Q&A: Islamic group spreading terror in Nigeria

Lagos, Nigeria (CNN) -- An Islamic militant group responsible for a wave of suicide attacks, car bombs, assassinations and assaults across northeastern Nigeria threatens the stability of the country.

This past weekend, the group known as "Boko Haram" was behind an audacious three-hour assault that killed more than 100 people in the town of Damaturu as well as a suicide car bomb attack outside the Nigerian military headquarters in Maiduguri.

Who are Boko Haram, and what are they fighting for?

Boko Haram means "Western education is a sin." Depending on the faction, the group's ambitions range from the stricter enforcement of Sharia law -- which is derived from the Koran as the "world of God" -- across the predominantly Muslim north of Nigeria, to the total destruction of the Nigerian state and its government.

Who do they target?

Boko Haram's grievances remain local, but it has proven itself capable and willing to attack international institutions --- such as the United Nations - on Nigerian soil to achieve their aims.

The August 26 attack -- during which a Boko Haram suicide bomber drove a jeep laden with explosives into the U.N. headquarters in Abuja -- was one of the deadliest in U.N. history. Twenty-four people were killed, including 12 U.N. staff.

When did Boko Haram arise?

Armed groups are all too common in Nigeria, often paid by politicians to support their bids for power, and Boko Haram at first was no different. However, the group exploded onto the national scene in 2009 when 700 people were killed in widespread clashes across the north between the group and the military. The uprising was put down, but violence has resurged since national elections in April, with hundreds of people killed in almost weekly bomb attacks, assassinations and killings in the main northeast city of Maiduguri.

The elections are widely regarded by many in the north to have been rigged against the popular northern candidate.

Links to terrorism

The Nigerian "Underwear Bomber" Umar AbdulMutallab had no connection with Boko Haram -- but his attempt to detonate an explosive aboard a U.S. flight in 2009 highlights the vulnerability of the West to insecurity in Nigeria.

There is concern that Boko Haram has made contact with other extremist Islamic groups such as al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in northern Africa. Increasing sophistication in the execution of Boko Haram's attacks, security experts say, indicate such external instruction.

As the group moves further away from its political roots toward an increasing religious dimension, any attempt at dialogue with the group becomes more difficult for the authorities.

What has been the government response?

President Goodluck Jonathan has deployed the military across the region in a bid to contain the crisis, stating after each attack that the government has the situation under control. But with little obvious success in improving the security situation, events seem to be increasingly out of the government's control.

Does the group enjoy support among the people?

Although the northern populace mostly abhors the violence, there is considerable local sympathy and support for stricter Sharia law, seen by many as the only way to put an end to what is widely regarded as a corrupt and inept government.

Northern Nigeria has some of the worst human development indicators in the world despite the country's being the fifth largest oil exporter to the United States. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been stolen by a succession of corrupt governments.

As the attacks continue and the violence spreads from its base in the northeast, Boko Haram is winning perhaps its most important battle: making Nigerians question what most agree is the cause of the problem, their government.

SOURCE: CNN NEWS

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Lebanon's women prisoners find freedom behind bars

Women inmates of Baabda Prison, Beirut, Lebanon, talk about their life experiences in a drama therapy session.

(CNN) -- In an otherwise smart suburb of Beirut is a small prison housing some of the women Lebanese society would rather forget.

Some of the 70 inmates of Baabda Prison are accused or convicted of murdering their husbands, others of drug trafficking.

Lebanese actress, comedienne and drama therapist Zeina Daccache working with inmates in Baabda Prison, Beirut.

Many of the women have themselves been victims of circumstance all their lives and are now for the first time discovering they have a voice, according to Zeina Daccache, an actress and drama therapist working with the inmates.

Several times a week for the past six months, Daccache has spent an afternoon with the women encouraging them to talk about their experiences committing.

In February or March, the project will culminate in a performance called "Scheherazade in Baabda," named after the fictional Persian Queen and narrator of One Thousand and One Nights, and based around the women's own stories.

Among the 20 prisoners involved is Fatme, now 26, and awaiting trial for a murder she denies.

