MS Risk Blog

Attack on School in Northern Nigeria

In Nigeria, suspected Boko Haram militants carried out an attack on a school in northern Nigeria.

At least twenty-nine students have been killed in Nigeria after suspected Boko Haram militants attacked a boarding school in the north-eastern region of the country.  According to on the ground sources, the remote school, which is located in the state of Yobe, was attacked overnight when students were in their dormitories.  All the twenty-nine victims were teenage boys while another eleven were seriously injured.  Most of the school was also burned to the ground.  Although no further information has been released, Nigeria’s military announced on Tuesday that it was pursuing the attackers.  A statement released by the military stated “we assure all law-abiding citizens that we will continue to do what is necessary to protect lives and property.”  President Goodluck Jonathan has since condemned the killings, calling them “heinous, brutal and mindless.”

Over the past year, Islamist militants have attacked dozens of schools in north-eastern Nigeria.  Last September, forty students were killed at an agricultural college during a similar raid which was also carried out at night.   Although the Nigerian government launched military operations in May last year to end Boko Haram’s four year insurgency, Nigeria’s armed forces are currently facing increasing criticism for their failure to protect civilians and to respond to the raids carried out by militants.

Meanwhile a court in Kenya dropped charges on Wednesday against forty-one men and released on bail twenty-nine others who were arrested earlier this month during a raid on a mosque, which has been accused of supporting Islamist extremists.

On 2 February, police raided Mombasa’s Musa mosque, detaining seventy men whom officials accused of attending radicalisation meeting.  The raid on the mosque sparked deadly rights in the port city.  The seventy men were all initially charged with being members of Somalia’s al-Shabaab along with a number of other charges, which included possession of firearms and inciting violence.  However on Wednesday, Magistrate Richard Oden-yo ordered forty-one of those charged to be set free due to a lack of evidence.  The remaining 29 suspects were released on bail, which was set at 500,000 Kenyan shillings (5,800 dollars; 4,200 euros each.  The releases came just one day after Kenya’s top security chiefs warned of an “increased threat of radicalization” from home-grown Islamists, singling out the Musa mosque as a specific centre encouraging extremism, along with two others.

Egyptian Government Resigns

In a move that shocked the nation, this morning Egypt’s military-backed government tendered its resignation to the republic.

In a televised address, Egyptian Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi confirmed that the government has resigned. He gave no definitive reason for the decision. An unnamed source has revealed that the decision came after a 15-minute cabinet meeting, which included Defence Minister and Army Chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Sisi is widely expected to run for president in the upcoming elections. One official source said, “This was done as a step that was needed ahead of Sisi’s announcement that he will run for president.”

Sisi has skyrocketed in the political sphere since his role in removing former president Mohamed Morsi from office. Shortly after the removal, he unveiled a political roadmap which included a transition from an interim government to a new administration comprised of elected officials. Sisi has been a popular but divisive figure as supporters of the Morsi government have actively protested against the interim government and the army, leading to weekly (sometimes daily) clashes with pro-government citizens and security forces.

The decision also came as a series of strikes continue across several industries, including public transport workers and garbage collectors. Further, the nation has been suffering a great shortage of cooking gas. Prime minister El-Beblawi has been perceived by Egyptian media as indecisive and unable to provide a remedy for the Egypt’s failing economy. Beblawi has also been criticised for his inability to prevent or control escalating terror attacks within Egypt, attacks which have been blamed on the Muslim Brotherhood and extremist supporters of Morsi. Beblawi has acknowledged these poor conditions, but maintains that Egypt is in a better place now than during the Morsi regime.

While it remains unofficial, it is expected that Housing Minister Ibrahim Mehleb will succeed Beblawi.

Tunisia: The Politics of Headscarves

On 14 February, the Tunisian government announced that security forces will tighten checks on women wearing niqab, or full-face veils. The decision comes after a 10 February incident in which a man wearing a niqab, described by officials as a “Salafist”, was arrested in the Ariana neighbourhood in northern Tunis. The public announcement has caused anger among political and human rights activists.

Headscarves in Tunisia

In 1981, under the regime of deposed president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, headscarves in all forms were banned from schools or government buildings. In an effort to enforce conformity, police stopped women in the streets and asked them to remove their headscarves, telling them not to wear them again. It was considered a “sectarian” fashion which came to Tunisia “uninvited”. Many government officials believed that head scarves were being promoted by religious extremists with political ambitions. Over time, the niqab in particular grew to be viewed as a political symbol, more so than a religious one. In 2006, Tunisian authorities reinforced the ban. Though activists considered the ban a deprivation of human rights, under Ben Ali’s authoritative regime, the dissent was quickly quieted.

Following Ben Ali’s removal in January 2011, the practice of wearing headscarves increased significantly. Around 80% of Tunisian women wear a version of the traditionally accepted hijab, which covers the hair and ears, leaving the face uncovered. Though increasing in popularity, only 2% of women wear the niqab, which leaves only the eyes exposed. The full burqa, which leaves no features of the face exposed, is worn by less than 1% of the female population.

The increase in various forms of headscarves has been a hot topic of debate between Islamists and secularists. On university campuses, where niqab is still discouraged (and in some universities, banned completely), violent confrontations have occurred between factions on both sides of the debate. In 2012, a Tunisian university dean faced trial for allegedly slapping a female student wearing niqab. The woman in question was expelled for six months for refusing to remove her covering. The dean had previously complained that two students wearing niqab had vandalised his office. The event caused protests and sit-ins, as those who protested for their human rights rowed with those concerned about security.

