GENEVA (Reuters) - A fire killed at least eight people and left 15,000 others without shelter after raging through a northeast Nigerian camp for people displaced by a war against Islamist insurgents, aid group Norwegian Refugee Council said on Saturday.

Northeast Nigeria is ground zero for one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, sparked by a now decade-long conflict with Boko Haram and its splinter group Islamic State West Africa Province.

Roughly 2 million people have been displaced by the war, often living in squalid camps with little food, shelter or medicine.

“The source of the fire was a spark from a cooking stove, used by a child preparing her food,” Norwegian Refugee Council said on Twitter, describing the disaster in the town of Gajiram in Borno, the state worst hit by the conflict.

“Immediately, the family shelter, made of dry vegetation, was ablaze...The survivors of the fire are now left without shelters & clean water to drink & cook. They are dispersed, desperately seeking shelters under trees or under the direct sunlight.”

Some 6,000 children and more than 4,000 pregnant and nursing women were among those affected, it added.

In recent weeks, Nigerian and Chadian forces have launched an offensive against Islamic State’s Lake Chad stronghold after being on the back for much of 2018 and early 2019.

The Nigerian military has said it has killed dozens of insurgent fighters. Reuters has been unable to verify the figures.

Many aid groups expect the humanitarian crisis to last years.</s>A community market in Gwoza, Northern Nigeria, has been reopened after the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), a United Nations agency, had rehabilitated it. It was opened for business on March 10.

Gwoza is a Local Government Area in Borno State, the hot bed of Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. Gwoza which is also the headquarters of the local government, is a border town of some 135 kilometres South-East of Maiduguri, the state capital.

Wikipedia says the Gwoza Hills, with heights of about 1300 metres above sea level provides scenery and is made up of the Mandara Mountains, which form a natural barrier between Nigeria and Cameroon, starting from Pulka. They overlook the game reserves by meandering towards Mubi and beyond in Adamawa State.

The area has been called “a notorious hide out for the Boko Haram insurgents,” who arrived in the area in 2009 from Maiduguri. The area has suffered considerable violence as a result of the Islamist insurgency in Nigeria, and in 2014, saw an influx of Boko Haram fighters fleeing Sambisa Forest.

As of June 23, 2014, “reports indicated that the whole of Gwoza was under attack.” Deutsche Welle reported that “roads out of the region are extremely dangerous and phone connections are poor to nonexistent.”

As of October 19, 2014, an estimated 3,000 Gwoza residents displaced by fighting were squatting on the fringes of Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city, according to a local relief committee spokesman, with “the need for shelter, food, clothing and medicare for the displaced also becoming dire.”

On March 27, 2015, the day before the Nigerian presidential election, the Nigerian Army announced that it had recaptured the town of Gwoza from Boko Haram. According to AllAfrica.com, “Gwoza, one of the largest towns in Borno, fell under the control of Boko Haram terrorists on August 6, 2014.”

In the mean time, IOM says 142 Gwoza residents participated in the rehabilitation of the market as part of a cash for work initiative aimed at strengthening the local economy through income opportunities and providing motivation for conflict affected individuals to invest in their community.

The market was badly damaged as a result of the protracted conflict with non-state armed groups in the volatile North-East Nigeria and remained unused for many years.

For the IOM Nigeria Project Officer, Afra Ure, ‘’the reopening of the local market is an important part of IOM’s support to the transition and recovery process in Gwoza. Apart from reinvigorating the local economy, it is also an important step towards a return to the community’s pre-conflict way of life.’’

Though many people have returned to their homes in Gwoza since Nigerian forces regained control of the town in 2015, humanitarian assistance remains critical. In addition to livelihood recovery assistance, IOM distributed 550 cash grants and shelter repair kits containing the necessary materials to rebuild homes.

A local vendor, Modu said, ‘’I have worked in an open space without shade in the old market for over four years. But with the construction of stalls, I can comfortably display my fabric wraps and I believe even my customers will be more at ease to buy my products.’’

Alongside Modu some 350 other vendors now sell cereals, vegetables, clothing and household items such as buckets, brooms and cleaning products in the new facilities.

As part of the efforts to improve the living conditions of people affected by the conflict, support their recovery and build their resilience, IOM has implemented livelihood projects consisting of community-level rehabilitation and vocational trainings across North-East Nigeria.

