Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/324960
ByHarunaUmar The Associated Press MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA Boko Haram militants are taking over villages in northeast- ern Nigeria, killing and ter- rorizing civilians and politi- cal leaders, witnesses say, as the Islamic fighters make a comeback from a year-long military offensive aimed at crushing them. Nigeria's military has in- sisted that the big influx of troops and a year-old state of emergency in three states that cover about one-sixth of the country gives them the power to detain suspects, take over buildings and lock down any area has the ex- tremistsontherun.Butwhile BokoHaramhasinlargepart been pushed out of cities in the northeast, they have been seizingvillageswiththatched- roof huts in the semi-arid re- gion where they once held sway, boldly staking their claim by hoisting their black flagswithwhiteArabicletter- ing, and making large swaths of Nigeria no-go regions for the military. Nglamuda Ibrahim, a lo- cal government official, says the militants hoisted their flags in Ashigashiya, which borders Cameroon, several weeks ago without inter- ference from the security forces. Muhammed Gavva, a member of one of the vig- ilante groups formed last year, named another dozen villages that also fell to Boko Haram, also close to the Cameroonian border, with no action taken by Nigerian security forces. He said one road to Maiduguri, the capi- tal of Borno state where the military joint task force has its headquarters, is so dan- gerous that even soldiers don't dare to travel it. "We have long informed the military officials about this. They are aware but we don't know what they are do- ing about that," Gavva said. The seized villages are near Gwoza, a regional politi- cal center whose emir was killed in a Boko Haram am- bush on his convoy last week. Emirs are religious and tra- ditional rulers who have been targeted for speaking out against Boko Haram's extremism. Borno Gov. Kashim Shet- tima traveled on Saturday to Gwoza to pay his respects to the fallen traditional leader and was quoted as saying it was a terrifying ride. "If I say I was not petri- fied travelling through that ... road to Gwoza I would be lying because that road had been designated a no-go area for about two months now due to the incessant at- tacks and killings that oc- cur there," the governor was quoted as saying by Informa- tion Nigeria, a web site. A lo- cal journalist who was in the convoy that was escorted by 150 soldiers counted at least 16 towns and villages that were deserted along the 85 mile route, according to the local media report. NIGERIA Boko Haram seizing villages, witnesses say THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Red Cross personnel search for remains at the site of one of Tuesday's car bombs in Jos, Nigeria. Boko Haram militants are taking over villages in northeastern Nigeria, killing and terrorizing civilians and political leaders, witnesses say. ALVARO BARRIENTOS — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Prince Felipe shows his notes to Princess Letizia, during the Prince's Viana Award, in the Monastery of Leyre, in northern Spain. Felipe is more popular than his father according to an El Mundo poll. By Alan Clendenning The Associated Press YESA, SPAIN In his first speech since he was tapped to become king, Spain's Crown Prince Felipe on Wednesdayspokedelicately about the need for unity in the Mediterranean country that has been hit by sepa- ratist fervor and crushing unemployment. Sticking to protocol as the future symbolic leader of Spain's constitutional monarchy, Felipe got his point across without men- tioning by name Spain's two biggest problems: The drive in the northeastern region of Catalonia for a secession referendum and the nation's 25 percent jobless rate. "In the difficult times like those we are going through, the experience of times past shaped in history show us that only by uniting our hard work, putting the com- mon good in front of special interests and promoting ini- tiative and ... the creativity of each person, we succeed in advancing toward better scenarios," Felipe said at a cultural award ceremony in an ancient church in north- eastern Spain. Watched attentively by hiswifePrincessLetizia,Fe- lipe characterized Spain as both "united and diverse." The crown prince will become King Felipe VI as early as June 18 following Monday's announcement by King Juan Carlos that he will abdicate because his son is ready for the job and because the country needs new royal blood to lead it. Royalty experts said Felipe's appearance gave strong hints that the 46-year-old crown prince will be a discreet and well- prepared ruler, his regal style molded by decades of preparation in Spain and abroad. "He's a man with a duty and a job to do and the care- ful and constant training he has had will play out in a dignified, politically ad- ept but quite bland sort of way," said Mary Vincent, a professor of modern Eu- ropean history at Britain's University of Sheffield. Europe's youngest king will be averse to scandals that have tainted Spain's royal family in recent years and will benefit from strong popular support for Letizia, 41, a former television jour- nalist dubbed the country's first "Middle Class Queen" in Spanish media this week. "He is young man who has been trained from birth for the job," said Hugo Vick- ers, a British historian and European royalty expert. "And he seems to have a proactive, glamorous wife." Juan Carlos is widely re- spected for leading Spain's transition from dictatorship to democracy and staring down a 1981 coup attempt. But his reputation took a big blow following a secret 2012 elephant