Nigeria’s Boko Haram Threatens to Expand Attacks in Africa

Boko Haram’s Leader Abubakar Shekau is seen in this still image taken from video in 2012. In a new unverified video Shekau said, “African leaders you are too late if you like start attacking me now.” Close

The Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram released a new video threatening to attack more African countries after leaders on the continent agreed to form a joint force to fight the insurgents.
“You will see what we will do to you,” Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram’s leader, said in a 36-minute unverified video posted on YouTube, making reference to leaders from Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria. “African leaders you are too late if you start attacking me now.”
The African Union, at a meeting of representatives from 13 countries in Niamey, the capital of Niger, backed plans by a number of states to form a joint force to battle Boko Haram. Chad has deployed troops to assist in fighting the group in Cameroon. Boko Haram has unleashed a violent campaign since 2009 to impose Islamic law in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy.

Boko Haram: Nigeria's Latest Jihad

“Given the poor history of information sharing and general mistrust between these countries, major coordinated operations involving Nigerian, Cameroonian and Chadian forces targeting Boko Haram’s operational bases and positions are unlikely to take place in the immediate term,” Poole, U.K.-based security consultancy Drum Cussac said in an e-mailed report.
In the video, Shekau claimed responsibility for attacks this month that razed the northeastern Nigerian town of Baga. Carrying an AK-47 rifle and flanked by masked fighters and Hilux trucks with mounted machine guns, Shekau said the group had confiscated military hardware at the multinational military base in the town.

Baga Attacks

“These weapons you are seeing, we got them from Baga’s military base,” Shekau said, before firing his automatic rifle into the air.
Nigeria’s military has repeatedly claimed to have killed Shekau, and in October the authorities said they had agreed a cease-fire with Boko Haram. Since then, violence in the north of Africa’s most populous nation has continued unabated.
The attacks in Baga near the border with Chad provoked international condemnation with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon saying he was “appalled” by the raids. Reports that as many as 2,000 people died in the assaults are unfounded, Nigeria’s military said, with initial evidence showing the death toll didn’t exceed 150.
“The fall of Baga and the massacre of hundreds of its residents in early January have further reinforced the perception that the Boko Haram insurgency was becoming increasingly regional,” said Drum Cussac. “Baga’s strategic location along the shores of Lake Chad would allow the Islamist outfit to escalate and intensify cross-border attacks against targets in Chad and Niger.”
The violence in the Nigeria’s northeast also threatens to disrupt voting in the nation’s presidential election, scheduled for Feb. 14.

Charlie Hebdo

Boko Haram killed 4,740 people last year, more than double in 2013, according to estimates by Bath, England-based risk consultancy, Verisk Maplecroft.
The video is the latest in a series released by the militant group, which only communicates via posting the footage on the Internet or sending it to local reporters.
Shekau earlier this month expressed support for the attackers who killed 12 people at the Paris office of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and threatened Cameroon’s President Paul Biya, whose armed forces have intensified their campaign against the rebels’ cross-border incursions.

: Ronaldo breaks up with girlfriend Irina Shayk>Read More

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal and Real Madrid soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo confirmed Tuesday he has broken up with his longtime girlfriend, Russian model Irina Shayk.

"After dating for five years, my relationship with Irina Shayk has come to an end," Ronaldo said in a written statement sent exclusively to The Associated Press. "We believed it would be best for both of us to take this step now."

Ronaldo said he was making the statement to end speculation about their relationship, and to end recent rumors about his private life. He did not specify the rumors, but media in Portugal have reported that Shayk fell out with members of Ronaldo's family, and that he was seeing another woman.

"I wish Irina the greatest happiness," Ronaldo said.

He gave no further details in the brief statement.

The couple, both 29, has had huge international success, and their relationship has featured in newspapers and magazines worldwide. They were not believed to be living together, as Ronaldo was based in the Spanish capital while Shayk traveled extensively.

Ronaldo recently picked up the Ballon d'Or after being voted the world's best player, but Shayk did not accompany him to the ceremony in Zurich. Her absence triggered rumors that their relationship was over. The couple remained silent despite days of intense media speculation.

Ronaldo retained football's highest individual honor after scoring 61 goals last year. His record tally of 17 in a Champions League season helped Madrid win an unprecedented 10th European Cup title.

Born in the Portuguese island of Madeira, Ronaldo played as a teenager for Sporting Lisbon before moving to Manchester United in 2003. He transferred to Real Madrid in 2009, building his reputation and his wealth through endorsements and sponsorships. He has millions of followers on social media.

Ronaldo has a 4-year-old son, called Cristiano Junior, but he has never disclosed the mother's identity.

Shayk won international fame as a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, and a lingerie model. She made her acting debut last year opposite Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in the film "Hercules." 

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