‘’I’m the leader of my household and I hope that working in the reopened market will help me get the necessary means to sustain my family… I’m optimistic’’, said Fatima, who sells candy and other confectioneries at the market.</s>Troops of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) on Insurgency have eliminsted 33 Boko Haram insurgents and recovered high calibre ammunition in the Lake Chad basin.

 The Multi-National force disclosed this on Thursday in statement issued in Maiduguri, Borno State.

 Col.Timothy Antigha, Chief Military Public Information Officer, MNJTF, said the troops recorded successes in the past two days under ongoing operation YANCHI TAFKI.

 Col. Antigha disclosed that the troops in a recent encounter, also intercepted and killed Boko Haram insurgents at Tunbum Rego, a major terrorists’ hideout island in Lake Chad.

 He added that troops of MNJTF’s Sector 4, in a separate attack at the insurgents’ hideout at Arege, “killed many of them, destroyed their equipment and recovered ammunitions”.

 “In a recent engagement, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance platforms as well as ground attack, aircraft from a coalition of Cameroonian, Niger and Nigerian Air Forces intercepted and destroyed Boko Haram terrorists in Tunbum Rego.

 “Tunbum Rego is a prominent island in Lake Chad, believed to harbour high valued Boko Haram targets.

 “MNJTF troops from Sector 4, attacked Boko Haram assets at Arege, killing scores of the terrorists in the process”.

 Antighha listed the equipment recovered from the insurgents as two gun trucks, two motorcycles, one 120 mm mortar tube, two 60 mm mortar bombs and 12 AK-47 rifles.

 He said that one Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) own(Ed)by the terrorists was destroyed by the troops.

 Ammunition recovered, according to the spokesperson, included 3,736 rounds of assorted types and two hand grenades.

 He added that the MNJTF warned individuals still associated with Boko Haram to surrender themselves for demobilisation and rehabilitation, while the opportunity still existed.</s>The Headquarters Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) Nd’jemena, the Chad Republic has said troops on Operation Yancin Tafki killed 33 Boko Haram fighters in Arege, Borno state.

A statement from the spokesperson of MNJTF Colonel Timothy Atigha said troops from Sector 4 attacked Boko Haram assets in Arege, killing scores of terrorists in the process.

He said the operation was aimed to dismantle Boko Haram terror networks in the Lake Chad Area.

He said Air and Ground Components of the Task Force have intensified air interdictions and mop up activities in the area of operation.

Atigha also said, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance platforms, as well as ground attack aircraft from a coalition of Cameroonian, Niger and Nigerian Air Forces, intercepted and destroyed Boko Haram terrorists.

He explained that they were intercepted in Tunbum Rego, a prominent island in Lake Chad, believed to harbour high valued Boko Haram targets.

He said equipment recovered from Boko Haram in the last two day include: two-gun trucks, one armoured personnel carrier destroyed, two motorcycles destroyed, one 120MM mortar tube recovered.

Other items are: 12 AK 47 riffles recovered, two 60MM mortar bombs recovered, 3,736 rounds of assorted ammunition recovered, one binocular recovered and two hand grenades recovered.</s>Around eight million people in the North-East region of Nigeria are in need of assistance, a global humanitarian organisation that is committed to ending world hunger, Action Against Hunger, has said.

Since 2012, the region has been facing insecurity due to conflict with the Boko Haram insurgent group, which has caused a deepening humanitarian crisis and devastated civilians.

According to the humanitarian group, ‘’7.7 million people need assistance and 1.6 million are internally displaced. Many face hunger, and an estimated three million could suffer critical food insecurity. Children under five in Nigeria experience high malnutrition rates: 43.6% are stunted, 10.8% are wasted.’’

Without the doubt, Nigeria is Africa’s wealthiest, most populous country, and is arguably, the fastest-growing economy. Despite this, more than 50 percent of the country’s estimated over 180 million population lives below the poverty line, and Northern Nigeria suffers the world’s third highest level of chronic under-nutrition among children.

This silent crisis, according to Action Against Hunger, ‘’is caused by lack of access to safe water and sanitation, rising food insecurity, the disruption of basic services due to conflict, and poor knowledge of healthy feeding practices for infants and young children.’’

Civilians have limited access to assistance, and food remains a major need in displacement settlements. Prolonged absence of food security, livelihoods, healthcare, education, clean water, and sanitation and hygiene facilities exacerbate risks.

