KANO, Nigeria: Boko Haram fighters opened fire on a group of loggers in a remote village in northeast Nigeria on Saturday, killing four people, a survivor and a militia leader said.
Gunmen on motorcycles attacked the loggers while they were loading firewood into pickup vans at Maiwa village, 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, they said.
The gunmen burned three vehicles laden with firewood heading to the volatile city.
“Four loggers were shot dead by the Boko Haram gunmen who also burnt three vehicles loaded with firewood,” said Ibrahim Liman, a leader of a militia force fighting the insurgents.
He said other loggers escaped the assault.
The attackers, who rode on six motorcycles, struck at the logging site around 4:40 p.m. (1540 GMT), said logger Haruna Dahiru.
“Sixteen of them (Boko Haram) came on six motorcycles, riding in twos and threes, and opened fire on us without saying a word,” he said.
“They killed four of our colleagues and set fire to three pickup vans we loaded with firewood to bring to Maiduguri to sell,” he added.
Boko Haram’s violence has killed over 20,000 people and displaced some 2.6 million since 2009, triggering a dire humanitarian crisis in the region.
Most of the displaced rely on food handouts from aid agencies while others have turned to felling trees which they sell to buy food.
The jihadists have increasingly targeted loggers, accusing them of spying and passing information to the military and the local militia fighting them.
In August Boko Haram fighters decapitated three loggers near Aisa-Wulomari village, 40 kilometers from Maiduguri while returning to the city.
In April eight loggers were killed and their bodies burnt by the insurgents at Kayamla, 10 kilometers from Maiduguri while collecting firewood in a bush.
Government troops fended off a second Boko Haram attack Saturday on a military base in Kanamma village in neighboring Yobe state, locals said.
The Islamists had invaded the base in eight trucks, but were repelled by soldiers in a gunbattle that lasted around two hours.
Boko Haram kills four loggers in NE Nigeria
Boko Haram kills four loggers in NE Nigeria
Rohingya refugees hope new leaders can pave a path home
- Some 1.7 million Rohingya Muslims displaced in Myanmar's military crackdown live in squalid camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh
COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh: Rohingya refugees living in squalid camps in Bangladesh have elected a leadership council, hoping it can improve conditions and revive efforts to secure their return home to Myanmar.
Spread over 8,000 acres in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, the camps are home to 1.7 million members of the stateless group, many of whom fled a 2017 military crackdown that is now subject to a genocide probe at the UN court.
In July, the refugees held their first elections since their influx began eight years ago, resulting in the formation of the United Council of Rohang (UCR).
“They are working to take us home,” said Khairul Islam, 37, who back home had a thriving timber business.
The new council has brought him a glimmer of hope amid an uncertain future.
“We can hardly breathe in these cramped camp rooms... all our family members live in a single room,” he said.
“It’s unbearably hot inside. Back in Myanmar, we didn’t even need a ceiling fan. In summer, we used to sit under tall trees,” Islam said, his eyes welling up.
More than 3,000 voters from across 33 refugee camps cast their ballots to elect an executive committee and five rotating presidents to focus on human rights, education and health.
Addressing a gathering at one of the camps, UCR president Mohammad Sayed Ullah urged refugees not to forget the violence that forced the mostly Muslim group to flee Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
“Never forget that we left our parents’ graves behind. Our women died on the way here. They were tortured and killed... and some drowned at sea,” said Sayed Ullah, dressed in a white full-sleeved shirt and lungi.
“We must prepare ourselves to return home,” he said, prompting members of the audience to nod in agreement.
A seat at the table
“UCR wants to emerge as the voice of the Rohingyas on the negotiation table,” Sayed Ullah later told AFP.
“It’s about us, yet we were nowhere as stakeholders.”
The council is not the first attempt to organize Rohingya refugees.
Several groups emerged after 2017, including the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights, once led by prominent activist Mohib Ullah.
But he was murdered in 2021.
And even before that, many organizations were shut down after a major 2019 rally, when the Rohingya said they would go home only with full rights and safety guarantees.
“Some newspapers misrepresented us, claiming we wanted to stay permanently in Bangladesh,” Sayed Ullah said.
“Many organizers were detained. The hardest blow was the assassination of Mohib Ullah.”
But trust is slowly building up again among the Rohingya crammed in the camps in Cox’s Bazar.
“Of course we will return home,” said 18-year-old Mosharraf, who fled the town of Buthidaung with his family.
“UCR will negotiate for better education. If we are better educated, we can build global consensus for our return,” he told AFP.
Security threats
Many refugees have started approaching the body with complaints against local Rohingya leaders, reflecting a slow but noticeable shift in attitudes.
On a recent sunny morning, an AFP reporter saw more than a dozen Rohingya waiting outside the UCR office with complaints.
Some said they were tortured while others reported losing small amounts of gold they had carried while fleeing their homes.
Analysts say it remains unclear whether the new council can genuinely represent the Rohingya or if it ultimately serves the interests of Bangladeshi authorities.
“The UCR ‘elections’ appear to have been closely controlled by the authorities,” said Thomas Kean, senior consultant at the International Crisis Group.
Security threats also loom large, undermining efforts to forge political dialogue.
Armed groups like the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army and Rohingya Solidarity Organization continue to operate in the camps.
A report by campaign group Fortify Rights said at least 65 Rohingyas were killed in 2024.
“Violence and killings in the Rohingya camps need to stop, and those responsible must be held to account,” the report quoted activist John Quinley as saying.
