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Tag: boko haram

  • Insecurity: Not even a divine army would be able to defeat Boko Haram, bandits in Nigeria – Buhari’s aide

    Insecurity: Not even a divine army would be able to defeat Boko Haram, bandits in Nigeria – Buhari’s aide

    Mr Ajuri Ngelale, Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Public Matters from the office of the Vice President has hypothetically stated that not even a divine army would be able to defeat Boko Haram and bandits in Nigeria.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Mr Ngelale was trying to clarify if President Buhari meant he will fire service chiefs when in his New Year’s Day speech he talked about re-energizing and reorganizing the security apparatus and personnel of the armed forces and the police.

    While the Presidential aide did not confirm if Buhari will sack the service chiefs, the President did give a hint, saying that even if security forces had shown professionalism so far, there was a need to move to a more proactive and preemptive posture to ensure that the sorts of traumatic incidents happening in the country do not become a norm.

    “When we talk about security, the President has been very open about it. In fact, he stated just a few days ago that for us, when we look at public analysis in the country, there is a tendency to make very complex situations oversimplified. And I think one of the things we have seen is that there is this notion that has been floated out in public discourse that if we just sack security chiefs that will solve all of our problems.

    “What the President has said is that the issue of security, the issue of national defence is deeper than just a few individuals who have been task with overseeing critical our armed forces that it goes into issues of capacity building, it goes into issues of regional co-operation with our neighbours.

    “Even if we had [this is just a hypothetical statement] a divine army, that was perfectly run with everything perfect, and we did everything right in dealing with these terrorists, we have to understand that as long as these terrorists have a safe harbour, if they can go to Chad, if they can go to Cameroun, and they could go to Niger Republic, and re-gather themselves, recharge themselves, and train themselves, just to come and spring an attack and then run back, then, we are going to continue to have problems irrespective of how effective our armed forces have been. That is really important to understand,” Ngelale said when he appears on TVC News Nigeria This Morning TV show.

    Meanwhile, in his New Year’s Day speech, President Buhari highlighted some of the key priority areas for the year 2021 to include re-energizing and reorganizing the security apparatus and personnel of the armed forces and the police with a view to enhance their capacity to engage, push back and dismantle the operations of both internal and external extremist and criminal groups waging war against our communities in some parts of the country.

    “In line with the current security challenges, we are facing as a nation, I would like to reiterate the promise I made recently when over 300 of our boys abducted from Government Science Secondary School, Kankara were successfully rescued by our security operatives.

    “The professionalism shown by our Security Forces and the collaboration from all stakeholders across both State and Federal Governments that led to the successful rescue of the boys is proof that Nigeria has the internal capacity to decisively deal with terror attacks on our citizens.

    “However, we recognize that we rapidly have to move to a more proactive and preemptive posture to ensure that these sorts of traumatic incidents do not become a norm. Our administration is fully aware of the responsibility we have to protect the lives and property of all Nigerians, and we will not relent in learning and adapting to changing threats to our national security and civic wellbeing,” the President said.

  • Landmine kills seven hunters chasing Boko Haram terrorists in Borno

    Landmine kills seven hunters chasing Boko Haram terrorists in Borno

    Seven hunters who were on the heels of Boko Haram terrorists Tuesday in Borno were killed after a landmine exploded, witnesses and officials said.

    The hunters, who were recently given guns and vehicles to hunt insurgents, died after their vehicle stepped on a landmine planted by Boko Haram on a rough path near a village called Kayamla in Jere local government of Borno state.

    One of the survivors, Abubakar Gambo, said they were 19 onboard their patrol truck when they heard a loud bang.

    “We were on patrol along Kayamla route when one of the rear tyres of our Toyota Land Cruiser truck exploded,” he said.

    “We thought it was a common tyre burst, but we later discovered it was a bomb blast.

    While we were trying to change the tyre, we spotted some Boko Haram gunmen creeping towards us. We began to fire in their direction while calling for a backup. Soon, the Boko Haram terrorists fled and left some rustled herds of cows behind.

    “Our backup team arrived and began to chase after the insurgents who had already gone far into the bush. As they were making their way back, the vehicle ran over a massive bomb that exploded and killed nine of them instantly, while nine others were injured. I saw their vehicle as it was tossed up into the air.”

