Al Qaeda in Africa: The Creeping Menace to Sub-Sahara's 500 Million Muslims
ABSTRACT Since 2005, Al Qaeda has co-opted as franchises three armed and violent African Islamist movements that had established footholds in both East and West Africa. These movements have been able to exploit anarchy, instability, hopeless poverty, corruption, and ethnic exclusion to impose medieval Islamic governance that sub-Saharan Africans reject but cannot defeat without outside help. The countries currently directly affected are Somalia, Mali, and Nigeria. African governments understand the dangers to their sovereignty presented by Al Qaeda affiliates and have demonstrated determination to do whatever is necessary to stamp them out. All African governments welcome American assistance in their resistance to Islamist extremism, but the United States needs to be careful about keeping its military footprint in Africa as small as possible.
Boko Haram: On the Road to Algiers?
This paper establishes a chilling parallel between Algerian Islamic insurgency and Boko Haram terrorist attacks in Nigeria and parts of West and Central Africa and maps out Nigeria’s reaction to the Boko Haram insurgency, including mass atrocities perpetrated by Nigerian security troops. The paper lays out violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law perpetrated by both sides of the conflict, belatedly recognised as a non-international armed conflict in 2013 by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Focusing on Boko Haram’s most horrendous atrocities from 2010 to 2015, media coverage of these attacks is synthesised without discountenancing the horror and unimaginable pains experienced by the victims and the survivors of more numerous but lower casualty rates of Boko Haram attacks. Foreign response to the emergence of Boko Haram is also examined against the background of the requirements of international humanitarian law and international criminal law. Boko Haram insurgency in northern Nigeria evolved from a peaceful religious reaction to corrupt governance, by western educated elites, into violent murderous attacks against symbols of the Nigerian state and unarmed civilians. Most sections of northern Nigeria seem caught up in a time warp of arrested socio-economic development and never-ceasing endemic poverty, while tiny elites continue to live off state revenues. Accountable political leadership, with a clear focus and plan on tackling the socio-economic imbalances within the region and across the country, is the panacea to Boko Haram.
Study of Biogas for Power Generation at Pesantren Saung Balong Al-Barokah, Majalengka, West Java
Utilization of biogas from cow manure as a fuel alternative for power plants is done through an anaerobic process. A pilot plant with biogas production of 7 m 3 /day has been installed at Pesantren Saung Balong. Biogas is used for everyday purposes such as cooking and lighting, and used as pure biogas with 2.500 Watt scale generator. Biogas produced with the rate of 0.080 m 3 /hr. Biogas produced during the measurement (450 minutes) is 0.604 m 3 . With these data it is predicted that within a day (24 hours) biogas which can be generated is equal to 1.92 m 3 . Meanwhile, consumption of biogas to the generator with 1.047 W load is 0.019 m3/minutes, the generator will operate for approximately 101.05 minutes or 1.68 hours. Thus electricity that can be saved is 1.759 kWh per day or 52.77 kWh per month and electricity cost that can be saved that is equal to Rp.40.896/month.