Boko Haram clashes leave 20,000 dead in Nigeria’s Borno: reportMarch 22, 2016 - 16:20 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - About 20,000 people have been killed in the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria's Borno state, This Day said citing a report for the World Bank that puts the cost of destruction at $5.9 billion. The report lays bare the extent of the damage since the insurgency began in 2009 and which, at one point, saw the Islamists control swathes of territory across the northeast. It is part of a Post-Insurgency Recovery and Peace-building Assessment, an intervention program involving the World Bank, European Union and the UN with six northeastern states. In Borno, sources with knowledge of the report said that some 20,000 citizens are thought to have been killed during the violence — a higher figure than previous estimates. In addition, the majority of the more than 2.0 million internally displaced persons came from the state, This Day says. The report also estimated parks, game, forest and grazing reserves, orchards, river basins and lakes have been poisoned in 16 of the 27 areas, and 470,000 livestock killed or stolen. The source close to the Borno state government said the report has yet to be approved by the bank and a decision was expected soon on funding. But given the cost of the damage — about $5.9 billion — and Nigeria’s struggling economy caused by the global oil shock, matching external funding for reconstruction could be problematic, the source added. The World Bank in Nigeria declined to comment. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |