Galaxy

6 May 2014

Boko Haram Kills 300 in Gamboru Ngala, Abducts 11 More Girls

Boko Haram Kills 300 in Gamboru Ngala, Abducts 11 More Girls

In another daring operation, members of the terrorist Islamic sect, Boko Haram, on Monday night killed about 300 people in Gamboru Ngala, Borno State. Gamboru Ngala is a border town with Cameroon.
The Boko Haram insurgents also abducted 11 more girls in Warabe and Wala communities in the Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State late on Monday.
The insurgents reportedly drove into Gamboru Ngala in armoured vehicles.
It was learnt that the insurgents, who seemed to have targeted a local market, shot sporadically at traders at the market before proceeding into the town to wreak more havoc.
Gamboru is situated along Nigeria-Cameroon border and is the administrative headquarters of the Ngala Local Government Area of Borno State. It is about 200 kilometres  from Maiduguri, the state capital city.
Senator Ahmed Zannah, who is representing the area in the Senate, confirmed the killings. He said the invaders spent about 12 hours wreaking havoc on defenceless Nigerians.
He revealed that several other persons were injured in the attack, while almost all the houses and shops in the town were burnt down.
The senator, who spoke in a BBC Hausa report monitored in Maiduguri on Tuesday, said many people were wounded, while surviving victims rendered homeless as thousands of houses and shops were burnt by the rampaging gunmen.
He claimed that the attackers were armed with dangerous weapons comprising Armoured Personnel Carrier, Improvised Explosive Devices, petrol bombs, assault rifles and Rocket Propelled Launchers.
“The attackers stormed the communities in the night when residents were still sleeping, setting ablaze houses and shooting residents who tried to escape from the fire,’’ he said.
He added, “About 300 persons were confirmed dead after the incident, with several others injured. Almost all the houses in the communities were destroyed by the hoodlums who threw IEDs at the buildings.
“My brother who was at the scene of the attack told me that the actual number of the dead cannot be ascertained but at least they are up to 300. In fact, as he spoke he wept following the high number of the dead bodies which littered the market.”
According to him, the security forces earlier deployed in the area, had moved to the Lake Chad axis when they received intelligence report that some gunmen were sighted with abducted schoolgirls moving to the area.
“It was just an hour after their withdrawal that the terrorists invaded the town, shooting everyone at sight and setting buildings on fire. So far 200 vehicles and thousands of houses, shops and an outfit of the Nigerian Customs Service, (NCS) were all burnt”, he explained.
A local government official who declined identification also confirmed the casualty figure.
“It is really a terrible situation, we had wanted to rush relief materials to the area to provide temporary succour to the victims. But we were prevailed upon by security agents to shelve our plans for security reasons,” the official said.
More girls seized
The 11 girls were reportedly seized  in Warabe and Wala when gunmen invaded the communities.
Warabe is about 160 kilometres away from Maiduguri, the state capital.
The community is located on the outskirts of Gwoza town, which had witnessed a series of deadly attacks by suspected terrorists in recent times.
Police sources and residents confirmed the kidnapping of the girls, said to be aged between 12 and 15.
A resident of Warabe, who said he had since relocated to Gwoza, Ishaku Bremcha, said through the phone on Tuesday, “There was a twin ambush by gunmen last night along Guduf-Gava route of Gwoza Hills. The gunmen came through the settlements of Hwa’a, Chikedeh, and Guduf-Wala hills down to Wala Kasa, and proceeded to Dure village, west of Gwoza town with 11 abducted teenagers into Sambisa Forest last night.
“The abductors did not inflict injury or kill any of us in Warabe and Wala, but took away 11 of our young daughters into the forest, after warning us not to report the kidnappings.”
The Borno State Commissioner of Police, Tanko Lawal, could not be reached for confirmation because GSM lines to Maiduguri were inaccessible.
 But a top police officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said some armed hoodlums attacked two villages in the Gwoza council area “and abducted about a dozen teenagers.”
A resident of Warabe, Mallam Bello Umar, who spoke to journalists in Maiduguri,  said, “A group of terrorists invaded Warabe village on Sunday night, abducted 11 of our teenage girls and carted them away with our foodstuffs and livestock.
“As I am talking to you now, I have run to Gwoza Council headquarters, and even in Gwoza, we cannot move around easily due to the fear of the terrorists.
“The situation is so pathetic that almost everyone in Gwoza congregates at a safer zone close to the council secretariat where there is enough presence of security personnel.”
Umar said the gunmen, numbering over 20 and armed with AK-47 rifles, stormed the village but that they did not kill anybody.
“They simply abducted the 11 teenage girls before fleeing towards the hilly border areas between Gwoza and Cameroon Republic,” he added.
Reuters also quoted another resident of Warabe, Lazarus Musa, as saying on Tuesday that gunmen invaded the village and abducted the girls.
“They were many, and all of them carried guns. They came in two vehicles painted in army colour. They started shooting in our village,” Musa reportedly said.
A police source, who could not be named, also said the Warabe girls were taken away in trucks, along with looted livestock and food.

