Boko Haram survivors face hunger Putin salutes ‘dear Jacob’ Zuma
MICHIKA: Since Nigeria’s army began clearing large areas of the country’s north-east from Boko Haram, some of the 1.5 million internally-displaced people have started returning home. But thousands could now face severe food shortages.
Along the main roads head- ing north from Adamawa’s state capital, Yola, some trade has resumed in the towns but ghostly pockets and haunting reminders of the insurgent takeover are evident.
About three months after the fighting ended, the smell of rotting corpses still clings to the air. Boko Haram grabbed swathes of the north-east last year, killing thousands. It took over most of Borno state, the birthplace of the group, and parts of Adamawa and Yobe.
The army began pushing back when Boko Haram was about 100km from Adamawa’s state capital. In the last few months, many people have returned to Adamawa, but clinics, banks and schools are still lacking and vast stretches of farmland stand barren.
In the town of Michika, which saw some of the fiercest fighting, residents are too afraid and lack the equipment and manpower to farm.
Meanwhile, there is no sign of government aid. People will drive to Mubi, a city about an hour’s drive, to get goods but this vital route will be blocked once the rainy season comes into full swing next month. – Reuters MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said this weekend he was glad to see his South African counterpart, Jacob Zuma, at celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II in Moscow. Putin described South Africa as Russia’s “leading partner” in Africa.
Putin and Zuma held a bilateral meeting in the Kremlin on Saturday on the sidelines of the huge military parade on Moscow’s Red Square to mark the end of World War II.
UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, Vietnam’s President Truong Tan Sang, Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, Czech President Milos Zeman and Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el-Sisi were among the many leaders, mainly from Asia, the former Soviet republics and Latin America, who attended the parade. Major Western leaders boycotted it.
About 16 000 military servicemen marched in the parade, accompanied by 194 units of military hardware and 143 combat aircraft. Some soldiers marched in the historic uniforms of what Russia calls the “Great Patriotic War”, including the uniforms of infantrymen, sailors, pilots, sappers, cavalrymen and Cossacks.
Military units from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, India, Mongolia and Serbia participated, as did soldiers from China, making a significant statement about relations between the two countries.
About 2 300 people were on Red Square to watch the celebrations, including veterans from Russia and abroad.
According to official data, about 27 million Soviet citizens, including civilians and servicemen, died in the war.
“I find it very pleasant to see our friends in the days when we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War,” Putin said at a meeting with Zuma, calling him “dear Jacob”.
According to the Russian leader, “relations between Russia and the Republic of South Africa have a special nature”.
“It’s our leading partner on the African continent,” he said.
Putin said co-operation between Russia and South Africa should increase in international organisations, including the Brics bloc (comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).
“We should… make this organisation an effective tool of our economies…” he said.