The U.S. and the UK have long struggled with a dilemma in Nigeria: How to support the government in its war with Islamist insurgents while holding the military to account for mounting evidence of abuses against civilians. Washington and London continue to back the military as security worries β and geopolitical and economic considerations β repeatedly prevail.
FiledΒ
INΒ the southeast corner of the city of Maiduguri, the command centre of Nigeriaβs war against brutal Islamist insurgents, lies a sprawling barracks and detention facility where the army is accused of wielding its own ruthless tactics.
Giwa Barracks, a compound featuring razor-wired walls, bland buildings and squalid conditions,Β has been the site of some of the Nigerian governmentβs worst abuses in its 13-year war with extremists, according to current and former U.S. officials, human rights groups and former detainees.
In many ways, Giwa crystallises the failures of the international community, time and again, to hold Nigeriaβs military to account for its wartime abuses of civilians, including women and children.
By 2013, according to a former U.S. State Department analyst, U.S. intelligence officials had identified mass graves and piles of corpses at Giwa, which he said was filled beyond capacity with detainees, some as young as 10 or 11. The following year, rights group Amnesty International alleged that more than 600 men and boys were killed by security forces after fleeing the facility. And this month, Reuters reported that Giwa Barracks was among the sites where the military conducted a secret, years-long mass abortion program aimed at thousands of women whoβd been detained by the army after being abducted, raped and impregnated by Islamist insurgents.
TheΒ abortion reportΒΒΒ β along withΒ a second Reuters reportΒ detailing targeted military killings of children suspected of being offspring or supporters of the insurgents β drew outcry internationally. The U.S. state and defence departments, lawmakers in Washington and London, the German foreign minister and the United Nations secretary-general called for inquiries by staff or investigations by the Nigerians.
The Nigerian military denied such human rights abuses took place, as it had denied abuses in the past. After initiallyΒ rejecting the needΒ for an investigation into the abortion findings, General Lucky Irabor, Nigeriaβs defence chief, said on Dec. 16 thatΒ the military would cooperateΒ with a probeΒ by the countryβs independent human rights commission, adding that the Reuters report was βevilβ and the military had βnothing to fear.β
Diplomats in the United States and the United Kingdom, two of Nigeriaβs staunchest backers in the war against Boko Haram and its Islamic State offshoot, said the Reuters findings on abortions and targeted child killings were new to them. But the response so far β international calls for action, Nigerian denials and uncertainty in world capitals about how to follow through β fits a pattern seen throughout the war.
Washington and London,Β along with the UN and international humanitarian agencies, have struggled for years with the tension between offering support to the Nigerian government during the war and denouncing alleged abuses by its military against civilians.
That tension has shaped the U.S. response since at least 2013.Β Matt Page, then a U.S. State Department analyst, told Reuters that the troubling U.S. intelligence on Giwa Barracks led then-Secretary of State John Kerry to release aΒ statementΒ that year expressing deep concern about βcredible allegations that Nigerian security forces are committing gross human rights violations, which, in turn, only escalate the violence and fuel extremism.β
Later that year, the White House registered its concern with the Nigerian president. Ahead of a meeting in New York between then-presidents Barack Obama and Goodluck Jonathan, Abujaβs ambassador to the United States reassured the White House that Nigeria was committed to abiding by βinternational best practicesβ and said a decision had been taken βto immediately decongestβ the Giwa detention centre, according to a Sept. 20, 2013, letter seen by Reuters. Obama stressed the need to protect and respect human rights while combating terrorism, according to a U.S.Β summaryΒ of the meeting.
