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Associated Press
18-05-2025
- Associated Press
Militant attack on 2 villages in northeast Nigeria kills at least 57, witnesses say
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A suspected militant attack on two villages in Nigeria left at least 57 people dead and at least 70 missing on Thursday, witnesses said Sunday, in one of the deadliest incidents in the country's conflict-ridden northeast this year. Abdulrahman Ibrahim survived Thursday's attack on two villages in Baga in Borno State and participated in the burial of the dead. He told The Associated Press that the Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad (JAS) faction of the militant group Boko Haram gathered more than 100 residents of the neighboring villages of Mallam Karamti and Kwatandashi and marched them into the bush. Later on Saturday, 57 bodies were recovered there. A spokesperson for the Borno government said he could not confirm the casualty counts. The Nigerian military did not respond to a request for comment. According to Ibrahim, who is from Mallam Karamti, and another survivor from Kwatandashi who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals, the villagers were accused of acting as informants for the rival Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). Although ISWAP has gained notoriety for targeting military personnel and assets, the JAS faction has increasingly resorted to attacking civilians and perceived collaborators and thrives on robberies and abductions for ransom. 'Without the capacity to attack the military like ISWAP, JAS is focused on terrorizing civilians,' said Malik Samuel, an expert on northern Nigeria's conflicts with nonprofit Good Governance Africa. The witnesses said burial of the victims was delayed because the military was unavailable to provide support in conducting searches for bodies. Most of the dead victims were found with their throats slit, but others had been shot, the locals said. 'There are probably more bodies because we had to stop further searches with soldiers out of fear of an ambush,' Ibrahim said. More than 70 are still missing, he said. The mass killing came during a week of intensifying violence in Borno. On Monday, ISWAP militants overran the 50 Task Force Battalion of the Nigerian Army stationed in Marte, seizing arms and ammunition after a deadly assault that killed several soldiers, according to videos shared on social media by soldiers who survived the attack. Following the attack on Marte, displaced people camped there fled to nearby Dikwa, a humanitarian hub where aid groups are pulling out due to international funding cuts. In a separate incident on Saturday afternoon, a roadside bomb detonated along the Maiduguri-Damboa road, the second such attack in a week. Three people died at the scene, and a fourth succumbed to injuries Sunday morning at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH). More than 10 others were still being treated for injuries at the hospital, a local resident, Lawan Bukar Maigana, who has assisted the community in emergencies, said. Since 2009, the Boko Haram insurgency has created a humanitarian disaster in Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad, with more than 35,000 people killed and 2.6 million others displaced over the last 15 years. Borno in Nigeria, its birthplace, is the worst-affected. They want to install an Islamic state across the four countries, with Nigeria as their main target. The country is West Africa's oil giant with more than 200 million people, divided almost equally between a mainly Christian south and a predominantly Muslim north. The Nigerian government has claimed progress against the insurgency, but the militants continue to attack civilians and military and have expanded into other regions, including central Nigeria where the capital Abuja is located, according to experts and public records on counterterrorism.
The Star
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Director Ariff Zulkarnain delves into topic of drugs in his new film 'Baga'
After completing critically acclaimed projects such as last year's feature film Doh , 2021's Dukun Diva and the hit series One Cent Thief , director Ariff Zulkarnain has embarked on a passion project rooted in his hometown of Terengganu. Last year, he returned home to shoot Baga , a film he wrote that examines two pressing issues in Terengganu – the longstanding drug crisis and the decline of traditional livelihoods, such as bot penambang (small ferry boat that connects riverside villages). 'I feel like my journey as a filmmaker isn't complete if I don't make a proper film about my roots,' said Ariff of Baga , which he self-financed and co-produced with One Cent Thief actor Syafiq Kyle and filmmaker Syafiq Yusof. According to Ariff, baga means 'paranoid' in the Terengganu dialect. 'It's also one of the side effects of consuming pil kuda, a drug similar to syabu (methamphetamine), commonly found in the rural areas of Kelantan and Terengganu,' he said. 'We've been shooting Baga since February last year. But because I was also involved in several projects with Astro Shaw, production was slightly delayed. It was only two months ago that we finally submitted the film to the Film Censorship Board (LPF).' Pok Awang (Wan Hanafi Su, right) is an ageing boatman whose profession is rapidly vanishing. Baga follows Jani (Amir Ahnaf of Kahar: Kapla High Council ), a pil kuda addict and small-time drug dealer. He also works part-time for Pok Awang (Wan Hanafi Su, Bunohan ), an ageing boatman whose profession is rapidly vanishing. Pok Awang sees Jani as his successor, hoping to pass on his skills and legacy. However, Jani's world unravels when his girlfriend, Melur (Amirah Razak, Lubuk ), reveals she is pregnant with his child. Terrified of what other villagers will say, Jani desperately tries to raise money for an abortion. His solution is to ask his dealer for a larger drug supply to sell. But after smoking the product himself and getting high, he loses the entire batch. Worse, he lands himself on the police radar. Determined to portray Jani's reality as authentically as possible, Ariff not only cast actors originally from Terengganu and Kelantan, but also included scenes depicting drug use. 'We worked closely with the actors, including lead actor Amir, for those scenes. We had rehearsals to ensure he understood how an addict would realistically behave and consume drugs. 'Of course, we didn't use real drugs ... but the smoke effect and burning process were made to look as realistic as possible.' As a result, LPF wanted Ariff to cut 16 scenes from the film. 'The scenes in question mostly depict characters smoking drugs. LPF wants them removed, but we're currently appealing to retain some of them. We'll see what they decide,' he told the press in March. Jani's world unravels when his girlfriend (Amirah Razak) reveals she is pregnant with his child. Asked why it was important to keep those scenes, Ariff stressed their relevance to the narrative. 'For a long time, whenever we make films about drug addiction, we're told not to show drug use explicitly, for fear it might encourage imitation. 'But we included those scenes because they show how drugs destroy lives. 'If we remove them, audiences won't fully understand or empathise with the main character – a drug addict who turns to dealing as a means of survival. The emotional impact of the story would be lost.' Having seen firsthand how drugs affect not only users but also those around them, Ariff insisted that these scenes cannot be excluded. 'It's become a way of life for many – living just to buy drugs. 'These are mostly people from the B40 income group, such as construction workers, fishermen, lorry drivers. 'That's why I feel it's my responsibility to tell this story and raise awareness.' That said, Ariff is open to removing particularly sensitive content. 'For example, there's a scene where a schoolboy in uniform buys and uses drugs. I understand the concern, and I'm OK with taking that out,' he said. Since Ariff has funded the project independently, he's unsure what the next steps will be if the cuts are enforced. 'At the moment, we're not planning to reshoot. We're not backed by a big studio like Astro Shaw or Primeworks. It's just me, Syafiq Kyle and Syafiq Yusof. 'So yes, if the cuts go through, we'll be facing significant losses.' In the latest update, Ariff told StarLifestyle that he's currently in the process of making a second appeal. He's also exploring a collaboration with National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK) as well as Women, Family and Community Development Ministry for the film's release.
