KANO, 19 June 2013 (IRIN) - Incessant deadly attacks on Fulani settlements and villages in northern Nigeria by armed bandits - made up partly of disgruntled Fulani who themselves have lost cattle - are threatening herds and upping tensions in northern Nigeria.

Gangs of heavily armed bandits prowl the vast Dajin Rugu forest which spans several hundred square kilometres across Zamfara, Katsina and Kaduna states and Niger State in central Nigeria, according to Fulani leaders.

06/19/2013 02:52 GMT

MAIDUGURI, June 19, 2013 (AFP) - Suspected Islamists shot dead nine students as they sat an exam in an attack on a private school in Maiduguri, northeast Nigeria, local people said Tuesday.

The attack, in a region that is a stronghold of the Islamist rebel group Boko Haram, happened on Monday in the Jajeri suburb of the city, they said.

Mohammed Saleh, a relative of one of the deceased students, said school officials had told him that the attack happened soon after the end-of-year exam had started.

06/18/2013 12:30 GMT

GENEVA, June 18, 2013 (AFP) - At least 9,000 people have fled violence in northern Nigeria and crossed into neighbouring countries as a government offensive aims to end a four-year Islamist insurgency, the UN said on Tuesday.

In addition to those refugees, a local official in northeastern Nigeria, where the violence has been concentrated, has said some 19,000 wheat and rice farmers have been chased away from fields, raising concerns over potential food shortages.

06/17/2013 18:26 GMT

MAIDUGURI, June 17, 2013 (AFP) - Suspected Islamist extremists have attacked a secondary school and military checkpoint in Nigeria's northeast, leaving 11 people dead including seven students, the military said Monday.

Details were sketchy and the information could not be independently confirmed. Mobile phone lines have been cut in much of the northeast since the start of a military offensive targeting Islamist extremist group Boko Haram on May 15 and access to the area is limited.

DAKAR/NIAMEY, 13 June 2013 (IRIN) - West African and Sahel countries are setting up measures to minimize flood damage as the annual rainy season approaches. The African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development (ACMAD) in a seasonal weather outlook says near-average or above-average rainfall is likely over the western Sahel, which stretches across Mauritania, Senegal and western and central Niger.

WHO: Valerie Amos, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator

WHAT: Mission to Federal Republic of Nigeria

WHEN: 13 – 15 June 2013

WHERE: Abuja, Anambra, Bayelsa, Kogi and Delta States

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos, will travel to Nigeria from 13 to 15 June 2013.

KANO, 11 June 2013 (IRIN) - With mobile phone signals shut down since 15 May in large parts of three northeastern states following a military offensive against Boko Haram (BH) Islamists, anxious residents say the sick are cut off from medical help, commercial supplies are dwindling and food prices rising.

The states affected are Borno, Yobe and Adamawa. The Nigerian government sent thousands of extra troops to the northeast in late May, hitting BH camps with air strikes and leaving an unknown number dead, following a surge in BH violence in the area.

By Sudarsan Raghavan

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — At the Ali Al Yaskari primary school, the classrooms are silent. In the morning, teachers sign their names on an attendance sheet to receive their salaries, then quickly leave without teaching a single course. A few students sit under a tree, idling away their time in the sandy schoolyard.

Read the full report on the Washington Post.

06/09/2013 02:43 GMT

by M.J. Smith and Ben Simon

MARTE, June 9, 2013 (AFP) - The dusty, remote spot in Nigeria's far northeast where the military says insurgents operated a major camp is now little more than burnt-out cars, strewn trash and unanswered questions.

More than three weeks into a military offensive seeking to end a years-long insurgency by Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, Nigeria has claimed important successes, but the truth is difficult to determine.