We adhere to Kharge's guidance and value opposition's remarks: DK Shivakumar
Bengaluru, Mar 9 (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Sunday said that the party adheres to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's guidance and values opposition's comments.
Amid the power tussle in the Congress, Kharge on Saturday urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar to work together and prioritise the state's development.
In a statement that is seen as a subtle message to give up their power struggle, Kharge at Jewargi in his home district Kalaburagi, said in a public meeting, "If they (Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah) go together in the same direction, it will be correct. If they go in different directions, it will be difficult."
Shivakumar, who was sharing stage with Kharge, kept smiling as the latter made the observation.
Reacting to Kharge's remark, Shivakumar told reporters in Ramanagara, "I was there on the stage. We will listen to him (Kharge) and go by his guidance."
In the same breath he said, "Our opposition party also guides us. We heed to them too. They comment so much on us but we never feel bad about it. We will do whatever is to be done for the public good."
When reporters reminded him of going together with Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar, who is also the Congress state president, said, "I have understood what he has said."
State Home Minister G Parameshwara said he has no clue as to why the party national president made the comment.
"I don't know in what context he said so. We all are united only. We are working in unison. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, ministers and the entire government is working for the people only," Parameshwara told reporters here.
The comment gave the BJP an opportunity to highlight the squabbling in the ruling Congress.
Speaking to reporters in Hubballi, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said Kharge's call to Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar to go together means that they are not united.
"Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has accepted that they are not together and all is not well in the Congress. Their situation can now be understood very clearly," Joshi said.
He also said that Siddaramaiah's son Yathindra has said he was confident that his father would read the 19th budget of the state. On the other hand, Shivakumar's supporters say he would present the next budget, Joshi said.
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At least 100 dead in Nigeria after air force 'misfire' on market, sources say
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Maiduguri(Nigeria) (AP): A Nigerian Air Force strike targeting jihadi rebels hit a local market in northeastern Nigeria, killing over 100 civilians including children and injuring many others, a rights group and local media reported on Sunday. Officials confirmed a misfire without providing details.
Amnesty International cited survivors as saying that at least 100 people were killed in the airstrike on Saturday on a village in Yobe state, near the border with Borno state, which is the epicentre of the jihadi insurgency that has ravaged the region for over a decade.
“We have their pictures and they include children,” Isa Sanusi, Amnesty International's Nigeria director, told The Associated Press, referring to the casualties.
“We are in touch with people that are there, we spoke with the hospital,” he said. “We spoke with the person in charge of casualties, and we spoke with the victims.”
A worker at the Geidam General hospital, in Yobe, said at least 23 people injured in the incident were receiving treatment. The worker spoke anonymously as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Such misfires are common in Nigeria, where the military often conducts air raids to battle armed groups who control vast forest enclaves. At least 500 civilians have died since 2017 in such misfires, according to an AP tally of reported deaths. Security analysts point to loopholes in intelligence gathering as well as insufficient coordination between ground troops, air assets and stakeholders.
The large, remote market located near the Borno-Yobe border is known to be often used by Boko Haram jihadis to buy food supplies.
Abdulmumin Bulama, a member of a civilian security group working with the Nigerian military in the northeast, said there was intelligence that Boko Haram terrorists had gathered very close to the market and were planning an attack on nearby communities.
“The intel was shared and the Air Force jet acted based on the credible information,” Bulama said.
The Yobe State Government confirmed in a statement that a Nigerian military strike was targeting a stronghold of the Boko Haram jihadi group in the area and that “some people … who went to the Jilli weekly market were affected.”
The Yobe State Emergency Management Agency also acknowledged that an incident had occurred resulting in “casualties affecting some marketers” and said it had dispatched response teams to the area.
Nigeria's military issued a statement saying it conducted a successful strike on a “terrorist enclave and logistics hub” belonging to jihadis in the area, killing scores of them as they rode on motorcycles. It did not provide any detail about a possible misfire, but noted that motorcycles remain prohibited in conflict hot spots and “any such movements in restricted areas are therefore treated with the utmost seriousness.”
Amnesty International has called for an independent investigation into the incident, adding that the military is “fond of” labelling civilian casualties as bandits
Nigeria, which is Africa's most populous country, is battling a complex security crisis, especially in the north, where there is a decade-long insurgency and several armed groups that kidnap for ransom.
Among the most prominent Islamic militant groups are Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, which is affiliated with the Islamic State group and known as Islamic State West Africa Province. There is also the IS-linked Lakurawa group operating in communities in the northwestern part of the country that borders Niger Republic.
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