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Palestinians Flee As Israeli Artillery Pounds Northern Gaza

Published

4 years ago

May 14, 2021

Palestinians grabbed their children and belongings and fled neighborhoods on the outskirts of Gaza City on Friday as Israel unleashed a heavy barrage of artillery fire and airstrikes, killing a family of 6 in their home, Associated Press reports.

Israel said it was clearing a network of militant tunnels ahead of a possible ground invasion.

Israel has massed troops along the border and called up 9,000 reservists as fighting intensifies with the Islamic militant group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian militants had reportedly fired some 1,800 rockets, and the Israeli military has launched more than 600 airstrikes, toppling at least three high-rise apartment buildings, and has shelled some areas with tanks stationed near the frontier.

As Israel and Hamas plunged closer to all-out war despite international efforts at a cease-fire, communal violence in Israel erupted for a fourth night.

Jewish and Arab mobs clashed in the flashpoint town of Lod, even after Israel dispatched additional security forces.

The Gaza Health Ministry says the toll from the fighting has risen to 119 killed, including 31 children and 19 women, with 830 wounded.

The Hamas and Islamic Jihad militant groups have confirmed 20 deaths in their ranks, though Israel says that number is much higher. Seven people have been killed in Israel, including a 6-year-old boy and a soldier.

Palestinians living outside Gaza City, near the northern and eastern frontiers with Israel, fled the intense artillery bombardment Friday.

Families arrived at the U.N.-run schools in the city in pick-up trucks, on donkeys and by foot, hauling pillows and pans, blankets and bread.

“We were planning to leave our homes at night, but Israeli jets bombarded us so we had to wait until the morning,” said Hedaia Maarouf, who fled with her extended family of 19 people, including 13 children. “We were terrified for our children, who were screaming and shaking.”

In the northern Gaza Strip, Rafat Tanani, his pregnant wife and four children, aged 7 and under, were killed after an Israeli warplane reduced their four-story apartment building to rubble, residents said.

Ok I’ll Four strikes hit the building at 11 p.m., just before the family was going to sleep, Rafat’s brother Fadi said. The building’s owner and his wife were also killed.

“It was a massacre,” said Sadallah Tanani, another relative. “My feelings are indescribable.”

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman, said tanks stationed near the border fired 50 rounds. It was part of a large operation that also involved airstrikes and was aimed at destroying tunnels beneath Gaza City used by militants to evade surveillance and airstrikes that the military refers to as “the Metro.”

“As always, the aim is to strike military targets and to minimize collateral damage and civilian casualties,” he said. “Unlike our very elaborate efforts to clear civilian areas before we strike high-rise or large buildings inside Gaza, that wasn’t feasible this time.”

The strikes came after Egyptian mediators rushed to Israel for cease-fire talks that showed no signs of progress. Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations were leading the truce efforts.

The fighting broke out late Monday when Hamas fired a long-range rocket at Jerusalem in support of Palestinian protests there against the policing of a flashpoint holy site and efforts by Jewish settlers to evict dozens of Palestinian families from their homes.

Since then, Israel has attacked hundreds of targets in Gaza, causing earth-shaking explosions in densely populated areas. Of the 1,800 rockets Gaza militants have fired, more than 400 fell short or misfired, according to the military.

The rockets have brought life in parts of southern Israel to a standstill, and several barrages have targeted the seaside metropolis of Tel Aviv, some 70 kilometers (45 miles) from Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue the operation, saying in a video statement that Israel would “extract a very heavy price from Hamas.”

In Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden said he spoke with Netanyahu about calming the fighting but also backed the Israeli leader by saying “there has not been a significant overreaction.”

He said the goal now is to “get to a point where there is a significant reduction in attacks, particularly rocket attacks.” He called the effort “a work in progress.”

Israel has come under heavy international criticism for civilian casualties during three previous wars in Gaza, which is home to more than 2 million Palestinians. It says Hamas is responsible for endangering civilians by placing military infrastructure in civilian areas and launching rockets from them.

Hamas showed no signs of backing down. It fired its most powerful rocket, the Ayyash, nearly 200 kilometers (120 miles) into southern Israel on Thursday. The rocket landed in the open desert but briefly disrupted flight traffic at the southern Ramon airport. Hamas has also launched two drones that Israel said it quickly shot down.

