On Twitter recently, the Nigeria armed forces announced that Baga, a town controlled by Boko Haram, had been recaptured. He stated :We have secured Baga. We are not in full control. There are only mopping up exercises left to do." On January 3, Baga had been taken by Boko Haram forces, along with several other neighboring towns as well. During this period of time, Boko Haram militants burned many settlements to the ground and killed hundreds. This area gave them access to the countries of Cameroon, Chad, and Niger.
Since then, the three countries have joined fight alongside Nigerian armed forces to recapture Baga and fight to oust Boko Haram. But is the fight too soon to call? Boko Haram currently controls an area mass the size of Belgium, and about a week ago, Boko Haram militants pushed into Chad and killed about 10 civilians before being pushed out by Chad forces. This was the jihadist group's first lethal attack on Chad, and many speculate that it was a response to Chad joining the Allies against them. Boko Haram's leader, Abubakar Shedau, directly addressed Idriss Deby, President of Chad. "Your alliance will not achieve anything", he said. "Amass all your weapons and face us. We welcome you."
Some estimate that close to 13,000 people have been killed by Boko Haram, and more than a million have gone missing or been displaced. However the terrorist group appears to be either regrouping for their next attack or purely on the run after joint attacks by national forces. Nigerian General Chris Olukolade is confident that "Not even the strategy of mining over 1,500 spots with land mines on the routes leading to the town could save the terrorists from the aggressive move of advancing troops."
Despite the confidence on both sides in this conflict that victory is inveitable, the fight is not over yet. The struggle continues in West Africa against Boko Haram.
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Young United Nations Members Not So United
Recently, a news story surrounding Harvard University appeared in the media. Two Chinese delegate students whom took part in Harvard's model United Nations were ousted from the event after creating a protest fracas over Taiwan being referred to as a country. They noticed that the list of participants was by country, with Taiwan included. They demanded that the issue be resolved by altering "country" to "country or region". After a day of the open and disruptive protests, they were removed from the event by security and threatened with police action.
Ruth Hagen, the secretary of the 2015 UN of Harvard, issued an email to the Chinese delegation on January 31, explaining to them that "The inclusion of Taiwan is not meant as a political statement, nor does that listing represent the views of the Harvard International Relations Council." The offered stickers saying "country of region" to be applied to their own handbooks, but they were not satisfied. The Chinese delegation believed that they were owed an apology. In the past, they did not have Taiwan listed as a country in 2013. But this year, both Hong Kong and Taiwan were listed as countries. Many would probably wonder why the fuss over this. They would probably be asking "Is Taiwan not a country?" Not to the Chinese.
Since the Chinese Civil War in 1949, China and Taiwan, known officially as the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC) respectively, have been separate nations. However, the PRC still holds the claim of Taiwan as being apart of their country. The PRC has even threatened to use force against the ROC should they attempt to move any closer to independence. On the flipside, Taiwanese citizens do not consider themselves a part of the PRC and have little to no support for reunification with mainland China.
The question here is whether Harvard's UN committee will continue to have the same info give in the handbook next year or change it by next year to avoid another incident.
Ruth Hagen, the secretary of the 2015 UN of Harvard, issued an email to the Chinese delegation on January 31, explaining to them that "The inclusion of Taiwan is not meant as a political statement, nor does that listing represent the views of the Harvard International Relations Council." The offered stickers saying "country of region" to be applied to their own handbooks, but they were not satisfied. The Chinese delegation believed that they were owed an apology. In the past, they did not have Taiwan listed as a country in 2013. But this year, both Hong Kong and Taiwan were listed as countries. Many would probably wonder why the fuss over this. They would probably be asking "Is Taiwan not a country?" Not to the Chinese.
Since the Chinese Civil War in 1949, China and Taiwan, known officially as the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC) respectively, have been separate nations. However, the PRC still holds the claim of Taiwan as being apart of their country. The PRC has even threatened to use force against the ROC should they attempt to move any closer to independence. On the flipside, Taiwanese citizens do not consider themselves a part of the PRC and have little to no support for reunification with mainland China.
The question here is whether Harvard's UN committee will continue to have the same info give in the handbook next year or change it by next year to avoid another incident.
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