In video footage of the project, Fatme said: "I never learned to say no. I was always obedient, saying yes to my very early marriage, saying yes to my parents who forbid me to get divorce. Now I'm learning that I have a voice and it can spell no."

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Daccache, who has a weekly political satire show on Lebanese television and also runs a drama therapy center Catharsis, said the project - funded by the Swiss-based Drosos Foundation - had empowered the women and for the first time gave them an opportunity to express themselves.

She said: "You would be amazed how many are there for murder and it's mostly for killing their husbands. They were married at 12 or 13 years old to someone they had never met before.



"They were pregnant at 13 and had husbands who beat them or had psychological issues. If they went to their family or to the police for protection, they would just be told it was a domestic issue.

"They ended up protecting themselves with their own hands. They are not saying their crimes were the best solution, but in some ways they had no other choice."

Daccache said several other inmates were in jail for drug trafficking and their young children were left on the streets.

"If the woman and her husband are both in prison, there is no protection for their children if they don't have families who take them," she said.

Other inmates who are serving shorter sentences for adultery have joined the project for a limited period but will be released before the final production.

Daccache said: "For many of them, the real crime was that they were born a woman. There's this underlying patriarchy to everything in this country."

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The play will be performed in the prison in front of invited guests, including government ministers, prison authorities and the women's families.

Daccache said: "They are in prison, but many of have said they feel free for the first time because it's the first time they can talk about anything they want.

"The play is giving them the space to do things they have never done before and to convey a message.

"It's a message to protect women's rights and to protect women from domestic violence."

Another of the inmates is Maryam, 40, who was married by her family at the age of 15 to a cousin and had three children. She is accused of murdering her husband.

Maryam is taking part in a flamenco dance for the production. In film footage she said: "For the first time I learn how to move this body of mine, as if I was imprisoned in a body that didn't belong to me."

Four years ago, Daccache began a similar project withmale inmates in Lebanon's largest prison Roumeih. A documentary film she made about the work, called "12 Angry Lebanese," won several international awards.

This is the first time she has worked in a women's prison.

Daccache is filming the work in Baabda for a similar documentary about the women involved.

She said the women were initially reluctant to show their faces on camera, but eventually realized it was an opportunity to tell their stories.

"At first they wore disguises to cover their faces when we were filming, but eventually decided to take them off," said Daccache.

"People tell me they can't believe the women agreed to be filmed because of the stigma, but they had been hidden away all their lives and didn't want to be suppressed anymore."

One of the inmates, Nisrine, a 28-year-old woman serving a three-year jail term for fraud, said in film footage: "I was so worried about appearing in front of the camera, then after thought if I hide my face I'd be only contributing to hiding myself, my voice, the women and human being within me.

"I'm taking off my mask and showing (myself) as I wish to."

Respected American drama therapist Amand Volkas joined Daccache to run workshops with her in January.

He said: "In Lebanese society, she is a visionary. She is able to use her prominence as an actress to have a very powerful impact."

source: CNN NEWS

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CORPSE ABUSE A "WAR CRIME".

FOUR US marines filmed urinating on corpses in Afghanistan are likely to face a court martial after a commander said such actions were a ''grave breach'' of the laws of war.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service has interviewed two of the soldiers in the video, which shows them laughing and making snide remarks as they urinate on the bloodied bodies of three Afghan men.

In an attempt to defuse a diplomatic storm, the commanders of US forces in Afghanistan ordered troops to treat the bodies of killed enemies and civilians with ''appropriate dignity and respect''.

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The soldiers were members of a sniper unit that completed a six-month tour in September. The two other marines in the video are believed to have left the military. The nature of the charges are unclear, although desecrating bodies is a crime under US military law and the Geneva conventions.

The deputy commander of US forces in Afghanistan, Lieutenant-General Curtis Scaparrotti, said in a message to troops that ''defiling, desecrating, mocking, photographing or filming for personal use insurgent dead constitutes a grave breach'' of laws governing armed conflict.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she believed the men may be guilty of a war crime.

Clay Shirky, who teaches social media at New York University, said that in a digital age when videos spread across the internet within hours, an incident that may have gone almost unnoticed in earlier wars can become an international flashpoint.

Source: http://www.smh.com. 

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