Hamas military spokesman Abu Obeida said the group was not afraid of a ground invasion, which would be a chance “to increase our catch” of Israeli soldiers.

The current eruption of violence began a month ago in Jerusalem. A focal point of clashes was Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, on a hilltop compound revered by Jews and Muslims. Israel regards all of Jerusalem as its capital, while the Palestinians want east Jerusalem, which includes sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, to be the capital of their future state.

The violent clashes between Arabs and Jews in Jerusalem and other mixed cities across Israel has added a new layer of volatility to the conflict not seen in more than two decades.

The violence continued overnight into Friday. A Jewish man was shot and seriously wounded in Lod, the epicenter of the troubles, and Israeli media said a second Jewish man was shot. In the Tel Aviv neighborhood of Jaffa, an Israeli soldier was attacked by a group of Arabs and hospitalized in serious condition.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said some 750 suspects have been arrested since the communal violence began earlier this week. He said police had clashed overnight with individuals in Lod and Tel Aviv who hurled rocks and firebombs at them.

The fighting deepened a political crisis that has sent Israel careening through four inconclusive elections in just two years. After March elections, Netanyahu failed to form a government coalition. Now his political rivals have three weeks to try to do so.

Those efforts have been greatly complicated by the fighting. His opponents include a broad range of parties that have little in common. They would need the support of an Arab party, whose leader has said he cannot negotiate while Israel is fighting in Gaza.

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Tension As Unknown Gunmen Kill Police Informant In Imo Community

Published

2 months ago

April 25, 2025

Editor

By Qosim Sulaiman

Palpable tension engulfed the residents of Nkwogwu community, Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State following the killing of an elderly man, Pa Albert Nwanchukwu, believed to be a police informant.

The assailants, numbering about eight, who reportedly stormed the home of the late Nwanchukwu at about 10pm on Tuesday, 22 April, 2025, were said to have met him where he was relaxing in his compound and immediately opened fire on him.

According to our source who pleaded anonymity, before his assassination, the late Nwanchukwu, had reportedly went to a police station in the locality to inform them of the activities of the gunmen, just as he pleaded to the police to get them arrested.

Our source disclosed that the late Nwanchukwu never knew that some policemen are accomplished in the act, adding that the policemen no doubt informed the gunmen who in anger came and killed him.

Our source narrated: “They were about eight in number. They came with different weapons – guns, machetes. They were all masked except their leader.

“It was late but the floodlight from the streetlight was bright. They drove dangerously and went straight to Mr Albert Uwandu Nwachukwu house. The man was relaxing in the front of his house. Immediately they saw him, they opened fire,” he died on the spot”, an eyewitness who saw the entire scene from the balcony of his house recounts.

Our source added: “Further investigations proved that the spy had informed this notorious gang of late Pa Nwachukwu’s visit to the police, thereby leading to the attack on his household.”

After killing the man, the gang reportedly went inside the house searching for other family members.

While it was evident that the gang intended to eviscerate the entire members of the family, three of his children – Victor Onyedikachi Nwachukwu, Promise Rita Nwachukwu Yakubu and Blessing Nzebechi Nwachukwu escaped.

“I saw the three of them. They ran through the back door. Since that time, we have not seen them again”, the same eye-witness disclosed to our correspondent.

This particular incident has thrown the entire community and Aboh Mbaise Local Government in general, into mourning.

While some questioned the safety of police informants, other believed the incident shows the rot in the police force of the country.

Expressing his disappointment in the police, the chairman of Aboh Mabise LGA; Honourable Barrister Iheukwumere Henry Alaribe vowed a major crackdown on the unknown gunmen.

The Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command, CP Aboki Danjuma promised a total clampdown and return of sanity to the community.

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Protect Oil Palm Host Communities; Address Spate Of Kidnapping, Violence, Govt Told

Published

4 months ago

February 26, 2025

Editor

By Joseph Ebi Kanjo

A non-profit organization – African Law Foundation (AFRILAW), has appealed to the government at levels to ensure the protection of oil palm host communities and address the spate of kidnapping and violence in such areas.

AFRILAW further urged the governments to ensure that communities’ rights and privileges are respected in land deals with oil palm companies to avoid human rights violations.

Okereke Chinwike Esq,
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, AFRILAW, made the appeal in Benin on Tuesday at the Public Presentation and launching of ‘The Community-based Report on Human Rights Violations in the Palm Oil Supply Chain in Edo State.’

