500 Rescued, 40 Arrested in Interpol-Led Human Trafficking Bust in Africa

By Brooks Hays 

UPI -- Some 500 victims, including 236 minors, have been rescued in a human-trafficking bust led by Interpol in Africa.

The mission was carried out over five days simultaneously in Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal. Police arrested 40 suspected traffickers.

"In addition to arrests, this operation has opened a number of ongoing investigations to further disrupt the crime networks involved in trafficking in human beings, emphasizing the effectiveness of such operations via [Interpol's] international network," Yoro Traore, police inspector with the Interpol National Central Bureau in Bamako, Mali, said in a news release.

The mission was dubbed Operation Epervier and was organized under the Sahel Project, an initiative investigating organized crime in the Sahel region of northwest Africa. The German Foreign Office funded the initiative.

Traffickers arrested during this month's operation are accused of forcing humans into labor. Some victims were forced to beg on the streets, while others were forced into prostitution.

One 15-year-old female was intercepted by police before traffickers could sell her into forced labor. The teenager was found with just a trash bag full of her possessions.

Another 16-year-old female was promised paid work to support her family, but was forced into prostitution.

"The results of this operation underline the challenge faced by law enforcement and all stakeholders in addressing human trafficking in the Sahel region," said Innocentia Apovo, criminal intelligence officer with Interpol's Trafficking in Human Beings Unit.

European and African authorities have been working to ramp up coordinate investigations of human trafficking and other forms of organized crime.

Early this month, France called on the U.N. Security Council to hold an emergency meeting to address allegations of slave markets operating in Libya.

The advocacy group Human Rights First estimates that there are 24.9 million victims trapped in the modern slave trade. The majority of these victims are forced into labor or the sex trade.

The Girl Who Wouldn't be a Child Bride

By Sarah Buckley, BBC News

Balkissa Chaibou

Balkissa Chaibou dreamed of becoming a doctor, but when she was 12 she was shocked to learn she had been promised as a bride to her cousin. She decided to fight for her rights - even if that meant taking her own family to court.

"I came from school at around 18:00, and Mum called me," Balkissa Chaibou recalls.

"She pointed to a group of visitors and said of one of them, 'He is the one who will marry you.'

"I thought she was joking. And she told me, 'Go unbraid, and wash your hair.' That is when I realised she was serious."

The young girl from Niger had always been ambitious.

"When I was little, I was dreaming of becoming a doctor. Take care of people, wear the white coat. Help people," she says.

Marriage to her cousin, who had arrived with his father from neighbouring Nigeria, would make this impossible.

"They said if you marry him you won't be able to study any more. For me my passion is studying. I really like to study. That's when I realised that my relationship with him wouldn't work well."

Niger's tradition of marrying its girls young - it has the highest rate of child marriage in the world - is partly rooted in its grinding poverty.

Percentage of women married as children

                                      Married by 15 Married by 18
Niger                                    36%    75%
Chad                                    29%        68%
Central African Republic       29%    68%
Bangladesh                            32%    66%
Guinea                                    20%    63%
Mozambique                            21%    56%
Mali                                            15%    55%
Burkina Faso                            10%    52%
South Sudan                              9%    52%
Malawi                                    12%    50%
Source: Unicef, the State of the World's Children, 2013

"The dynamic works in this way: I have lots of children, and if I can marry off one child that is one child less that I have to feed," explains Monique Clesca, the United Nations Population Fund's representative in Niger.

Balkissa Chaibou's parents had five daughters, so from their perspective marrying her to her cousin may have made economic sense.

But another reason for the tradition of early marriage in Niger is the belief that it reduces the risk of pregnancy outside wedlock.

"Nowadays some children are not well brought up," says Hadiza Almahamoud, Chaibou's mother. "If they are not married off at an early age, they can bring shame to the family."

Chaibou continued to work hard at school, waking at 03:00 to study, but as she got older the looming marriage with her cousin became a distraction.

