Page 7 - aruba-today-20220203

A7
WORLD NEWS Thursday 3 February 2022
Hunger crisis looms in Nigeria's 'food basket' amid conflict

AGATU, Nigeria (AP) — It's 2 conflict and COVID-19 has
p.m. and Hannah Mgbede made it harder to reach
asks her husband if she can those most in need," a
take her first break of the spokesperson of the U.N.
day from threshing rice so agency told AP.
she can breastfeed their Thousands of Nigerians
18-month-old baby girl fas- have been killed in the
tened to her back during decades-long clashes be-
the grueling work. tween agrarian communi-
Her husband Ibrahim Mo- ties and nomadic cattle
hammed, 45, used to har- herders who are fighting
vest as many as 10 bags of over limited access to wa-
rice a year from his farm. ter and grazing land. The
But that dropped to just farmers often accuse the
three bags after attack- herders of encroaching in
ers burned his home to the their fields while the herd-
ground a few years ago, ers, mostly from the Fulani
as violence between farm- ethnic group, claim the
ers and herders escalated croplands are their tradi-
across the northwest and tional grazing routes.
central parts of Nigeria. The government has now
With that decreased yield, launched an initiative un-
Mohammed hasn't made der the National Livestock
enough money to buy Transformation Plan in the
seedlings to grow yams, hope of resolving the con-
soybeans and guinea corn flict which has been wors-
(sorghum). Ibrahim Mohammed, left, a farmer who lost most of his seedlings and farmlands to violent attacks ened by the proliferation of
"Sometimes we manage to in Nigeria's north, works on a rice farm along with his family members in Agatu village on the out- arms and the government's
eat once (a day)," says Mo- skirts of Benue State in northcentral Nigeria, Wednesday, Jan 5, 2022. failure to prosecute past
hammed, who has three Associated Press perpetrators from both
children, aged five and groups.
younger. "Since the crisis, it reduced crops in the north- crisis," Benue state Gov. farmers to transport crops About 3,000 people who
is only by the grace of God central state of Africa's Samuel Ortom told The As- and marketplaces have have fled the violence in
we are feeding to remain most populous nation. sociated Press. been razed by attackers. Benue state are now living
alive." More than 1 million farmers Across northern Nigeria, Rice production has at a camp in Guma local
Here in Benue state, har- in the state have been dis- at least 13 million are now dropped so much that its government area.
vests of rice, yams and soy- placed because of the in- facing hunger amid a lean price has jumped more Mtonga Iliamgee, 43, says
beans were once so boun- tercommunal violence be- season, according to the than 60% in Benue state as every day is a struggle to
tiful that it was called the tween herders and farmers U.N. World Food Program. well as some other parts of feed her family of 10. She
"food basket of Nigeria." competing for water and The violence has also dis- the country. was seen preparing their
But waves of violence over land, say officials. rupted the sales of food "There is a very real risk only meal of the day at 1
the last several years have "We are heading to a food as roads are too unsafe for of famine because both p.m.q
Iranian supertanker carrying condensate docks in Venezuela

By REGINA GARCIA CANO day. nations that are both under
Associated Press The Starla arrived off the American sanctions.
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) coast of Barcelona, Ven- Iranian state media has not
— An Iran-flagged super- ezuela, in late January. A acknowledged the Starla's
tanker carrying more than satellite photo analyzed by arrival in Venezuela after
2 million barrels of con- AP from Planet Labs PBC earlier trumpeting other
densate has docked at a showed the vessel there shipments. Iran's mission to
Venezuelan port, with both Sunday and corresponded the United Nations did not
countries facing U.S. sanc- to other images of the ves- respond to a request for
tions, according to analysts sel and its helipad. comment.
and satellite images ana- Its dimensions also matched Samir Madani, co-founder
lyzed by The Associated those of the Starla, which is of TankerTrackers.com,
Press. owned by National Iranian said the ship is carrying 2.1
The arrival of the oil tanker Tanker Co. The U.S. Treasury million barrels of a very light
Starla comes as negotia- sanctioned the company form of oil based on natural
tions continue in Vienna in October 2020, saying it gas that Venezuela's state-
over the Islamic Republic's helped fund the expedi- owned company uses to
tattered nuclear deal with tionary Quds Force of Iran's dilute its heavy crude oil
world powers, which al- paramilitary Revolutionary to turn into an exportable In this satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC, the Iranian oil tanker
Starla is seen off the coast of Barcelona, Venezuela, Sunday,
lowed for oil sales. In 2018, Guard. blend. Jan. 30, 2022.
the U.S. unilaterally with- The Starla represents the Madani said the vessel Associated Press
drew from the accord un- first known condensate departed Iran on Dec. 11
der then President Donald shipment of 2022 from Iran and turned off its manda- system is used to prevent niques, including turning
Trump, sparking years of to arrive in Venezuela as tory Automated Identifica- collisions, but companies it off, to evade detection
tensions across the wider part of a relationship be- tion System for more than in recent years have ad- as the U.S. has expanded
Mideast that continue to- tween the two oil-exporting a month and a half. The opted a number of tech- economic sanctions.q