The Political Debate

Political perceptions of headscarves shifted in 2011, when Islamist-leaning advocates, suppressed under the former regime, successfully installed the moderate-Islamist Ennahda party. The ban on headscarves was lifted and many women donned the niqab as a symbol of freedom and victory.

However, due to the Ennahda party’s perceived inability to maintain the economy and preserve national security, tensions quickly soared between the Islamist government and its secular opposition. The conflict was taken to crisis levels in 2013 with the assassination of two secular politicians, both attributed to Islamic extremists. After hard-fought political battles and negotiations, the Ennahda-led government stepped down in late-January 2014.

Tunisia has since installed an independent caretaker government and adopted a new constitution. In the weeks since the change, the debate against wearing niqab in particular has returned, but with another angle. Tunisian Interior Minister Lotfi Ben Jeddo has repeatedly stated that many fugitives have used the niqab to disguise themselves to avoid capture by security forces. Several men have been caught wearing niqab in an attempt to evade police. While security measures will be put in place to check the identities of those wearing niqab, Ben Jeddo emphasised that a total ban would be a political decision, one that sits outside of the Interior Ministry’s mandate.

Mufti supports niqab ban

Tunisia’s mufti, Sheikh Hamda Saeed, has declared his support for banning the niqab on security grounds, believing that leaders have the right to limit “things that are permissible if they find this to be in the best interests of the nation.”

The Mufti’s stance is considered a religious edict. The niqab, while permissible in Islam, is not a requirement. Activists and women who choose to wear niqab are concerned that the new security checks will come at the expense of their dignity. Tunisian security forces will walk a fine line.

The new constitution enshrines both freedom of religion and religious rights. The Tunisian Interior Ministry released a statement saying they will “strictly control every person wearing a niqab within the framework of the law.” As the niqab becomes increasingly politicised, care must be taken to maintain security, uphold the constitution, and avoid backlash from extreme factions who feel undermined by the new law.

Prison Assault in Yemen, 21 AQAP Operatives released

13 February: Twenty-nine prisoners escaped from prison following an assault on a central prison complex in Sana’a, Yemen. Of those who escaped, 21 were known members of terror network, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), including explosive experts convicts suspected in the assassination attempt on Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi.

According to an anonymous Yemeni security official, “The group detonated the car bomb at the western wall of the prison, creating an approximately five-meter (16-foot) hole in the wall. They shot and killed the guards in this area, including using RPGs.” Immediately following, two groups of fighters exited cars and broke off into two units; a third group of fighters was stationed on nearby rooftops. As one unit fought with security guards outside the prison; the rooftop opened fire on the guards. The second unit then battled guards inside the prison. Seven soldiers were killed and four were injured. It is unknown whether members of the assault teams were injured.

Yemen has mobilized its security apparatus in efforts to recapture the prisoners. State media has published images of the criminals and called on citizens to contact officials if they see anything.

The assault is the latest in a series of security installation attacks occurring over several months. In mid-January, 10 soldiers were killed in coordinated attacks on three military outposts in the town of Rada’a in Baydah province. In December, a suicide team of AQAP fighters penetrated security at the Ministry of Defence in Sana’a, attempting to target US-led Ops Rooms for the drone program in Yemen. The assault killed 52 people. High-profile assaults were also conducted in September and October of 2013.

While no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, the nature of the break is consistent with AQAP. The strategy of combining suicide bombers and assault teams has been used by the group in the past. It is a common tactic among al-Qaeda linked allies, including portions of the Taliban and Boko-Haram. Further, AQAP emir and general manager, Nasir al Wuhaysi, released a statement in August 2013, in which he praises militants currently in prison, and vows that efforts will be made to release them.

Rockets Fired in Northern Mali

Military sources in Mali have confirmed that militants launched rockets during a night attack on the desert town of Timbuktu.  None of the intended targets were hit.  Over the past week, this is the second such to occur in northern Mali, resulting in heightened worry amongst officials as militants have vowed to carry out further attacks.  The latest incidents come days after the Red Cross confirmed that a team of five aid workers was kidnapped.

A senior Malian army officer stationed in Timbuktu has confirmed that three rockets were fired on Sunday night by “terrorists,” adding “fortunately there were no casualties.”  A source from the United Nations’ MINUSMA peacekeeping  force also confirmed that attack, which came three days after a similar assault on the northern town of Gao.  On 13 February, militants launched two rockets at a French army base in northern Mali.  The attack occurred during a visit by France’s top military officer.  The incident was later claimed by the militant group Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), which is a splinter group of al-Qaeda’s regional branch.  The militant group also warned that similar such attacks would continue to be carried out against the “enemies of Islam.”

Despite both incidents resulting in no casualties, the recent rise in attacks and incidents in northern Mali has nevertheless resulted in heightened concerns amongst local and international officials that security within the northern region continues to be unstable and may threaten the efforts made by the Malian government and international peacekeeping forces.  The attacks also demonstrate MUJAO’s, and similar militant groups, continued capabilities to carry out terrorist attacks.

The latest incidents in northern Mali come days after a group of five Malian Red Cross aid workers went missing on Saturday in an area between Kidal and Gao.  Last Tuesday, MUJAO’s leader confirmed that the militant group was responsible for the kidnapping, adding that the five Malians “are alive and in good health.”  So far the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has not indicated whether a ransom demand has been made.  The current whereabouts of the team are unknown.