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Insurgents attack AU base

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Islamist insurgents battled for hours on Sunday with African Union troops after exploding two car bombs outside one of their bases, Somali police, military and the militants said.

Al Shabaab militants attacked an African Union (AU) peacekeeper base in the town of Bulamarer, 130 kilometers southwest of the capital Mogadishu, around 9 a.m. local time, residents from the area told Reuters.

Since withdrawing from Mogadishu in 2011, the al Qaeda-linked group has lost control of most of Somalia’s cities and towns. But it still retains a strong presence in regions outside the capital.

The militants initially detonated two suicide car bombs that hit one AU vehicle and one Somali military vehicle, Somali army major Farah Osman, who is stationed near the AMISOM (African Union Mission in Somalia) base, said.

“Then a large number of al Shabaab fighters began firing from under the trees … it was a hellish battle,” he said, adding there was an unknown number of casualties.

Militants on foot then attacked nearby villages, said Ali Nur, deputy governor of the Lower Shabelle region where the base is located. “They were repulsed, but all these attacks were to stop reinforcement.”

The phone of the spokesman for the AMISOM force based in Mogadishu was switched off on Sunday and Reuters was unable to reach any other officials from the force for comment.

The Ugandan army said in a statement that Ugandan soldiers serving in the AU peacekeeping mission killed 22 al Shabaab militants that had attacked the Bulamarer base and two other posts, all in the Lower Shabelle region. Four Ugandan soldiers were killed, the army said.

Abdiasis Abu Musab, a spokesman for al Shabaab said 14 of the group’s fighters and 59 AMISOM troops were killed in the incident.

Nur, the government official, said no soldiers from the Somali army were killed and was not sure if any AMISOM troops were killed.

A police major stationed in a nearby town also said two car bombs exploded outside the base before the al Shabaab fighters entered it.

Major Nur Ali told Reuters that Somali and AMISOM forces had attacked al Shabaab in rural areas near the base on Saturday night. “Then al Shabaab attacked this morning as a revenge,” he said.

Somalia has been mired in civil war since 1991. (Reuters)

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Lady Dies After Friends Pushed Her Into Boiling Pot Of Fresh Pepper In Delta State

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A Nigerian man identified as Israel Joe, has revealed how his friend, Roseline, died after she was pushed into a boiling pot of fresh pepper and tomatoes by her two female friends in Sapele, Delta State.

Joe stated that Roseline, a caterer, went on a trip with her friends to Sapele for a catering job where the bitter ordeal occured.

She tragically passed away on Saturday, April 13 after spending two weeks at the hospital in a very horrible state.

In a Facebook post on Friday, Joe said that before her untimely death, Roseline confided in him about two of her friends who were treating her coldly.
And he has vowed to bring them to justice.

This is such a heartbreaking event.

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IPOB Declares May 30th As Sit-at-home Day Across The Southern East States To Honour Biafran Fallen Heroes

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The Indigenous People of Biafra has declared May 30, 2024, as a sit-at-home day across the South-East to celebrate Biafran soldiers.

The pro-Biafran group said that day is set aside annually to celebrate the men and women who died in the Biafran war between 1967 and 1970 and beyond and even until now.

This was made known in a press statement by the group’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, on Thursday, adding that every Biafran in the South-East is expected to sit at home and reflect on the war.

He cautioned South-East residents to avoid loitering about on this day, adding that those who intend to travel to and fro Biafra land must do so before the evening of May 29.

The IPOB statement also directed that all the residents of “Biafra Land” are to stay indoors from 6 am to 6 pm on May 30, 2024.

He also called on christians and traditionalists to pray to Chukwu okike abiama for the fallen heroes, And also for the independence of Biafra from Nigeria.

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Anambra State Government Arrests Man For Marrying Off His Underage Daughter

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The Anambra State Government has arrested one Uzochukwu Okoli, for marrying off his underaged daughter.

Okoli was apprehended after his daughter reported to the State Ministry of Women and Social Welfare about the alleged ill-treatment being meted out to her by her father and the man he forced her to marry.

The daughter, Chioma Okoli, who is currently 16 years old, said after the death of her mother, her father took her and her sister out of Edo state and brought them to Anambra.

She alleged that she was first forced to live with a 70-plus-year-old man at the age of 14 but after some time, she ran back to her father’s house before he finally gave her out to a 34-year-old Chinedu Nweke as husband.

Chioma who was in the company of her sister, explained that life with Chinedu has been a living hell because he allegedly beats her and sometimes pees in her mouth.

She said this act made her run away with their 9-month-old baby. Her father, Uzochukwu Okoli, on the other hand, claimed her daughter is 18 years old and, at some point, said she is 20 years old.

After he was handcuffed, Mr Okoli threatened to deal with the daughters if he made it out of prison. He also urged Chioma and her sister to pray he dies in prison because he would make life more miserable for them.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Hon Ify Obinabo, has instructed that the case be charged to court so that the girl can get justice.

Both Mr Okoli and Chinedu Nweke were arrested and will be arraigned in court.

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