City face £50m fine and 21-man Champions League squad limit for breaching FFP rules


Manchester City are facing UEFA sanctions for breaching financial fair play rules which would see the club limited to a 21-man Champions League squad instead of the usual 25 players next season, the Press Association reports.
City, who are still strongly challenging the settlement offer from UEFA, are also facing a fine in the region of 60 million euros (around 50 million pounds, $83.5 million) over three years, and a cap imposed for next season to ensure there is no rise on this season's Champions League A squad wage bill.
The reduction in the size of the Champions League squad to 21 would potentially hit the club hardest, and City would also have to ensure that there are still eight locally-trained players in that A squad.
Press Association Sport reports that the sanctions are very similar to those being handed to Paris Saint-Germain -- the two clubs are among nine European sides being dealt with by UEFA's club financial control board (CFCB) for FFP breaches.
City have until the end of the week to reach an agreement with UEFA over the sanctions, but PA Sport claims they are the club furthest away from reaching any final settlement. If no agreement is reached City face the prospect of the case being handed to a panel for a non-negotiable decision.
Neither City nor UEFA would comment but, according to PA Sport, the Manchester club have been negotiating forcefully for a significant reduction in that sanction but have been struggling to make progress.
The risk, however, is that if they are unable to agree a deal with UEFA then they could face even stiffer sanctions from the CFCB's adjudicatory panel.
City manager Manuel Pellegrini shrugged off talk about the possible sanctions and said he will address the issue when UEFA publicly announce what the club's punishment is.
"I don't know if it is official news of UEFA of just rumours," he said in a news conference. "If it is not official, I don't have anything to say. "When it is official news of UEFA we can analyse what happens with the team. In this moment we don't know what happens."
No club is expected to be excluded from the Champions League for breaching the spending limits, the maximum possible sanction -- although UEFA president Michel Platini said last month he does not envisage that to happen.
Both Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain are believed to have fallen foul of the FFP rules with sponsorship deals related to each clubs' owners.
Abu Dhabi-owned City have a 40 million pounds-a-year deal with Etihad airways, while Qatar-owned PSG have a back-dated deal with the Qatar Tourist Authority (QTA) which is worth up to 200 million euros (165 million poinds) a year.
French newspaper L'Equipe has reported that UEFA has ruled the QTA deal should only be valued at half that sum, and that the French champions will be hit with a four-pronged punishment for their own breaches of the rules.

Lady Gaga squeezes herself into bubble gum pink and blue latex leotard as she kicks off ARTPOP tour

Clawing it back: Gaga kept her costumes relatively simple but did chose to wear the leotard with ripped fishnet tights

She is known for her love of shocking when it comes to fashion.
But it seems Lady Gaga fancied toning things down a little as she kicked off her ARTPOP Ball tour at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida on Sunday evening.
The 28-year-old ditched her often macabre style for a cutesy latex leotard – more suited to the likes of Katy Perry – as she strutted her stuff on stage on Sunday.
While her leotard looked lovely, she opted to wear it with a pair of ripped fishnet tights that made it feel grungier.
She didn't just wear one outfit however and she soon reverted to her usual formula of outrageous costumes and outlandish wigs.
The multi-talented entertainer displayed her dancer's legs in long-sleeved mottled tights with a bright blue orb in the center of her chest - which was sadly, not as controversial as say, her iconic meat dress.
Still, she rocked a shoulder-length platinum blonde wig with a fringe that framed her pretty face as she danced around in the costume that also included wide wings.
Gaga, whose given name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta later wore a long white wig with a futuristic white gown that was short up front and long in the back.
The hitmaker later switched into a white long-sleeved, one-piece outfit with a bikini bottom that showcased her toned pins.The five-time Grammy winner later changed into a psychedelic rag doll outfit with a purple wig, neon green skirt and furry green wrappings around her legs and wrists.
Gaga's new tour will include dozens of shows in North America as well as 25 in Europe and several in Asia.
The tour is scheduled to end on November 10.

Singing her heart out: The singer made sure she put on quite the show for her Little Monsters
Crystal ball: The singer switched into a rather more intricate leotard as the show continued
Giving a hand: Lady Gaga struck a pose while performing at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida

Funky costume: Gaga wore an elaborate headpiece while entertaining her fans

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...