Nigerian soldiers on the 101st airbase in Bamako (AFP Photo / Eric Feferberg)

 A Nigerian human rights watchdog released a report that says security forces are killing, torturing, illegally detaining and raping civilians in a fight to halt an Islamic uprising in northeast Nigeria that has killed nearly 2,000 people since 2010.

A Nigerian human rights watchdog released a report that says security forces are killing, torturing, illegally detaining and raping civilians in a fight to halt an Islamic uprising that has killed nearly 2,000 people since 2010.

The report, put out by Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission on Sunday, said troops went on a rampage in the northeast of the country after a soldier was killed in April in the fishing village of Baga. Quoting police sources, the soldiers "started shooting indiscriminately at anybody in sight, including domestic animals.” the report said, as quoted by AP.

The retaliation left the homes of many villagers gutted and torched, with troops attempting to hide evidence of the carnage by disposing of bodies.

"The Commission equally received several credibly attested allegations of gross violations by officials of the JTF (joint task force of police and military), including allegations of summary executions, torture, arbitrary detention amounting to internment and outrages against the dignity of civilians, as well as rape," it said.

Members of the Nigerian Defence headquarter team inspecting an alleged Boko Haram base in Kirenowa (AFP Photo)

Military officials said 36 people were killed, most of them “extremist fighters.” Witnesses told AP at the time that some 187 civilians were killed.

The report revealed the killings came after Islamic militants had looted a weapons depot, with subsequent reports suggesting the militants were becoming better armed and "had become both more organized and emboldened by their apparent successes, despite the enhanced security presence."

That contradicted reports that the military had taken control of the region in an emergency operation canvassing thee states, or roughly one-sixth of the country. Instead, it appears government troops have pushed the Islamic insurgents into rocky territory where it is more difficult to locate them. It is from these caves and rugged hideouts that the extremists are attacking towns and villages with regularity.

The government commission issued an interim report saying it would determine when its investigators are able to visit the conflict zone, where soldiers have cut mobile phone and internet connections. Nigeria declared a state of emergency on May 14 when extremists from the Boko Haram terrorist group took control of some towns and villages.

The suspected leader of the Nigerian Islamist group linked to Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, Imam Abu Muhammad Ibn Muhammad Abubakar Ash Shekawi, also known as Abubakar Shekau (AFP Photo)

 The uprising poses the biggest threat in years to security in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, with 160 million citizens, and the continent's largest producer of oil.

Village communities trapped between the Islamic militants and security forces "reportedly live in desperate fear and destitution," the commission said.

It warned of an imminent threat to public health, as well as food shortages since many farmers have been driven from their fields.

Northeast Nigeria is the poorest region in the country, with government statistics showing 75 percent of the population lives on less than $1 a day.

European Parliament in the eastern French city of Strasbourg (AFP Photo)

 The president of the European parliament has demanded an explanation from US authorities over the latest revelation that EU diplomatic missions in Washington, New York and Brussels were under electronic surveillance from the NSA.

“I am deeply worried and shocked about the allegations of US authorities spying on EU offices,” said the President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz. “If the allegations prove to be true, it would be an extremely serious matter which will have a severe impact on EU-US relations.”

“On behalf of the European Parliament, I demand full clarification and require further information speedily from the US authorities with regard to these allegations," he added.

Meanwhile, Germany's justice minister also called for an immediate explanation from the United States saying the news that Washington bugged European Union offices was "reminiscent of the Cold War."

"It must ultimately be immediately and extensively explained by the American side whether media reports about completely disproportionate tapping measures by the US in the EU are accurate or not," Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said in a statement.

Other EU diplomats also expressed shock concerning the latest batch of revelations in the NSA leak, reported by Der Spiegel magazine on Saturday.

"If these reports are true, it's disgusting,” Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn told Der Spiegel.

"The United States would be better off monitoring its secret services rather than its allies,” Asselborn continued. “We must get a guarantee from the very highest level now that this stops immediately."

A spokesman for the Office of the US Director of National Intelligence had no comment on the Der Spiegel story, Reuters reported.

Der Spiegel, quoting from a September 2010 "top secret" US National Security Agency (NSA) document leaked by former CIA employee Edward Snowden, reported on Saturday the NSA was eavesdropping on the EU’s internal computer networks in Washington, as well as at the 28-member bloc UN office in New York.

The German magazine also reported that five years ago, the NSA also targeted telecommunications at the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels, home to the European Council, where all EU member states have their offices.

Snowden, 30, fled the US for Hong Kong in May, just weeks before The Guardian and Washington Post published details he provided about a top-secret US government surveillance program that accumulated internet and telephone traffic both at home and abroad.

The whistleblower is presently in the transit zone of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, where it is believed he is attempting to gain political asylum in Ecuador.

Lode Vanoost, former deputy speaker of the Belgian parliament, believes that the main purpose of the US surveillance program was “economic spying” on the EU.