Niger's chronic poverty is one reason for its tradition of early marriage

Then, one day when she was 16, the bride price, suitcases and a wedding outfit arrived.

"I felt pain inside of me, it really broke my heart," says Chaibou. "Because I see that I am fighting to fulfill myself, and these people will be an obstacle to my evolution."

She plucked up the courage to try to get out of the marriage after getting her junior high school diploma. "I told myself that I can try to pull myself together, see how I can escape this situation."

Her mother understood her objection to the marriage but didn't have the status, as a woman, to help her.

So Chaibou approached her father, suggesting that as a compromise she could marry but only see her husband in the holidays until she had completed her Baccalaureate.

Balkissa Chaibou, pictured here with her sister, says that she loves to study

Balkissa Chaibou appears in the four-part documentary series Her Story: The Female Revolution which will air on BBC World on 20 February, 27 February, 5 March and 12 March.

But the tradition of the Tuareg - the ethnic group to which Chaibou belongs - is that the older brother has power over the children of his younger siblings.

Since Chaibou's uncle - the father of her fiance - was older, her father dared not go against his wishes and preparations for a wedding continued.

In desperation Chaibou asked her school principal, Moumouni Harouna, for help.

He referred her to an NGO called the Centre for Judicial Assistance and Civic Action, which took legal action against her father and uncle for forcing her into a marriage she did not want.

Once in court, Chaibou's uncle denied the accusation, she says, and claimed it had all been a misunderstanding, so the case was dropped.

Her school principal, Moumouni Harouna
put her in touch with an NGO that could advise her

But once she got home, her uncle threatened to kill her.

"He said that even if he had to wrap me up - even if he had to wrap me up in a body bag - I would go [to Nigeria]," says Chaibou.

She was forced to take refuge in a women's shelter.

"The first night spent here I didn't sleep well," she says. "I was thinking too much about my parents, about the situation they were in, especially with the anger of my uncle. I was sure he would insult them and threaten them, so I didn't have a clear mind."

If a girl grows up she can choose her husband. We can't do it.

Hadiza Almahamoud, Balkissa Chaibou's mother

But faced with the threat of jail, the wedding party returned to Nigeria and after a week Chaibou was able to go home.

"When I put on my school uniform... I felt like my life was renewed. As if it was a new beginning," she says, describing the day she started college.

Her mother says that she and her husband have now changed their views on forced marriage.

"We are finished with [it] in this family. We are scared of it," she says. "If a girl grows up she can choose her husband. We can't do it."

Mariama Moussa - president of the shelter Chaibou took refuge in - says domestic violence is a serious problem in Niger and that forced marriage is one of the root causes.

"When you force them, as a result there is a succession of violence that they can suffer in their home," she says. "There is physical violence, psychological violence... When the husband cannot tolerate her any more, he can hit her, or make her leave, even in pregnancy."

Balkissa Chaibou now feels a sense of responsibility to her family

Chaibou is aware that now she has won her freedom it is important for her to succeed in her studies and repay her family's sacrifice.

"I know my family's hope is on my shoulders. Everyone counts on me. Everyone has their eyes on me," she says.

Maybe more than just your family, Balkissa. If you can contribute to your family's income by getting an education, then getting a good job, you may set an example for your entire community to rethink what they are doing to their daughters.

Now 19, she campaigns for other girls to follow her example and say "no" to forced marriage. She visits schools and has spoken to tribal chiefs about the issue.

She has also spoken at a UN summit on reducing maternal mortality, a phenomenon linked to early marriage.

The advice I have for you is to fight - study with all your might

Balkissa Chaibou, Student and campaigner

"Before [the age of] 15 the body is not ready to have a child," says Clesca.

"About 34% of adolescent deaths in Niger are maternal mortality, which gives you a sense of the problem.

"It is important for the Balkissas of this world to stand up because it shows the other girls that 'Hey, I can do this.'