By the following spring, however, Washington had backed off on human rights and doubled down on counterterrorism in Nigeria. In April 2014, the shocking news arrived that hundreds of schoolgirls had been kidnapped by Boko Haram insurgents from the northeastern town of Chibok, leading to βa sea changeβ in the administrationβs agenda, Page recalled.Β βThe message coming from the White House changed to, βWe need to do everything possible to help the Nigerians bring back the girls.ββ
In the intervening years, Page said, βthe Nigerians have become very adept at pushing back and managing criticism and deflecting criticism, and in a sense have house-trained a lot of diplomats to basically keep their criticisms to themselves.β
As reports of serious military abuses in Nigeriaβs northeast have mounted, international efforts to address themΒ largely have fallen short,Β Reuters found. Calling out suspected abuses and seeing that the Nigerian military is held to account have proved difficult, given the dire security threat posed by the insurgents, the scope of the humanitarian crisis in the northeast and the limited role outsiders can play β or are comfortable playing β in the affairs of a sovereign nation, according to interviews, internal U.S. and British government documents and public reports.
The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden referred questions for this report to the state and defence departments. In separate statements, those departments said they were βdeeply concernedβ about findings in the recent Reuters investigations. Both said their cooperation with Nigeria was intended to help the country build βmore capable, professional, and accountable security forces that abide by the Law of Armed Conflict, respect human rights and protect civilians.β
The British government said in a statement that regional security and human rights were both key considerations in its relationship with Nigeria.
The Nigerian government and military did not respond to Reutersβ requests for comment for this story. Previously, military and government leaders told Reuters the abortion programme did not exist and said children were never targeted for killing in the war.
Major General Christopher Musa, who leads the Nigerian counterinsurgency forces, told Reuters in a November interview that they were consistently trained to protect civilians as required by international law and the militaryβs own code of conduct. Nigerian forces also received training in human rights from the UN, the United States and the UK, he said.
He added that the military had been fully transparent with its international partners about its activities. βEverybody sees what we’re doing, and that we’re abiding by the rules.β
The United States and the United Kingdom see Nigeria as a key but troubled ally in Africa: It is the continentβs most populous country, its largest economy and the birthplace of Boko Haram and Islamic Stateβs West Africa affiliate. In April, the U.S. State Department approved a nearly $1 billion weapons sale and other military support to Nigeria after lawmakers had paused the deal over concerns about rights abuses.
Both America and Britain have seen the devastating effects of Islamist extremism, at home and abroad, and are intent on seeing it suppressed in Nigeria. But their support for the Nigerian military comes with serious internal misgivings.Β At times, βabuses are being sanctioned at the highest levels of Nigeriaβs military command,β a July 2018 UK government analysis reads.
The main reason for the continued military support by Washington and London, say some experts, is Nigeriaβs growing importance in Africa and globally.Β With hugeΒ oil and gas reserves, it is home to some 200 million peopleΒ and is on course to become the third most populous nation on the planet by 2050.Β If stable and successful, the country could become an economic and geopolitical powerhouse. If insecurity spreads, it could devolve into a vast failed state that exports extremism and migrants across the region and beyond.
βThe country’s current struggle for security, for effective democracy, and for enough economic opportunity to accommodate its constantly growing labour force will determine whether it is a force for growth and peace or a source of disorder spilling far beyond its borders,β said Michelle Gavin, an Africa specialistΒ on the National Security Council during the Obama administration.
Well aware of Nigeriaβs current and future strategic importance, diplomats in recent years have had less visibility on potential abuses because of the deteriorating security situation, especially in the countryβs northeast,Β said Alex Vines, head of the Africa programme at the Chatham House think tank in London.
Aid groups have a limited window as well, some humanitarian officials told Reuters. They are heavily restricted by the military in war-ravaged northeast Nigeria and need its approval to access populations caught up in one of the worldβs most pressing humanitarian crises. That limits their ability both to deliver aid in areas where civilians are most vulnerable and to bring abuses by security forces to light, they say.
Pressure on Nigeria is important, βfor impunity not to be an option.β
Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court (ICC), a body expressly set up to investigate and prosecute atrocity crimes, has been slow to act in Nigeria. Considered a court of last resort, it prosecutes only when national courts are unwilling or unable to bring defendants to justice.
