UN warns against 'further militarization' in LA unrest
"We do not want to see any further militarization of this situation, and we encourage the parties at the local, state, and federal levels to work to do that," said U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq.
AFP
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Increasing cooperation between the criminal gangs, who are primarily motivated by financial gains, and jihadists -- who are waging a separate, 16-year-old-armed insurrection in the northeast -- has seen attacks worsen. Troops kill at least 95 'bandits' in northwest Nigeria Nigerian troops killed at least 95 members of an armed criminal gang in a shootout and airstrikes earlier this week, according to a situation report shared with the UN and seen by AFP on Thursday. Armed gangs known as "bandits" have taken root across Nigeria's rural hinterlands amid poverty and government neglect. They raid, loot and burn villages, exact taxes, and conduct kidnappings for ransom. On Tuesday, Nigerian air and ground troops "foiled an attempted bandit attack, launching air strikes and shootouts" in the northwestern state of Niger, according to the report, which was produced by a private conflict monitor. 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