MS Risk Blog

Bombs Explode in Colombian Capital

Two small bombs exploded in the offices of Porvenir, a private pension fund in Bogota, Columbia’s capital on Thursday, injuring eight people. Defence Secretary Luis Carlos Villegas has described the incidents as acts of terrorism, but has refrained from assigning blame to any particular group. No one has stepped forward to claim responsibility for the explosions, but there has been on-going speculation that the country’s largest rebel movement, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), was behind the attack. Bogota’s police commander, General Humberto Guatibonza, has been unable to confirm or deny these allegations, saying only that investigators are still in the process of interviewing witnesses and examining footage captured on nearby security cameras.

The explosions have come at a time of increased tension between the government and the rebel group, who have recently launched a number of high profile attacks on Columbian infrastructure projects.  After implementing a unilateral ceasefire in December last year, 11 members of FARC were killed by government forces in an ambush in April, resulting in the resumption of hostilities. Since then, both sides have launched a series of attacks on one another, throwing into jeopardy the two and a half year long peace talks that have been taking place in Cuba. In addition to its suspected involvement in the Bogota bombings, FARC has, over the past few weeks, bombed several oil pipelines, causing thousands of litres of crude oil to run into nearby rivers, causing an environmental disaster that experts believe will take decades to resolve. Because of this, the Colombian government’s chief negotiator has said that unless FARC shows greater commitment to the peace process, the government may pull out altogether, thereby condemning the Colombian people to a bloody civil war with no foreseeable end.

In response, rebel commander Pastor Alape, a member of the FARC negotiating team in Cuba, said on Sunday that both sides needed to take steps to “deepen the de-escalation of the armed conflict.” He called on President Santos to make “strong gestures…to prove that (he) will become a president of peace.” FARC insists that the Colombian government should agreed to bilateral ceasefire, a move which, until recently, President Santos has entirely rejected. However, the government may be prepared to consider entering into such an agreement if FARC is ready to 1) accept judicial responsibility for any acts of violence perpetrated by its members and 2) renounce its illicit activities including extortion and the drug trade.

Two Blasts Rock Central Nigerian City

According to police officials, two blasts rocked the central Nigerian city of Jos on Sunday, in what is the latest unrest to occur in the region. Emergency services reported Monday that at least 44 people were killed in the twin bomb blasts, which comes after a wave of mass casualty attacks blamed on Boko Haram.

Plateau state police spokesman Abuh Emmanuel confirmed “…that there were two explosions in Jos this evening. One happened at the Bauchi motor park and the other at Yantaya, near the mosque.” He further indicated that he could not immediately state if there were any causalities, adding that police officers have been sent to the scene. On Monday, Mohammed Abdulsalam, from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) disclosed that “at the moment we have 44 dead bodies and 47 others injured from the scenes of the two attacks.”

Witnesses have reported that the first explosion went off around 9:14 PM (2014 GMT) at Bauchi road shopping complex, which is located near the Bauchi motor park and the University of Jos. It targeted the packed Shagalinku restaurant located in the shopping complex, which is popular with travellers from the northeast. One witnesses disclosed that the second explosion was heard four minutes later, adding that it occurred close to the popular Yantaya Mosque. The witness reported that a van and several other vehicles were seen transporting some of the dead and injured to the local hospital. Another witnesses, who was at the Yantaya mosque for the “Tafsir,” or Koran commentary session, reported that a number of attackers opened fire from outside at about 9:20 PM (2020 GMT), adding “they fired an RPG (rocket propelled grenade) at the mosque but it hit a metal bar on the facade and exploded…Many people were killed and injured from the shooting and the explosion.”

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Sunday’s bomb attacks in Jos, which is the capital of Plateau state. Boko Haram however has repeatedly attacked the city in the past. In February, at least seventeen people were killed when a twin blast hit a bus park in the city.

Sunday night’s twin blasts come just hours after a suicide attack on a church in the northeastern city of Potiskum on Sunday, which left five people dead, including the pastor, a woman and two children.

According to an unofficial count, Sunday’s bombings took the death toll from raids, explosions and suicide attacks to 267 this month along, and to 524 since Muhammadu Buhari became president on 29 May. While President Buhari has repeatedly vowed that he will crush the militant’s six-year insurgency, the rising death toll, coupled with increasing attacks and the military being unable to prevent them, the president is now under growing pressure to react quickly.

Deadliest Week in Nigeria as Boko Haram Launches String of Attacks

On Thursday, two female suicide bombers killed at least thirteen people at a crowded market and a military checkpoint in northeastern Nigeria, in what is the fourth attack to occur this week. Over the past week, at least 162 people have been killed, including four suicide bombers. Boko Haram appears to be following a call recently issued by the Islamic State (IS) group to step up attacks during the holy month of Ramadan. Earlier this year, the Nigerian-based militant group pledged allegiance to IS.