In 2020, after a decade of preliminary examination, the ICC Office of the Prosecutor said there was βa reasonable basis to believeβ that war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed by Nigerian security forces, as well as by insurgents. Fatou Bensouda, the officeβs chief prosecutor until 2021, said that Nigerian officials had not held either side sufficiently to account, and criteria had been met for an investigation by her office. Two years later, the ICCβs new prosecutor has not opened one.
Bensouda told Reuters this month that Nigerian authorities dragged their feet in providing information her office sought. And as it became clear the ICC was looking at alleged crimes by government forces, as well as insurgents, members of the Nigerian governmentΒ threatened to halt cooperation altogether, she said.
By now, βcertainly, I think the case should have gone to the next stage,β she said, referring to a full ICC-run investigation.
Since taking office last year, the current ICC chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, βhas sought to accelerate action with respect to the situation in Nigeria,β the prosecutorβs office said in a statement after this report was published. It is the prosecutorβs view that βpreliminary examinations must be concluded promptly and lead to tangible next steps.β
The U.S. state and defence departments said in their statements that human rights are at βthe coreβ of the U.S.-Nigeria relationship. As a result, βthe Nigerian military has implemented mechanisms to engage in investigation of, accountability for, and prevention of misconduct, civilian casualties, and human rights violations and abuses,β the State Department said.
The British government said its partnership with Nigeria, which includes training of its armed forces, is intended to both address rising insecurity in the region and βprotect at-risk communities across the country.β
βAt the centre of this partnership,β the government said, βis a mutual understanding that respect for human rights must be paramount.β
βClimate of fearβ
Human rights groups began raising concerns about abuses by Nigerian security forces in the northeast soon after the war broke out in 2009.
InΒ 2012, the international group Human Rights Watch accused Nigeria’s government of responding βwith a heavy handβ to the insurgency and warned that crimes against humanityΒ may have been committed by government forces. Nigerian security forces βhave killed hundreds of Boko Haram suspects and random members of communities where attacks have occurred,βΒ the report said.
In 2015, the Center for Civilians in Conflict, a U.S.-based research group, reported that the Nigerian military had difficulty distinguishing between civilians and combatants and at times viewed civilians as βconspirators.βΒ The reportΒ said security forces βdirectly targetedβ civilians in the war, causing destruction of property, injury and death.
A U.S. Army explosive-ordnanceΒ disposal technicianΒ instructs a Nigerian soldier in a search for a potential improvised explosive device at the Nigerian Army School of Military EngineersΒ inΒ 2019. The United States is one of Nigeriaβs biggest providers of weapons and training.Β Sgt. Jennifer Garza/U.S. Army/Handout via REUTERS
The same year, Amnesty InternationalΒ reportedΒ that thousands of people had been subjected to arbitrary arrests and hundreds to extrajudicial killings, including at Giwa Barracks.
The Nigerian government dismissed Amnestyβs report as inaccurate, saying the organisation had βan agendaβ that was βagainst the security agencies and image of Nigeria before the international community.β
As the conflict in the northeast spread, the humanitarian crisis deepened. Hundreds of thousands of people were at risk of starvation, and suffering from violence and disease. Nigeria found itself in the uncomfortable position of needing international assistance.
The relationship between aid organisations and the authorities, both military and civilian, grew more tense. Humanitarian groups, used to a measure of independence in delivering food and medical care, chafed under military restrictions. For years,Β they have been barred from operating outside government-controlled areas.
βWhile respect for human rights is unquestionably a high priority, we have many other equities at stake.β
In 2019, Nigerian officials tightened the rules, requiring aid workers to βundergo lengthy processesβ to get approval for moving βpersonnel, cash and cargo,β according to aΒ 2020 Human Rights Watch report. On some routes, they were required to travel with armedΒ escorts.
Humanitarian groups say the militaryβs close control over their activities not only limits where they go and what they see, but also threatens their appearance of impartiality in the conflict, putting staff in danger of attack by insurgents and diminishing the likelihood that civilians will confide in them about military abuses.