INFO DAILY reports that the event is part of AFRILAW activities under the “Promoting Human Rights in Palm Oil Supply Chain in Nigeria Project,” being implemented by AFRILAW in partnership with Zero Tolerance Initiative (ZTI) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) with funding support from True Cost Initiative (TCI) USA.

According to the AFRILAW founder, addressing companies’ human rights violations from their operations in host communities require evidence-based research, hence the research and report presentation.

“The Report we are presenting today documents evidence of community rights violations by major oil palm companies operating in the state. The research is informed by the increasing spate of violence and community protests against the operations of oil palm companies operating in Edo state, and provides greater understanding of the prevailing cases of community and human rights violations and nature of conflicts,” he noted.

He, therefore, urged the government to
“put in place a mandatory binding CSR laws and guidelines for companies to ensure that community rights and privileges are protected.”

He further appealed to the government to “ensure effective implementation of the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights and set forth clear expectations for business enterprises regarding the importance of respecting the rights of human rights defenders, indigenous people and communities in Nigeria.”

On his part, Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission, Anthony Ojukwu (SAN), described the report as essential, stressing that beyond normal advocacy, research-based advocacy is more efficient and effective.

Represented by Mrs Mary Okoh, Deputy Director, Legal/Focal Point Business and Human Rights, NHRC, Ojukwu said beyond Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) organization should take seriously major issues of mainstreaming human rights into their operations.

“That means anyone who wants to set up a business must put into consideration the needs of the people and not what the organization or company needs. We have found out that this is where human rights violations start.

“Let them be part of the discussion and planning in the setting up of the business. Let them know what is at stake for them,” he said.

Goodwill messages were delivered by government agencies and ministries, while the presentation and launching also attracted security agencies including the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Customs Service, and the Nigeria Immigration Service among others.

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#EndBadGovernance: Police Manhunt Activists, Others, As Artist Cries Out For Help In Benin

Published

11 months ago

August 15, 2024

Editor

The suspect, Osarenkhoe Destiny Oghosa,

The Nigeria Police Force has launched a manhunt for suspected sponsors of the #EndBadGovernance in Nigeria protest that swept round the country last week.

Though police had arrested scores of such protesters across the country, many, especially vocal personalities and civil rights activists who have been criticising policies of the Tinubu administration in Nigeria have been penned down for arrest.

Also of interest to the police are those alleged to have massively produced and supplied Russian flags that were displayed during the protests, as they have vowed that none of the suspects would be spared.

It was gathered that undercover policemen are closing in on the social critics including one Osarenkhoe Destiny Oghosa, a vocal music artiste in Benin City.

This has raised fears and trepidation in that circle with many going underground for fear of being arrested by the police.

Oghosa is accused of masterminding an attempted jail break in the Benin metropolis similar to the End SARS protest in 2020, experience that resulted in the prison break and escape of prisoners and detainees alike.

Oghosa, in an interview with our correspondent, lamented that his music which focuses social justice, equality, societal ills among others in Nigeria, is now being as a crime.

He further lamented that despite several tactics to beat the security tab on him by agents of the government, he had faced persecution from invincible nocturnal groups.

Further lamenting how the government is hell bent in silencing voices speaking for the masses, Oghosa recalled how he was called at midnight to stop production of his song titled “OBI”, adding that he was seriously warned .

In a related development, Ahmed Bello, one of the suspect producers of the Russian flag hoist in some cities in Nigeria has been attested.

The Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, disclosed this in Abuja on Monday at the Strategic Communications Interagency Policy Committee joint press briefing.

He added that the police were on the trail of other suspects, especially the sponsors of the protest which led to the destruction of government properties in Kaduna and Kano States.

Adejobi said the suspects committed a treasonable felony, offence by waving a foreign country’s flag in Nigeria.

He said: “So, we need to set the record straight. It is important for us to know, so far so good we have been able to arrest some individuals who were engaging themselves in what I call a treasonable felony, while we are still going after their sponsors.

“To carry the flags of a foreign country in another country is a criminal offence. We have them arrested. Just this morning, we arrested one Ahmed Bello from Kano State fuor producing a large quantity of Russian flags given to young Nigerians to hoist for reasons best known to him.”

The police added that protesters in Benin City had made attempts to invade the DSS office in the state with the intention to free persons who in their opinion were being unjustly detained there-in forcing the law enforcement agencies to disperse them.