Protection concerns include arbitrary detention, forced conscription, domestic violence, forced and early marriages, trafficking, and sexual exploitation and abuse.

Action Against Hunger has been working in Nigeria since 2010. From 2014 to 2015, the group doubled the volume of their operations in response to the crisis, meeting the humanitarian needs of 2.1 million people with health and nutrition programmes; clean water and sanitation to reduce malnutrition and disease; emergency cash transfers to help displaced people purchase food or meet other urgent needs; and longer-term food security initiatives.

In 2016, they scaled up their programmes in the country even further, yet again doubling the volume of their operations to meet rising needs, despite an extremely challenging environment.

The group has been playing a leading role in strengthening nutrition security in Northern Nigeria over the last five years, and scaled up their operations in 2016 following the Borno State Government’s declaration of a nutrition emergency.

Adding to their extensive portfolio of long term development and humanitarian response programming, they opened a new office in Monguno to deliver immediate life-saving support.

Working closely with partners, Action Against Hunger provided food to displaced people and host families, distributed much-needed sanitation and hygiene items, and organised blanket supplementary feeding programmes for children under five and pregnant and lactating women.

To address the current and projected issues families face in the troubled region, the group has employed a multi-sectoral approach to meet the rapidly growing humanitarian needs while maintaining their commitment to improving nutrition security in the long term.

While an estimated 900,000 people remain out of reach for humanitarians, but some areas became accessible in 2017, the group said, ‘’we prioritised aid for the most vulnerable, commencing operations in six areas within Yobe and Borno and expanding programmes in Maiduguri and Monguno to assist newly displaced people and respond to a cholera outbreak.

‘’In Jigawa, our development programmes help children grow up healthy and strong. In 2017, the Working to Improve Nutrition in Northern Nigeria programme to prevent and treat malnutrition was successfully concluded after six years. Through the primary health system, the project delivered nutrition-focused interventions to over two million children and caregivers.
• Reaching at-risk mothers and children: We worked with partners to scale up nutrition services to reach the most vulnerable mothers and children with lifesaving treatment.
• Providing education and safety nets. We provided pregnant women and mothers with young children with cash transfers meet their families’ urgent food needs, nutrition education to improve their knowledge of vital care and feeding practices for infants and young children.
• Rebuilding infrastructure: In Yobe and Borno, where entire communities have been destroyed by conflict, we built new water sources and latrines, and rebuilt water points that were in disrepair. We also provided displaced populations with showers and hygiene kits to ensure adequate sanitation.
• Letting communities lead: In Yobe and Borno, we set up “Community Led” sanitation initiatives that put displaced people in charge of managing adequate sanitation conditions in their homes and shared public spaces.
• Meeting basic survival needs: We provided at-risk displaced families—and vulnerable households in host communities—with monthly cash transfers and electronic vouchers to allow them to purchase food in local markets or pay for other urgent household needs.
• Providing mothers with support systems: Our Porridge Moms initiative in Borno established mother-to-mother support groups, built community cooking stoves, and hosted cooking demonstrations to educate mothers about how to prepare nutritious foods. In Yobe and Borno, we helped displaced families earn income with micro-gardening and micro-business training.

‘’When Ya Fati’s home and village were destroyed by the conflict in Northern Nigeria, instead of food rations, she received monthly cash installments through Action Against Hunger’s emergency food assistance programme.

‘’She used her cash to pay for shelter for her family, medicine, and food at the local market. Before, I was dependent on my relatives. I can now feed my family, she says. Ya Fati has even been able to save a little money from her monthly allocation, which she invested in two sheep, a source of future earnings: I will try to also fatten my sheep so that I can make my own money.’’</s>The deposed leader of an IS-backed faction of Boko Haram has been detained by more radical elements who seized control of the group, three well-informed sources have told AFP.

Uncertainty has surrounded the fate of Abu Mus’ab Al-Barnawi after he was replaced as leader of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) last month. An audio recording about his removal appeared online some two weeks ago, sparking speculation as to whether he was still alive or dead.

Three sources told AFP last week that Al-Barnawi had been deposed. The regional military force fighting the jihadists in northeast Nigeria has also acknowledged the development. Colonel Timothy Antigha, spokesman for the N’Djamena-based Multinational Joint Task Force, said the change of leadership was the result of an “internal crisis”. “The Islamic State West Africa Province announced the sack of Abu Mus’ab Al-Barnawi and the appointment of Abu Abdullahi Ibn Umar Albarnawi,” he added in a statement.