Some aid agency officials told Reuters that staff members fear retaliation by the military if they voice concerns about how civilians are treated, including further restrictions on access,Β non-renewal of visas and closure of their offices. In 2019, two international aid groups, Action Against Hunger and Mercy Corps, had officesΒ closed by the militaryΒ due to accusations of alleged corruption or support for insurgents. The actions were later rescinded.
βThere is a climate of fear,β said one aid official, whose views echoed those of two others interviewed by Reuters. All spoke on condition of anonymity.
Competing interests
For years, U.S. officials have wrestled with the often-competing interests of collaborating with Nigerian authorities and pressing them over human rights concerns.
At the State Department in 2013, as Page was drawing attention to potential abuses by Nigerian security forces, he got pushback from the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria.
Ambassador Terence McCulley wrote to Pageβs boss, Matthew Harrington, in June of that year to express βconsiderable frustrationβ with Pageβs focus, according to an email seen by Reuters. Harrington was the State Departmentβs director of the Office of Analysis for Africa in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research.
βWhile respect for human rights is unquestionably a high priority, we have many other equities at stake,β McCulley wrote. Among them, the ambassador noted, was engagement between the U.S. and Nigerian militaries. He said the focus on human rights had sent relations between the two countries into the βlowest ebbβ in his three years there.
Harrington declined to comment.
Contacted for this story, McCulley told Reuters that he had been frustrated that Washington suspended training of a specific military unit βon the basis of very limited evidence.β He said his views reflected the U.S. diplomatic missionβs perspective at the time. Nigeria was βarguably our most important strategic partner on the African continent,β he said.
Soon, Boko Haramβs abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok, the town in northeastern Nigeria, horrified a world audience and changed the U.S. focus. Among other steps, President Obama announcedΒ a $40 million Global Security Contingency FundΒ to provide Nigeria and three other countries technical expertise, training and equipment.
At a May 2014 hearing about the Chibok abductions before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, some officials and lawmakersΒ voiced frustration at the challenges posed by working with the Nigerian military.
βThe military has too often built a record of indiscriminate destruction themselves, theft of personal property, arbitrary arrests, indefinite detention, torture and extrajudicial killing of civilians, much of this with impunity,β said then-Congressman Eliot Engel, a Democrat from New York.
Nigeriaβs human rights record wasnβt only a moral issue β it was a legal one.
The Leahy Laws, authored by Senator Patrick Leahy in the late 1990s, prohibit providing military assistance to individuals or security-force units that commit gross violations of human rights and have not been brought to justice. Sarah Sewall, then undersecretary of state for civilian security, democracy and human rights, testified at the May 2014 hearing that βsome 50% of the Nigerian militaryβ was ineligible for training and other military support from the United States because of the Leahy Laws. Sewall did not respond to a request for comment.
In 2014, Washington halted the resale of U.S.-made helicopters from Israel to Nigeria in part over human rights concerns. But in later years, deals went ahead despite similar worries.
In January 2017,Β the Nigerian Air ForceΒ bombedΒ a refugee camp, killing between 90 and 170 civilians. The attack prompted the Obama administration to freeze a $593 million sale of 12 A-29 Super Tucano light attack planes and thousands of bombs and rockets.
A few months later, the new administration of President DonaldΒ Trump resurrected the deal, citing the need to aid Nigeria in fighting Islamist extremists.
U.S. senators Cory Booker and Rand Paul protestedΒ in a letterΒ in June 2017 to Rex Tillerson, the secretary of state at the time. βWe are concerned that the decision to proceed with this sale will empower the government to backtrack even further on its commitments to human rights, accountability, and upholding international humanitarian law,βΒ they wrote.Β βThat ultimately helps to strengthen Boko Haram.β
Reuters was unable to reach Tillerson. AΒ spokesperson for Trump did not respond to a request for comment. Spokespersons for the Obama administration also did not respond to requests for comment.
In July 2021, with Biden now in the White House, U.S. lawmakersΒ put a holdΒ on aΒ $997 millionΒ arms sale to Nigeria over concerns about possible human rights abuses by the Nigerian government. But after Secretary of State Antony Blinken went to Nigeria in November that year and registered the concerns, the deal went ahead β the largest-ever sale of U.S. arms in sub-Saharan Africa. The deal included 12 AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters and 2,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon systems.