    The Borno state Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Sa’ina Buba, confirmed the incident during the funeral of the seven slain hunters in Borno.

    “We were saddened by the death of these gallant hunters who have sacrificed their lives to protect us.

    “We evacuated the corpses and the injured victims to the hospital last night. Seven of them died at the scene of the attack

    “We call on the federal government of Nigeria to support these hunters with better weapons and vehicles to enable the hunters to provide the needed support to the military. The hunters know the terrain better and they understand the tactics of the terrorists. If we don’t give support to the local hunters and vigilante, very soon they would be discouraged and the terrorists would overrun our towns again.”

    A House of Representatives member, Ahmed Satomi, who represents the area where the attack took place, also confirmed the attack.

    “We have just buried seven hunters, God knows how many more would be buried again if the federal government of Nigeria continue to ignore the fact that we need a deliberate policy that will empower the youth vigilante to carry a better weapon that will end this fight. Last week it was the Zabarmari farmer that were buried in mass, today it is the Kayamla hunters.We can’t continue like this.

    At the funeral venue, hundreds of mourners wept as the blood-drenched corpses of the seven hunters were lowered for burial.

    Borno State has been the epicentre of Boko Haram murderous activities since 2009.-

  • Several feared dead as Boko Haram launches another attack on four Borno villages

    Several feared dead as Boko Haram launches another attack on four Borno villages

    Several persons were feared dead on Saturday as Boko Haram terrorists on launched another streak of attacks in four villages in the southern part of the troubled Borno State.

    According to local sources who are on the run, the attack is ongoing as of 9pm on Saturday.

    According to reports, the insurgents rode in at least 10 Toyota Hilux vans, and they were first seen around Mandara Dirau at about 1pm.

    The insurgents were said to have proceeded unchallenged through parts of villages identified as Debiro, Tashan Alade, Tirgitu, and Shaffa town shooting sporadically, looting food items, and setting houses ablaze.

    Villages attacked are situated within Hawul and Shaffa Local Government Areas of the state.

    Terrified villagers were said to have hidden in nearby mountains, except for the old and the sick that were feared to be stuck in the mayhem.

    For fear of attacks, farmers in remote villages resorted to storing their harvested food in rented stores at the local government headquarters of Biu Local Government.

    According to reports, despite distress calls to the military, the terrorists were not repelled, adding that the villages attacked today (Saturday) are not remote and the attacks were unexpected.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that the insurgents have been launching attacks since Thursday where a Chibok village was ransacked during a Christmas Eve carol night.

    A similar attack was also launched in Garkida, an Adamawa town bordering southern Borno.

    Saturday’s attack is the third in three days, with no word from the military.

    Details of the attacks are still sketchy as villagers are still in hiding.

    Boko Haram and a splinter group known as the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) have launched a series of attacks in Nigeria for more than a decade now.

    More than 30,000 people have been killed and nearly 3 million displaced in a decade of Boko Haram violence in Nigeria, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

    According to the UN Refugee Agency, violence by Boko Haram has affected 26 million people in the Lake Chad region and displaced 2.6 million others.

  • Ndume condemns Boko Haram’s Christmas eve attacks

    Ndume condemns Boko Haram’s Christmas eve attacks

    Senator Ali Ndume, Chairman Senate Committee on Army has condemned the Boko Haram attacks on Pemi Village in Borno State, and Garkida town in Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa State on Christmas eve.

    Garkida is one of the first missionary settlement in Northern Nigeria.

    The killers were said to have pretended to be labourers, according to a 24-yr-old survivor of the massacre.

    Reacting to the disastrous incident, Ndume consoled the families of the deceased and also urged the military to be proactive rather than reacting after the deeds have been done.

    He also consoled the religious leaders whose churches were destroyed during the incident and urged them to continue to pray for lasting peace in the country.

    He said, “It is highly unfortunate that the insurgents struck again on Christmas eve and killed five people in Pemi.

    “Churches, hospitals, and schools were said to have been destroyed during the attack.

    ” I am using this opportunity to console with the families of the victims while the army personnel in the area should be preempting the insurgents instead of reacting after the deeds have been done.”