Two suicide bomb blasts along a highway in northeastern Nigeria killed at least 13 people Thursday afternoon, in what is the latest in a string of almost daily attacks carried out by suspected Boko Haram militants. According to Borno state police chief Aderemi Opadokun, a female suicide bomber killed at least 10 people and injured thirteen in the village of Malari, which is located on the main road from Bama to Konduga. Minutes later, a woman in a taxi blew herself up at a military checkpoint, killing a soldier and two passengers. The second blast also occurred along the same road. A military source has indicated that in both attacks, the suicide bombers targeted crowded areas where locals sell fruit along the highway, which runs southeast of the state capital Maiduguri.

On Thursday, suspected Boko Haram militants killed nearly 150 people in northeastern Nigerian villages, targeting civilians as they prayed in mosques and shooting women who were preparing food at home. On the ground sources reported that dozens of militants stormed three remote villages in Borno state on Wednesday evening, setting houses ablaze in the bloodiest day of attacks by the extremist group since President Muhammadu Buhari came to power in May. A local has reported that gunmen killed at least 97 people in the town of Kukawa, the worst-affected village, with another local reporting that more than 50 militants stormed the village. Meanwhile in two other villages near the town of Monguno, gunmen killed 48 people and injured 11 others. One resident reported that the militants arrived on motorcycles and in vans. Kukawa is located around 50 kilometres (30 miles) away from the two villages near Monguno, with all three located near Lake Chad, which straddles, Niger, Chad, Nigeria and Cameroon, and which recently has become a focal point of the unrest.

New Ebola Cases Reported in Liberia After Country is Declared Free of Disease

After reporting no confirmed cases of EVD since 20 March, and subsequently being declared Ebola-free by the WHO on 9 May, routine surveillance detected two confirmed cases of EVD in the town of Nedowein, Margibi County.

The initial case is a 17-year-old male who first became ill on 21 June. After checking into a local health facility, the patient was treated for malaria and discharged. He died on 28 June and received a safe burial the same day. An oral swab taken before the burial subsequently tested positive twice for EVD. On Wednesday, workers exhumed the 17-year-olds body. According to an official, new tests will help to determine the mode of transmission.

On 1 July, Liberian officials confirmed a second Ebola case in the same town. According to Deputy Health Minister Tolbert Nyeswah, the infected person has since been moved to Monrovia. Since then, officials have identified 102 contacts, however the number is expected to increase as investigations continue. At this stage, local officials have indicated that the origin of infection is unknown. The initial case reportedly had no recent history of travel, contact with visitors from affected areas, or funeral attendance. The area of Nedowein has since been placed under quarantine.

On Wednesday, more than 100 Ebola centre workers stormed the Ministry of Health in eastern Monrovia, demanding that they be paid hazard pay, which they have indicated they have not received since the country was declared Ebola-free. According to Health Minister Bernice Dahn, Liberia has paid hazard benefits to “99 percent” of people who worked in the Ebola treatment units in addition to their regular salaries, adding that if there are people who feel that they have not been paid, “they should come forward” and make their case with the ministry.

Boko Haram Suspected of Carrying Out Attack in Chad

On Monday, five Chadian police officers and six Islamists were killed after suspected Boko Haram militants blew themselves up during a police raid on a safe house in the capital, N’Djamena.

Residents in the capital city reported the first explosion in the Dinguesso neighborhood of N’Djamena, with the second blast occurring minutes later. According to Interior Minister Abderahim Bireme Hamid, the blasts struck after security forces arrested the alleged “brain” behind Boko Haram operations in Chad and in neighboring northern Cameroon. Bireme Hamid disclosed that police found “a lot of documents” and during questioning, one of those held revealed where the group made homemade bombs. In a follow-up search, three suicide vests were also found. The minister reported that as soon as the door of the house was opened “and they saw one of their arrested members, the five Boko Haram blew themselves up…We regret to day that five officers died. And after a search we found the body of another Boko Haram member,” adding that three more police officers sustained injuries in the attack. The latest attack follows the 15 June double suicide bombing, which has been blamed on the Nigerian-based militants. That attack killed at least 33 people in N’Djamena, in what is the deadliest attack to occur in the city.

Earlier on Monday, officials in Chad arrested 60 people in relation to an attack that occurred earlier this month in the capital city. Chad’s chief prosecutor announced “the dismantling (of a Boko Haram cell) and the arrest of 60 people” as part of an inquiry into the suicide bombings that occurred last week. According to prosecutor Alghassim Khamis, “a terrorist cell was identified and taken down. Sixty people were detained,” including Nigerians, Chadians, Cameroonians and Malians. Khamis further disclosed that one of three people behind the 15 June attacks – all of whom were killed by security forces – had been positively identified, while the identify of the two others was being checked, adding “the debris left by the suicide bombers enabled us to determine that the terrorists were wearing specially-made explosive vests in black fabric… Fragments (of the bombs) collected at the scenes of the attacks are identical.” Khamis further disclosed that “the toll for this double attack is 38 dead today, including the three suicide bombers, and 81 wounded and released and 20 wounded still admitted to the hospital,” adding that one person remains in serious condition. Khamis has indicated that “the information received shows that this attack was well planned.”