In their statements, U.S. defence and state department officials said that arms sales to the Nigerians were carefully vetted to ensure compliance with the Leahy Laws. Working under these laws provided βopenings to incentivise and institutionaliseβ human rights protections within the Nigerian military, the State Department said.
U.S. assistance has long been based on the assumption that continuing to train and engage with Nigeriaβs security forces would help make them more professional and therefore less likely to commit abuses, according to current and former U.S. officials and Nigeria experts.
As the U.S. is providing equipment, Blinken said during his November 2021 trip to Nigeria, it is ensuring βthat those who will be using the equipment are trained in a way that makes sure that they are doing it to avoid hurting the good guys even as theyβre going after the bad guys.β
Since 2000, the United States has provided at least 41,027 training slots for Nigerian military personnel, many focusing on compliance with international law and appropriate use of weapons to mitigate civilian harm, according to aΒ May 2022 reportΒ about Nigeria and its militaryΒ by Brown University and others.
However, continued reports of harm inflicted by Nigerian security forces, including civilian casualties and sexual violence, suggest βthat trainings provided by the U.S. and others have been insufficient in either quantity and scope or have not been appropriately targeted,β the report found.
Karen Hanrahan, who oversaw implementation of the Leahy Laws as a State Department official in the Obama administration,Β told Reuters that she, like Page, pushed for greater emphasis on human rights compliance in Nigeria.
The Nigerian government wanted more advanced technology βthat we knew, based objectively on all of the evidence, that they would have used to be more brutal,β said Hanrahan, a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary for democracy, human rights and labor. But the Nigerians were adept at pushing back on international pressure, she said, and invoked the legacy of colonialism.
They said βthat we should understand the situation theyβre in and what they have to do because they’re fighting terrorists,β Hanrahan said.
The bottom line, said some veteran diplomats, is the Nigerian military often got what it wanted.
βWhat they wanted is hardware, the attack aircraft and so forth, and I think they sort of roll their eyes at the lectures about human rights,β saidΒ Alex Thurston, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati and former desk officer at the State Department.
In comments to Reuters in November,Β Major General Musa said Nigerian security forces have been respectful of human rights but are still not receiving enough international help to defeat the insurgents.
βThe Nigerian armed forces is doing all the best to be very professional, to be able to end this menace,β he said. βBut unfortunately, we’re not getting the right support from even the Western world. And it’s very, very, extremely, very sad.β
A special relationship
British officials have long considered Nigeria, a former colony, as a βpriorityβ partner, with which it hasΒ long-standing economic and cultural ties.
The importance of the relationship is not fully captured in British exports to the Nigerian military, which have been much more modest than Americaβs. The United States agreed to sell more than $1.6 billion worth of arms to Nigeria in its two major deals since 2017.Β Since 2015,Β the UK approved at least $64 million (53 million pounds) in sales of military and dual-use goods, according to export licences from the Department for International Trade accessed via the Freedom of Information Act.
The UK is keen on engaging with the Nigerian government on economic, security and geopolitical issues, government documentsΒ seen by Reuters show. And it sees the governmentβs poor human rights record as a serious liability in this quest.
βOur engagement is not risk free and the shadow of Human Rights violations is always present,β states a briefing paper prepared by the British defence ministry in 2021. The paper underscores that the UK sees such violations as a βreputational risk.β The documentΒ was obtained and first reported on by the UK-based investigative media outletΒ Declassified. British officials did not respond to specific questions about the document, which was reviewed by Reuters.
Still, the UK has moved cautiously ahead in working with the Nigerian military, principally in offering training and non-lethal equipment while limiting collaboration on military operations.