    Reports from Garkida area indicated that the insurgents invaded the town through the major road linking the area with Biu in Borno State.

    The people of the area said that the residents were forced to flee the town into the mountainous areas as the invading terrorists loot food items and burn houses amidst sporadic shooting.

     

  • Boko Haram hits Borno church on Christmas eve, kills six

    Boko Haram hits Borno church on Christmas eve, kills six

    Information reaching TheNewsGuru.com, TNG has it that some Boko Haram insurgents on Thursday (Christmas eve) attacked Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria Church (Church of the Brethren) at Pemi village in the Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State killing six.

    The Boko Haram insurgents reportedly burnt down the church where natives were busy preparing for Christmas celebrations.

    In the attack six cars and five houses belonging to the Church were razed, according to reports by The Cable.

    “The insurgents came in around 5:30 pm through Gogombi. They came in batches of two. The first came in with a motorcycle while the other came in heavy vehicles. As soon as they entered the village, they started shooting sporadically and towards the EYN church,” on of the survivours said.

    “Then they set it on fire. They also torched six cars and five other buildings around the church. Some of us ran to the bush, but unfortunately six people were killed in the attack. Christians were to observe Christmas prayers in the church this morning”, it added.

    However, the task force battalion reached around 8 pm, according to the report.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that the Department of State Services (DSS) had earlier raised alarm over a “plot to bomb some places” during the festive period.

  • Boko Haram takes responsibility for kidnap of Katsina schoolboys, says western education against Islam

    Boko Haram takes responsibility for kidnap of Katsina schoolboys, says western education against Islam

    Boko Haram terrorists have claimed responsibility for the abduction of hundreds of schoolboys of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara in Katsina State on Friday night.

    In the wake of the attack, at least 600 out of over 800 schoolboys were declared missing.

    Although the state governor, Aminu Masari, claimed only 333 are missing, a school register seen by Daily Trust reporter showed 668 students missing. The governor had confirmed that his government was negotiating with the abductors of the missing students.

    In a 4:30 audio message first published by HumAngle, the leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, said his group abducted the schoolboys because Western education is against the tenets of Islam.

    “What happened in Katsina was done to promote Islam and discourage un-Islamic practices as Western education is not the type of education permitted by Allah and his Holy Prophet.

    “They are also not teaching what Allah and his Holy Prophet commanded. They are rather destructing Islam. It may be subtly, but Allah the Lord of the Skies and Earths knows whatever is hidden. May Allah promotes Islam, may we die as Muslims.”

    “In a nutshell, we are behind what happened in Katsina,” he said.

    The terrorists’ leader ended the message by saying: “The speaker is Abubakar Shekau, leader of Jama’atu Ahlussunna Lid-Da’awati wal Jihad.”

    Mr Shekau neither gave detail of the attack nor the number of the abducted schoolboys nor mentioned the issue of negotiation with the government.

  • Insecurity: Occupy Lake Chad, Sambisa Forest to fish out Boko Haram terrorists, Sultan challenges Army

    Insecurity: Occupy Lake Chad, Sambisa Forest to fish out Boko Haram terrorists, Sultan challenges Army

    The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar pointedly asked Nigeria’s military on Monday why they have not occupied the Sambisa Forest and Lake Chad islands, which the Boko Haram terrorists have been using to stage attacks against Nigeria.

    The Sultan, a former Brigadier-general of the army raised the poser when he led a team of traditional rulers on a sympathy visit to Borno Governor Umara Zulum in Maiduguri.

    Borno recently experienced another carnage in Zabarmari, in which 78 rice farmers were killed by Boko Haram terrorists.

    The Sultan made it clear that they did not just come on a sympathy visit. They came to make a strong statement about the insecurity in Nigeria.

    The Sultan did not mince words about the parlous security situation in Nigeria, which he said, is getting worse and worse.

    He expressed exasperation that all the recommendations made have not been implemented.

    “The National Council of Traditional Rulers in Nigeria deem it fit to put a small team to come round to Borno State, Maiduguri in particular to make this very strong statement.

    “It is not just a condolence visit, it is a statement that all of us are fed up with the shedding of innocent blood in whatever guise across this country.