hunting trip to Botswana at the height of Spain'sfinancialcrisisplusa corruptioninvestigationtar- geting a son-in-law. Next king speaks of unity in 1st speech SPAIN By Juergen Baetz The Associated Press BRUSSELS Russian Pres- ident Vladimir Putin was kept out of Wednesday's summit of major economies over his actions in Ukraine, yet world leaders appeared eager to seek his renewed cooperation to settle the crisis. "At this stage we consider that we have some possibili- ties, diplomatic and political, to see if Russia is ready to engage more and to stop the destabilization in Ukraine," said the summit's host, Eu- ropean Union President Her- man Van Rompuy. When pressed on further sanctions against Russia, Van Rompuy told reporters "we only continue the prep- arations" on a technical level should they be necessary. Since Russia refrained from a full-out invasion of Ukraine, started pulling back its troops from the bor- der and reluctantly accepted the results of Ukraine's pres- idential election, Western leaders apparently no longer want to talk about imposing new sanctions, but sought to renew diplomatic contacts. That effort is already well under way with French Pres- ident Francois Hollande, British Prime Minister Da- vid Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel all planning talks with Pu- tin during ceremonies for the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion later this week. U.S. President Barack Obama, however, has no plans to meet with Putin. In March, the U.S. and its most important allies re- taliated for Putin's military occupation and subsequent annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula by sus- pending Russia's member- ship in what had been the G-8 club of rich countries. They also nixed Putin's plan to hold the meeting in Sochi, the city Russia lavished bil- lions on to host the 2014 Win- ter Olympics. At the time, Obama prom- ised to "impose a greater cost" on Putin and his coun- try if the confrontation over Ukraine escalated. But be- yond a ringing statement of unity and a stiffly worded communique directed at Russia from the Brussels gathering of Obama and the leaders of Canada, Japan, Britain, France, Germany and Italy, little more is ex- pected. How to handle re- lations with Putin was cer- tain to dominate the leaders' dinner. G-7 Putin dominates summit in absentia By Karin Laub The Associated Press JERUSALEM Proposed leg- islation to permit the force- feeding of Palestinian pris- oners on hunger strike is pitting Israel's government against much of the coun- try's medical community, in- cluding the main doctors' as- sociation which contends the practice amounts to torture. Prime Minister Benja- min Netanyahu has report- edly asked to fast-track the bill as a hunger strike by doz- ens of Palestinian detainees entered its sixth week. At least 65 of 290 partic- ipating detainees have been hospitalized since the first group began a hunger strike on April 24. Many are ad- ministrative detainees, held for months or years without charges. Therehavebeennear-daily Palestinian demonstrations backingtheprisoners,includ- ing one in the West Bank on Wednesday in which dozens of university students threw stones at Israeli soldiers who responded with tear gas. Families of hunger strik- ers say they support the fast, despite the risks. "My husband is in Israeli jails without knowing why and when this nightmare is going to end," Lamees Faraj said of her husband, Abdel Razeq, a member of a small, hard-line Palestine Liber- ation Organization faction who has been in adminis- trative detention for nearly eight of the last 20 years. Faced with the second large-scale Palestinian hun- ger strike in two years, Isra- el's government is promot- ing a bill that would allow a judge to sanction force-feed- ing if an inmate's life is per- ceived to be in danger. A judge must not only con- sider the prisoner's wishes, but also possible damage to the state, said Yoel Hadar, a legal adviser in the Pub- lic Security Ministry, which initiated the bill. A death in custody could trigger prison riots or unrest in the Palestinian territories or elsewhere, he said. "We want the judge to take into consideration what will hap- pen to the country if some- thing happens," Hadar said. There has been mount- ing opposition from Israel's medical establishment, with the Israel Medical Associa- tion urging physicians not to cooperate. TREATMENT Israel doctors refuse to force-feed Palestinians By Esam Mohamed The Associated Press TRIPOLI, LIBYA A Libyan general who has been lead- ing an offensive against Is- lamists dominating the country's political scene sur- vived a suicide attack on his residence in the eastern city of Benghazi on Wednesday, military officials said. The bomber drove up to the residence of Gen. Khalifa Hifter in Benghazi and det- onated his explosives-laden vehicle when guards stopped him at the compound's gate, the officials said. The site is less than a mile away from Benghazi's military com- mand in the suburb of al- Abyar. Hifter was unhurt in the explosion, said the officials, speaking on condition of an- onymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. According to the officials, four people died in the attack, along with the bomber, and at least three were wounded. The Libyan air force's chief of staff, Saqr al-Garoushi, was lightly wounded in the explo- sion and taken to the Beng- hazihospital,theofficialssaid. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, which bore the hallmarks of Islamic militants whom Hifter has vowed to crush since launch- ing his offensive last month. LIBYA Ro gue general survives suicide bombing | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2014 4 B