"And yes we have seen a ripple effect. One girl says no and others are crowding around her [saying] 'What did you do? I mean, why did you say no?'"

Balkissa Chaibou is getting closer to becoming a doctor. She passed her International Baccalaureate and is currently at medical school.

"I'm not saying don't marry," she tells one group of schoolgirls.

"But choose the right moment to do so. The advice I have for you is to fight - study with all your might. I know studying isn't easy but you must force yourself because those studies are your only hope."

Balkissa, you are a very intelligent and courageous young lady. You will make a great doctor, or politician, or whatever you set your mind to. You are my hero this week. God bless you!

Balkissa Chaibou appears in the four-part documentary series Her Story: The Female Revolution which will air on BBC World on 20th February, 27th February, 5th March and 12th March. Find out more about the documentary.

Boko Haram Takes Their Insanity to Niger, Chad and Cameroon

Female suicide bombers kill 5 in north Cameroon

No group claims responsibility, but attacks are in line with others launched by Boko Haram

The Associated Press

Two dozen people were killed in Kano, northern Nigeria, in February when a pair of teenaged suicide bombers suspected to from Boko Haram set off blasts at two bus stations. Saturday's bombings in neighbouring Cameroon were perpetrated by at least one teen, and are also believed to have been the work of Boko Haram. (EPA)

Two female suspected Boko Haram militants detonated a pair of suicide bombs in a village in northern Cameroon on Saturday, killing at least five people, security sources and an official said.

Col. Jacob Kodji said a teenager set off explosives in a local shop, killing two people, and the other attacker targeted a family.

One wonders what kind of evil Boko Haram had to inflict on these girls to force them to murder/suicide? 

The attacks occurred in the town of Dabanga near Cameroon's northern border with Nigeria. Kodji said the suicide bombers were Nigerians who came to Cameroon as refugees.

"The provisional toll is seven dead, including the two suicide bombers, as well as two soldiers injured," a senior government source told Reuters, requesting anonymity.

Kodji said 12 others were injured and are receiving treatment at a military camp in Mora.

Dabanga, Cameroon, map

No group claimed responsibility for the attacks, but they are in line with others launched by Nigeria's Boko Haram extremists.

This year Boko Haram has expanded attacks into Cameroon, Chad and Niger — all countries contributing troops to a regional force intended to wipe out the extremists.

Centred in northeast Nigeria, Boko Haram is a radical Sunni Muslim group that wants to create an Islamic caliphate and impose its version of strict Sharia law and is hostile to those following the Shiite branch of the religion.

On Friday, a suspected Boko Haram suicide bomber detonated himself in the middle of a procession of hundreds of Shiite Muslims in Nigeria's second-largest city, killing 21 people and injuring dozens.

Boko Haram's Child Victims Learn to Smile Again at Niger Camp

By Boureima Hama
AFP 

Children at a refugee camp in southeast Niger

ASSAGA (Niger) (AFP) - In a shed at the heart of the Assaga refugee camp in southeast Niger, around 50 children sing and dance, masking the deep emotional trauma inflicted on them by Boko Haram.

Nearby, little girls who fled the brutal Islamists in neighbouring Nigeria huddle around jigsaw puzzles, while barefoot young boys in ragged clothes or shirtless play football and table tennis.

The camp has no school, but staff from UN agencies and specialised charities do their best to help the youngsters, who make up the majority of the around 6,000 refugees here who were routed from their villages by Boko Haram.

Special help is being provided by psychologists to 1,011 of the children, seen as among the most vulnerable victims of the violence, to adapt to a new life, often in the wake of terrible events.

"Many children were witnesses or the direct victims of atrocities by Boko Haram," says Adama Cossimbo, head of the psychological help centre financed by the Italian non-governmental organisation COOPI.

"Boko Haram forced some children to watch their mothers or sisters being raped," a UN relief worker says. "Others saw their father or their brother having his throat slit."