    “So many lives have been lost in the past, we can’t even compute how many lives we have lost. It becomes like a daily occurrence, a daily event. A new normal, it becomes a story when in a day nobody was killed in a particular place of this country”.

    “We had various fora with our political leaders, mentioned these things out, how to take care of our securities in various communities.

    ” We have written papers, sent our Governors, we have discussed with all our leaders, all the way forward.

    “But we see things getting worse and worse. It used to be Boko Haram alone in Borno and Yobe.

    “Now it is all over the north in particular and generally all over the country.

    “You have bandits and terrorists all over the north, you can’t even move freely, in the south it the same thing. The killings have taken new dimensions and we really don’t know what the causes of this mass killings of innocent people are.”

    The Sultan now turned to the military, his former constituency.

    “I read about the comment the Governor made some few weeks ago, challenging the military to take the fight to the Lake Chad to clear that place.

    “Your Excellency while I was a Lieutenant, I was at Lake Chad in Baga for six months, my battalion in Bama used to rotate with the battalion in Monguno and Maiduguri every six months.

    “We occupied Lake Chad part of Nigeria for six months.

    “I was a Lieutenant, I was the operation officer and I have my maps. In Lake Chad that time we had 36 islands under Nigeria, we occupied 16 of them.

    “The biggest was King Nasara. We controlled that part of Nigeria effectively well as a battalion.

    “Now I don’t know why we can’t occupy the whole of Lake Chad and why we can’t occupy the whole of Sambisa Forest.

    “If we want peace we have to dominate these areas.

    “If we want peace, we have to do away with those terrorists who occupy that place and see nothing good in other people except those that believe in their own negative ideas” the Sultan said.

    The visit by the monarchs marked the first time they will venture out to any state or any town specifically to discuss or talk about the happenings in that particular place as regards insecurity and mass killing of innocent people.

    While expressing gratitude to the royal fathers for the special visit, Governor Zulum decried the continuous dependence on donations to feed IDPs as the main source of livelihood.

    The Governor said there is increasing need to provide sources of livelihood to the IDPs and those resettled in rebuilt communities.

    On the trip to Maiduguri with the Sultan were the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemaka Alfred Ugochukwu, Oba Adekunle Adebayo, Ore of Otin, Emir of Hadeja, Dr. Adamu Abubakar Maje, Emir of Fika, Mohammed Abale Ibn Mohammed Idrissa, and Amanyanabo of Opobo Kingdom, King Dr. Dandasen Douglas Jaja

  • Boko Haram attacks Borno town, murders soldier, four civilians

    Boko Haram attacks Borno town, murders soldier, four civilians

    Boko Haram terrorists have killed one soldier and four other persons in an attack on Askira town in the southern part of Borno State.

    It was gathered that the attack occurred around 1pm on Saturday and by the time the insurgents were repelled by a fighter jet, a master warrant officer, one vigilante and three other residents of the town had been killed.

    A source from the army base in Askira told one of our correspondents that the Boko Haram fighters stormed the town in about 15 gun trucks and opened on the army base.

    The source said, “They came into town in about 15 gun trucks and attack our arms store. But it was empty as they had earlier stolen our arms and ammunition. They killed one master warrant officer.

    “Soldiers ran for cover because the terrorists outnumbered us, but a fighter jet came and attacked the insurgents. Three of them were killed and four of their gun trucks were destroyed. Many of the attackers were injured, but they destroyed one army gun truck.”

    In addition, a resident of Askira, who did not want to be named, said after the terrorists were repelled by the fighter jet, “they went into the village shooting indiscriminately, killing four residents, including a vigilante.”

    The woman added, “We got a warning call from the neighbouring village that some people had sighted the terrorists. Around 1pm, we heard gunshots.

    She said they hid in the till it was dark enough for them to sneak into the town.

    The Army spokesman, Brig. Gen. Sagir Musa, had yet to respond to inquiries on the incident. He did not respond to phone calls and a test message seeking his comment on Sunday.

    But a statement by the spokesperson, Operation Lafiya Dole, Col. Ado Isa, confirmed the attack at Askira but added that the nsurgents also suffered heavy losses from the troops of 28 Task Force Brigade.