One source with knowledge of the group’s activities told AFP the deposed leader was now “in the custody of the new leadership”. “It was a bloodless coup. They made him abdicate and put him in detention,” said the source, who asked not to be identified for his personal safety.

ISWAP commanders met on February 28 in Kwalaram, one of the group’s camps in the Lake Chad area, where they took a unanimous decision to replace Al-Barnawi. The source said they accused him of having close links with more moderate jihadists in Mali. The Kwalaram meeting was attended by all ISWAP commanders, who came in speedboats from different camps on and around the vast freshwater lake. A second source said the meeting was convened to prevent dissent in the ranks.

“They have not killed him, they only put him in detention as their aim was only to get him out of the way,” he said. “He is still being held and it is unlikely they will harm him for now.” ISWAP’s new leadership was wary about the emergence of a splinter group of fighters loyal to Al-Barnawi if he were executed, said the second source. Al-Barnawi, who is in his mid-20s, is the son of Boko Haram’s founder Muhammad Yusuf and enjoyed special recognition among followers.

Killing him could cause disaffection and be seen as a betrayal of Yusuf, who is still venerated by all Boko Haram factions, including that led by his one-time deputy, Abubakar Shekau. “The new leadership knows the possible consequence of killing Al-Barnawi as they did to Mamman Nur,” a third source said, referring to the deposed ISWAP head’s number two. If another breakaway faction appeared, Al-Barnawi’s life would be in danger, the first source warned. IS recognised Barnawi as head of ISWAP after a split from Shekau in mid-2016 over the latter’s indiscriminate violence against civilians.

ISWAP, which has been blamed for or claimed a spate of attacks against the Nigerian military in recent months, went through internal turmoil after the execution of Mamman Nur last year. Nur, a former Yusuf confidant, was the mastermind of the 2011 bombing of the UN building in Abuja that killed 26 and was widely seen as de facto head of ISWAP.

He was killed in August last year after more radical fighters accused him of pocketing an alleged ransom for the release of more than 100 schoolgirls from the Yobe town of Dapchi. They were also angry with Nur’s more moderate approach and back-channel talks with Nigeria’s government, which is seeking an end to the conflict after nearly 10 years and an estimated 27,000 deaths.

The new leadership saw Al-Barnawi as a continuation of Nur’s softer approach and decided to edge him out, the third source said. “Killing Al-Barnawi is not on the table, just as killing Nur was not on the table before the ransom disagreement,” the source said. “But everything can change depending on the fallout of the leadership change.”</s>An eight-year-old boy who fled Nigeria with his family and is now living in a homeless shelter in New York City while his asylum application pends has been crowned the state's chess champion for his age group.

Tanitoluwa Adewumi won the state tournament for kindergarten through third grade last weekend.

The boy and his family fled their home in Nigeria in 2017 in fear for their lives and have been living in a homeless shelter ever since while their application for asylum pends.

Tani, as he is known to family and friends, plays chess at the elementary school he attends and practices every night in the shelter.

His father Kayode drives for Uber and is also a real estate broker.

The family moved to the US to escape Boko Haram, a terrorist group responsible for atrocious attacks against Africans.

Because they are devout Christians, they feared they would be targeted.

Tani and his siblings became enrolled in local elementary schools not long after they arrived and he discovered the chess club.

His mother Oluwatoyin emailed them to say that while they could not afford to pay the fees attached, he was eager to participate.

The club waived the fees to encourage him.

Not only does Tani play with them, but he also attends a free, three-hour practice session in Harlem every Saturday to master his game. At night, he uses his father's laptop to practice.

Now, he wants to be the youngest grandmaster 'ever', he told The New York Times.

Russ Makofsy, who runs the chess club in which Tani plays, has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help the boy's family.

He said it was astonishing how much Tani had improved in just a year.

'One year to get to this level, to climb a mountain and be the best of the best, without family resources.

'I’ve never seen it,' he told The Times.

The GoFundMe page has nearly raised $12,000 of its $25,000 goal.
A fire at a refugee camp in Nigeria kills eight and leaves 15,000 homeless. The residents are people displaced by ongoing conflict with Boko Haram.