefire and the cessation of attacks on civilians in Gaza and Israel, the passage of humanitarian aid and the return of all captives was defeated on 30 April 2024. As concerned members of the university community, we again call upon our university to take a public stand on the violations of international law being committed against the Palestinian people,' read the statement. According to the statement, the Stellenbosch University academics and administrative staff are calling for: An immediate end to the genocide in Gaza; Immediate relief aid, including food, medicine and fuel into Gaza; An end to starvation as a strategy of war; The establishment of humanitarian corridors so that the injured and sick may be safely evacuated and attended to; and A lasting cessation of violence against the Palestinian people. 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In fact, Western countries are aiding and abetting Israel with support of their militaries.' Kagee said while there had been 'historical complicity with apartheid' at Stellenbosch University, the institution was making a concerted effort to reposition itself, and publicly calling for an end to the genocide in Gaza 'fits in' with its transformation efforts and a crackdown on racism, sexism and other issues of injustice at the institution. 'Suspend collaboration with implicated Israeli universities' Among the demands in the statement is the call for Stellenbosch University to 'commit itself to suspending all collaboration with Israeli universities where there is a risk of direct or indirect involvement in human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories'. Professor Sandy Liebenberg, the HF Oppenheimer chair in Human Rights Law at Stellenbosch University's Faculty of Law, said several universities worldwide had done audits of their relationships with Israeli universities and severed ties with those complicit in human rights violations. 'We would like to see the management of the university putting out a statement at least distancing itself from and condemning the gross violations of international human rights law and humanitarian law that's unfolding. But, perhaps more fundamentally, we would like to see some kind of audit committee set up to look at the contacts which might exist between Stellenbosch and implicated institutions – Israeli universities that might be complicit in human rights violations,' she said. In response to questions from Daily Maverick, Stellenbosch University spokesperson Martin Viljoen said: 'Stellenbosch University (SU) recognises the severity and far-reaching impact of the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. It is important to emphasise that our institution stands firmly for the principles of peace, respect for human rights, freedom of expression, academic freedom, and the principles of international humanitarian law. 'SU is a multistakeholder institution and members of this diverse community will often have differing views on a multitude of matters. While SU as an institution must safeguard this freedom, it does however strongly condemn any form of violence where innocent lives are affected,' said Viljoen. He said that although a resolution on the conflict was not accepted by a majority of the Stellenbosch University Senate in April last year, the university 'acknowledges that this is a humanitarian crisis that has a devastating impact in the region as well as globally and has repeatedly expressed its sympathy for all those affected. 'It is important to emphasise that as a community of scholars, the university is committed to providing a space that encourages constructive debate and academic freedom. To fully perform its role in society, the university must maintain an environment of freedom of inquiry and expression,' he continued. Viljoen said that Stellenbosch University was 'not the only university, locally or globally, that has refrained from an institutional stance on this issue to safeguard academic freedom'. He did not respond to Daily Maverick's question on whether Stellenbosch University had any memoranda of understanding with Israeli universities. DM
TimesLIVE
2 days ago
- TimesLIVE
Haiti's capital in the dark after residents storm hydroelectric plant
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