    It read partly, “On December 12, 2020, Boko Haram terrorists attempted to attack Askira Uba in Borno State. The terrorists were suspected to have come from Sambisa Forest, mounted on over 15 gun trucks and approached the town from different directions simultaneously. Troops responded and engaged the criminals with superior fire power.

    Similarly, a statement on Sunday by the Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. John Enenche, confirmed that the air task force of Operation Lafiya Dole eliminated “several Boko Haram insurgents at Njimia on the fringes of the Sambisa Forest in Borno State, in airstrikes.”

    It added that three bandits were killed and four others apprehended in another operation by the troops of Operation Whirl Stroke.

    Enenche, in the statement said the troops of Operation Whirl Stroke, “in the early hours of Saturday, raided identified bandits hideouts at Tomatar Ugba and Kundi villages in Mbacher council ward of Katsina-Ala LGA of Benue State, where the three hoodlums were killed.”

     

  • Boko Haram terrorists kidnap groom, best man in Borno

    Boko Haram terrorists kidnap groom, best man in Borno

    Suspected members of Boko Haram have kidnapped a groom and his best man as they were returning from his wedding in Borno State.

    The two are said to be aid workers.

    The groom is an employee of the UN World Food Programme, and the best man a colleague from the International Committee of the Red Cross.

    They were abducted by the Islamic State West Africa Province on Wednesday at a checkpoint near Jakana village, according to a report on Saturday.

    They had gone to the wedding in neighbouring Adamawa State and were stopped at an illegal checkpoint at about 12.30 pm.

    The UN, on Wednesday, informed its staff in a memo about the abduction of a “UN national staff embarking on a private trip… by NSAG (non-state armed group)”.

    ISWAP said on Friday that it seized “two Christians working for the Red Cross organisation”.

    The group said the incident occurred at a checkpoint between the village of Mainok and Maiduguri.

  • ICC indicts Boko Haram, Armed Forces for war crimes, to commence investigation

    ICC indicts Boko Haram, Armed Forces for war crimes, to commence investigation

    International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, said her preliminary examination of the situation in Nigeria has established that both Boko Haram and Nigeria’s security agencies have committed crimes against humanity.

    She announced the conclusion of the preliminary examination in a statement Friday and recommended an investigation into the crimes committed.

    “Following a thorough process, I can announce today that the statutory criteria for opening an investigation into the situation in Nigeria have been met”, she said.

    Her conclusion about Nigeria’s security agents was at the heart of the #EndsARS protest in October, which the authorities also crushed.

    Her finding verbatim: we have also found a reasonable basis to believe that members of the Nigerian Security Forces (“NSF”) have committed the following acts constituting crimes against humanity and war crimes: murder, rape, torture, and cruel treatment; enforced disappearance; forcible transfer of population; outrages upon personal dignity; intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population as such and against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities; unlawful imprisonment; conscripting and enlisting children under the age of fifteen years into armed forces and using them to participate actively in hostilities; persecution on gender and political grounds; and other inhumane acts”.

    Read her full report below:

    Today, I announce the conclusion of the preliminary examination of the situation in Nigeria.

    As I stated last year at the annual Assembly of States Parties, before I end my term as Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or the “Court”), I intend to reach determinations on all files that have been under preliminary examination under my tenure, as far as I am able. In that statement, I also indicated the high likelihood that several preliminary examinations would progress to the investigative stage. Following a thorough process, I can announce today that the statutory criteria for opening an investigation into the situation in Nigeria have been met.

    Specifically, my Office has concluded that there is a reasonable basis to believe that members of Boko Haram and its splinter groups have committed the following acts constituting crimes against humanity and war crimes: murder; rape, sexual slavery, including forced pregnancy and forced marriage; enslavement; torture; cruel treatment; outrages upon personal dignity; taking of hostages; intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population or against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities; intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, material, units or vehicles involved in a humanitarian assistance; intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to education and to places of worship and similar institutions; conscripting and enlisting children under the age of fifteen years into armed groups and using them to participate actively in hostilities; persecution on gender and religious grounds; and other inhumane acts.

