4 die as military discovers bomb factory

The military yesterday, recorded more victories against the Boko Haram insurgents, following the seizure of a bomb making factory from the terrorists at a fertilizer company in Buni Yadi, Yobe State.

The military had earlier announced that it had cleared the whole of Adamawa State of terrorists after recovering over 35 more towns from them across the north east zone.

The discovery of the site where high calibre of bombs were produced was contained in a statement signed by the Director Defence Information, Major General, Chris Olukolade.

Olukolade said that four soldiers died in the course of efforts to clear the terrorists from journey to recover the bomb making site as explosions followed.

The statement entitled, ‘’Troops discover terrorists bomb making factory in Yobe State,’’ read, ‘’The ongoing cordon and search by troops in Buni Yadi,Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State has led to the discovery of a bomb making factory, where Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs, used by terrorists were being produced. A large quantity of IEDs including those commonly used by suicide bombers were recovered from the site.

‘’The factory, which was located in a fertilizer company, has also converted some of the materials therein for production of all types of IEDs. Troops are still evacuating the materials which include a large quantity of suicide bomber vests from the facility to their base. It is believed that the heavy calibre bomb used in blowing up the bridge between Damaturu and Buni Yadi was produced in the factory.

‘’The terrorists were sacked from Buni Yadi after a military assault that was conducted last Saturday. The troops advance was delayed by the series of IEDs planted on the highway leading to Buni Yadi. ‘’Four soldiers died from such IEDs in the course of the operation to clear terrorists from the town.

This discovery is expected to degrade the capability of terrorists in the production of explosives, which they have been using lavishly in the area until they were dislodged from their stronghold.’’

The leadership of the Boko Haram had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State militant group that controls tracts of Syria and Iraq following the set back the group had suffered in recent weeks.

This was as African countries have asked the the United Nations to set up a trust fund to finance a force to fight Boko Haram in Nigeria and called on the international community to supply intelligence and equipment, according to a draft U.N. resolution.

However, in accepting the pledge of allegiance from Nigerian Islamists Boko Haram, the ISIS’s spokesman called on supporters to fight in Africa.

Boko Haram, which has killed thousands and kidnapped hundreds during a six-year campaign to carve out an Islamist state in northern Nigeria, pledged its allegiance last week, highlighting increased coordination between jihadi movements across north Africa and the Middle East.

“Our caliph, God save him, has accepted the pledge of loyalty of our brothers of Boko Haram so we congratulate Muslims and our jihadi brothers in West Africa,” Islamic State spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani said in an audio message, referring to his group’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Islamic State, an ultra-hardline offshoot of al Qaeda, has declared a caliphate in captured territory in Iraq and Syria and has gained global notoriety for killing or kidnapping members of ethnic and religious minorities and posting videos of its members killing Arab and Western hostages.

In the audio message, Adnani called on Muslims who could not join Islamic State in Iraq and Syria to enter combat in Africa instead, saying Boko Haram’s pledge had opened a “new door for you to migrate to the land of Islam and fight.”

“We are calling you up for jihadis, go.”

The group, which rejects all but its own limited interpretation of early Sunni Muslim theology as heresy, also issued a threat to Jews and Christians.

“If you want to save your blood and money and live in safety from our swords … you have two choices: either convert or pay jezyah,” he said, referring to tax for non-Muslims under Islamic rule.

African countries asked the the United Nations to set up a trust fund to finance a force to fight Boko Haram in Nigeria

Meanwhile, African countries have asked the the United Nations to set up a trust fund to finance a force to fight Boko Haram in Nigeria and called on the international community to supply intelligence and equipment, according to a draft U.N. resolution.

The draft U.N. Security Council text endorses the creation of a force by Nigeria and its neighbors Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin to take on Boko Haram. The 54-nation African Union has already approved a force of up to 10,000 troops.

Boko Haram has killed thousands of people in northeastern Nigeria in its six-year insurgency and has also pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, which has created a self-declared caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria.

The text drafted by Chad, Nigeria and Cameroon, and obtained by Reuters, has not yet been circulated to the 15 Security Council members. Chad’s U.N. Ambassador Mahamat Cherif has said he hoped the council could vote on a resolution by end-March.

The draft is under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, allowing decisions to be enforced with economic sanctions or force.

A U.N. diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said once negotiations begin among the 15 council members some of the key issues would likely be how to finance the operation and whether or not it needs to be a Chapter 7 resolution.

The draft resolution “requests the Secretary-General to establish a trust fund … which shall be managed by the LCBC (Lake Chad Basin Commission) Member States and Benin under the supervision of the AU (African Union), and encourages Member States to contribute to such a fund”.

It “calls upon donors to support (the force) through the provision of funding for troop stipends, equipment, technical assistance, and uncaveated funding for (the force) to the United Nations trust fund”.

The text calls for international support for the operational capability of the force by providing equipment and sharing intelligence and urges states “to provide personnel, equipment and services if required, for the successful deployment (of the force)”.

The draft resolution also threatens sanctions on anyone supporting Boko Haram. Chad’s military is already spearheading an operation against the Islamist militant group that in recent months has mounted an increasing number of cross-border raids.

 

4 die as military discovers bomb factory