“At the moment, the EU is negotiating a new free trade agreement with the United States,” the former deputy speaker noted. “Well, [now the US can gather] what their opponent is already discussing internally of strategy. That is one of the possibilities.”

Vanoost also believes that part of the reason for the spying was due to the decline in US economic strength.

“On the economic level, [the US] is losing ground everywhere,” he said. “Look at what the BRIC countries are doing. The EU is having stronger ties with Russia, with Africa, with Latin America. And the US doesn’t seem to get its economic priorities imposed as it used to. So what I see is a big risk for economic spying.”

He added that there is “too much at stake” for there to be a total breakdown in US-EU bilateral relations, however, “behind closed doors there will be some very tough words” exchanged between EU and American officials.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai (Reuters / Omar Sobhani)

 Kabul has suspended talks with Washington on a bilateral security pact - designed to chart Afghanistan's security path following the US withdrawal next year - as well as upcoming discussions with the Taliban. With the US prepared to draw down its troop presence in Afghanistan next year, and the Taliban seemingly determined to make the exit as unpleasant and unpredictable as possible, Washington and Kabul have been working since November on a Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA). But now that initiative is at risk of being abandoned. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has emphasized in the past his desire to hold one-on-one talks with the Taliban. However, those hopes were dashed when US and Taliban officials announced they would begin joint talks - beginning as early as this week - apparently before the Afghan government was consulted on the issue. This provoked a strong response from the Afghan leader. "In a special meeting chaired by President Hamid Karzai, the president has decided to suspend talks about a security pact with the US because of their inconsistent statements and actions in regard to the peace process," Karzai spokesperson Aimal Faizi told Reuters. At the same time, the Afghan leader said his country will not participate in the upcoming Qatar talks with the Taliban. "As long as the peace process is not Afghan-led, the High Peace Council will not participate in the talks in Qatar," Karzai said in a statement, referring to a government body he created in 2010 to seek a negotiated peace with the Taliban. A senior Afghan official told Reuters the government was dissatisfied over the official status being given to the Taliban, who opened an office in Doha on Tuesday.

Afghan security personnel keep watch at the site of a suicide attack in Panjshir province (Reuters / Mohammad Ishaq)

Meanwhile, there has even been disagreement over the name tentatively chosen for Afghanistan, which apparently does not sit well with the Afghan president. "The president is not happy with the name of the office. We oppose the title the 'Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan' because such a thing doesn't exist," Faizi said. "The US was aware of the president's stance." The Afghan-US standoff hints at political intrigue between Kabul and Washington, as both sides are attempting to exert some semblance of control before next year’s US troop withdrawal commences.

Is the Taliban a reliable partner?

US officials said the American and Taliban representatives will hold bilateral meetings in the coming days. But is this plan realistic or just wishful thinking? Washington intends to sit down at the negotiating table with the Taliban Political Commission, a largely unknown group authorized by the Taliban’s one-eyed leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, the same individual who Washington put on a wanted list for harboring Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda militants prior to the September 11 attacks. US officials said they had no additional information on the identities of the other members of the commission, but “it apparently includes or represents armed insurgent groups that include the Pakistani-based Haqqani network, which has carried out some of the most ambitious attacks on international forces in eastern Afghanistan and in Kabul, the Afghan capital,” the Los Angeles Times reported. President Barack Obama acknowledged problems ahead for Washington as the US troop withdrawal looms.

Afghan mourners pray at the grave of a victim of a Taliban suicide attack in Farah province, April 4, 2013 (Reuters / Stringer)

"This is an important first step toward reconciliation, although it is a very early step," Obama said as he concluded meetings in Northern Ireland with leaders of the Group of 8 industrialized nations. "We anticipate that there will be a lot of bumps in the road." As soon as the US leader finished his speech, the "bumps" immediately became apparent as four US troops were killed in a well coordinated attack by the insurgent group. Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said Wednesday that the militants launched two rockets into Bagram Air Base late Tuesday, AP reported. US officials confirmed the military base had come under attack by indirect fire, and that four US troops were killed. Karzai's High Peace Council had been expected to also hold its own discussions with the Taliban a few days later, but the fate of those talks is now uncertain. The Taliban announcement that it would hold bilateral talks with US officials came as Afghan forces formally assumed control on Tuesday from the US-led NATO coalition for security in Afghanistan. US and NATO military forces will now move into a support role. The handover marks the latest step in the withdrawal of coalition forces, which currently number around 100,000 troops from 48 countries, including 66,000 US soldiers. This NATO-led force will be halved by the end of the year, and by the end of 2014 all troops are to leave and be replaced by a smaller force devoted to training and advising the Afghan forces. Despite their differences, Kabul and Washington do seem to agree on one point. Obama said on Wednesday he welcomed Karzai's statement that Afghanistan would soon take responsibility for security from the U.S.-led NATO peacekeeping force.
"We do think that ultimately we're going to need to see Afghans talking to Afghans about how they can move forward and end the cycle of violence there so they can start actually building their country," the US leader said. The United States has lost 2,235 soldiers in the 12-year war.