Children stand next to a UNICEF tent at a refugee camp

The trauma was so severe for some that when they first arrived in Assaga, they would not eat or speak, he adds.

- 'On the right path' -

According to COOPI, many of the children show signs of mental illness.

"We're developing games and activities to strengthen their resilience after the trauma they've endured," says Cossimbo, who works with a psychologist and teachers.

Along with sports and games, relief workers give puzzles and memory quizzes to the children cared for at the centre.

Psychologists say many children were witnesses or the direct victims of
atrocities by Boko Haram (AFP)

Two months on, Cossimbo is optimistic. "They sing and seem to be their old cheerful selves... We're on the right path towards their 'reconstruction'," he claims with pride.

Nine-year-old Ali lost part of his family in a Boko Haram raid and has said nothing for days on end, but he manages to whisper: "I escaped from Boko Haram and I feel good here."

For Ali's father, wealthy bell pepper grower Elhadj Gremah, forced exile is sheer "humiliation".

"In the village, my children had all they needed to eat. Here they don't go to school and they sometimes sleep on empty stomachs," he complains.

At Assaga, huts supported with tree branches compete with standard-issue tents provided by the United Nations. First created by UN staff three months ago, the camp looks like a shantytown.

Children sing and dance in a refugee camp in Assaga, Niger

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates that some 1.4 million children have fled Islamist attacks in Nigeria and neighbouring Niger, Cameroon and Chad in the past five months.

These regional nations have joined forces against Boko Haram as the Islamists have launched bloody cross-border raids.

"The flow of refugees and the lack of resources seriously compromises our ability to provide vital aid on the ground," the UN agency recently reported.

During a visit to the Diffa zone in mid-September, Toby Lanzer, the UN regional humanitarian coordinator for the Sahel, remarked on the "very severe security crisis" at Assaga.

"The situation here is atrocious," he added. "People are traumatised."

Diffa has for three years been confronted with food shortages because of successive periods of drought and floods. The arrival of about 150,000 refugees since 2013 has worsened the situation for local poor people.

"We have to act right now to save lives," insists Rotimy Djossaya, the local chief of the American NGO CARE. The authorities warn that Niger, a deeply poor country, could face another food crisis in 2016 because of a poor harvest.

Nearly 300 Girls/Women Rescued from Boko Haram

This is great news, if it's true. Truth can never be assumed in Nigeria, but perhaps things are changing with a new President. We can always hope.

Nigerian Army celebrates

The Nigerian military says it has rescued 200 girls and 93 women from an area where the Islamist militant group Boko Haram is active.

No Chibok girls

However, it said the girls abducted from a school in Chibok in April 2014 were not among them.

The military said the girls and women were freed during operations ending in the seizure of four Boko Haram camps in the Sambisa Forest.

A military spokesman said they were now being interviewed.

Weapons were also seized at the camps which were taken in the latest operation, the military said.

In recent months Nigerian security forces have taken back most of the territory previously under the control of Boko Haram, the BBC's Tomi Oladipo reports from Lagos.

Last October the government said it had secured an agreement for a ceasefire and the release of the girls taken from Chibok, but Boko Haram subsequently denied this. That was under Goodluck Jonathon, who lied incessantly.

The abduction of the girls in Chibok sparked global outrage with many joining a campaign online to free them using the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls.

Several nations including the US and China vowed to help find them and there have been reported sightings of the girls, but none has been found to date.

Meanwhile, the government of neighbouring Niger gave more details about fighting between its troops and Boko Haram on an island in Lake Chad over the weekend.

It says 28 civilians died when Boko Haram attacked Karamga island and that 46 of its troops died in the battle for the island, along with more than 150 militants. Reports in local media have given a much higher death toll for government forces.

Boko Haram's insurgency, and the army campaign against it, have killed more than 15,500 people since 2012. The violence has recently spread to neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

The Nigerian push-back appears to be pushing Boko Haram right out of the country.