    While my Office recognises that the vast majority of criminality within the situation is attributable to non-state actors, we have also found a reasonable basis to believe that members of the Nigerian Security Forces (“NSF”) have committed the following acts constituting crimes against humanity and war crimes: murder, rape, torture, and cruel treatment; enforced disappearance; forcible transfer of population; outrages upon personal dignity; intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population as such and against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities; unlawful imprisonment; conscripting and enlisting children under the age of fifteen years into armed forces and using them to participate actively in hostilities; persecution on gender and political grounds; and other inhumane acts.

    These allegations are also sufficiently grave to warrant investigation by my Office, both in quantitative and qualitative terms. My Office will provide further details in our forthcoming annual Report on Preliminary Examination Activities.

    The preliminary examination has been lengthy not because of the findings on crimes – indeed, as early as 2013, the Office announced its findings on crimes in Nigeria, which have been updated regularly since. The duration of the preliminary examination, open since 2010, was due to the priority given by my Office in supporting the Nigerian authorities in investigating and prosecuting these crimes domestically.

    It has always been my conviction that the goals of the Rome Statute are best served by States executing their own primary responsibility to ensure accountability at the national level. I have repeatedly stressed my aspiration for the ability of the Nigerian judicial system to address these alleged crimes. We have engaged in multiple missions to Nigeria to support national efforts, shared our own assessments, and invited the authorities to act. We have seen some efforts made by the prosecuting authorities in Nigeria to hold members of Boko Haram to account in recent years, primarily against low-level captured fighters for membership in a terrorist organisation. The military authorities have also informed me that they have examined, and dismissed, allegations against their own troops.

    I have given ample time for these proceedings to progress, bearing in mind the overarching requirements of partnership and vigilance that must guide our approach to complementarity. However, our assessment is that none of these proceedings relate, even indirectly, to the forms of conduct or categories of persons that would likely form the focus of my investigations. And while this does not foreclose the possibility for the authorities to conduct relevant and genuine proceedings, it does mean that, as things stand, the requirements under the Statute are met for my Office to proceed.

    Moving forward, the next step will be to request authorisation from the Judges of the Pre-Trial Chamber of the Court to open investigations. The Office faces a situation where several preliminary examinations have reached or are approaching the same stage, at a time when we remain gripped by operational challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, on the one hand, and by the limitations of our operational capacity due to overextended resources, on the other. This is also occurring in the context of the pressures the pandemic is placing on the global economy. Against this backdrop, in the immediate period ahead, we will need to take several strategic and operational decisions on the prioritisation of the Office’s workload, which also duly take into account the legitimate expectations of victims and affected communities as well as other stakeholders. This is a matter that I will also discuss with the incoming Prosecutor, once elected, as part of the transition discussions I intend to have. In the interim, my Office will continue to take the necessary measures to ensure the integrity of future investigations in relation to the situation in Nigeria.

    The predicament we are confronted with due to capacity constraints underscores the clear mismatch between the resources afforded to my Office and the ever growing demands placed upon it. It is a situation that requires not only prioritization on behalf of the Office, to which we remain firmly committed, but also open and frank discussions with the Assembly of States Parties, and other stakeholders of the Rome Statute system, on the real resource needs of my Office in order to effectively execute its statutory mandate.

    As we move towards the next steps concerning the situation in Nigeria, I count on the full support of the Nigerian authorities, as well as of the Assembly of States Parties more generally, on whose support the Court ultimately depends. And as we look ahead to future investigations in the independent and impartial exercise of our mandate, I also look forward to a constructive and collaborative exchange with the Government of Nigeria to determine how justice may best be served under the shared framework of complementary domestic and international action.

    The Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC conducts independent and impartial preliminary examinations, investigations and prosecutions of the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. Since 2003, the Office has been conducting investigations in multiple situations within the ICC’s jurisdiction, namely in Uganda; the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Darfur, Sudan; the Central African Republic (two distinct situations); Kenya; Libya; Côte d’Ivoire; Mali; Georgia, Burundi Bangladesh/Myanmar and Afghanistan (subject to a pending article 18 deferral request). The Office is also currently conducting preliminary examinations relating to the situations in Bolivia; Colombia; Guinea; the Philippines; Ukraine; and Venezuela (I and II), while the situation in Palestine is pending a judicial ruling.