Driving the UK, in part, is a fear of seeing its political and economic influence in Africa wane. In the 2021 briefing paper, the defence ministry expresses concern that the UK risks losing ground to other βcompetitorsβ in the sales of military equipment, including China and Russia. βNigeria is a potentially huge market for the UK,β and Lake Chad Basin countries, including Nigeria, βare often in a βhurryβ when it comes to procuring equipment and capability enhancements,β the paper states.
Between 2014 and 2020, in response to the Chibok kidnapping, the UK dedicated a small number of military personnel to serve in the northeast β including about a dozen liaison staff stationed at Maimalari Barracks in Maiduguri, according to a government document and several sources with knowledge of the postings. Reuters reported this month that forced abortions were occurring at that site during that period.
British officials have long been aware of other suspected abuses by Nigerian security forces, according to other government documents and interviews.
βSpecifically on theΒ northeast, the Nigerian military has never been human-rights compliant,β said one former foreign office analyst.
Around 2017, for example, staffers working in Nigeria for a humanitarian agency expressed concern in a report to British officials, including at the foreign office, about the fate of Nigerian men and boys detained in military operations. The staffers reported that the civilians, most of whom were perceived as insurgent sympathisers, were taken without any choice to aΒ βscreening centreβΒ that was not accessible to humanitarian agencies,Β according to a confidential report by the humanitarian group.
The following year, in a July meeting with aid groups, then-British defence secretary Gavin Williamson was briefed about issues including forced relocations, screening centres and βmissing men and boys,β according to a meeting schedule reviewed by Reuters.
Williamson did not respond to requests for comment about the meeting or whether he took any action as a result. The Ministry of Defence also did not respond to questions about the meeting.
About the same time, in July 2018, the British government prepared an analysis of the war in Nigeriaβs northeast and how London could best respond.
The report was produced by the Stabilisation Unit, run by the UK National Security Council. It raised a red flag: βIn certain circumstances, abuses are being sanctioned at the highest levels of Nigeriaβs military command, with the Presidential directive to defeat Boko Haram by the end of 2015 leading the military to adopt highly aggressive tactics, including the use of βscorched earthβ tactics, with the widespread burning of villages.β
The office of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari did not respond to a request for comment on the report.
A month later, the British government signed a security and defence partnership with the Nigerian government aimed at helping to end the Islamist insurgency in the northeast. As part of theΒ August 2018 pact, the UK agreed to provide more equipment and training to the Nigerian military, including help to train full army units before they deployed to the northeast.
The pact also noted that London and Abuja had agreed on an βenhanced human rights dialogueβ to ensure compliance with international rights standards.
The UKβs offer frustrated Nigerian military leaders, who felt it was not sufficient for the war effort, said two British officials who dealt with the Nigerian authorities at the time.
In 2020, Nigerian troops opened fire on civilians who were protesting police brutality in Lagos, the countryβs commercial capital. The shooting was widely condemned by the international community and led to a review of British security assistance to Nigeria, according to the 2021 defence ministry briefing paper obtained by Declassified.Β The review found that six of the 10 UK-funded projects in Nigeria held βa serious risk that the assistance might directly or significantly contribute to a violation of human rights.β
The review recommendedΒ changes including scaling back British military staff in Nigeria and focusing on helping the Nigerian military institutions reform.
At a meeting in London in early 2022, officials from the UK and Nigeria said they reaffirmed their countriesβ deep relationship based on shared principles of βdemocratic governance and respect for international humanitarian and human rights law.β
Accountability βessentialβ
Human rights abuses in Nigeria have long been scrutinised at the highest levels of the system meant to ensure justice across the world. The International Criminal Courtβs prosecutor opened a βpreliminary examinationβ in 2010 to determine whether anΒ investigation into possible charges was warranted. The office spent 10 years collecting and analysing information.
While doing so, the court pushed for Nigerian authorities to organise their own judicial proceedings. Some low-level insurgents went on trial. But in 2020, the then-prosecutor, Bensouda, saidΒ that Nigerian authorities βare deemed inactiveβ in partΒ because of the absence of relevant legal proceedings against alleged perpetrators of abuses in the security forces. Military authorities, Bensouda said, βinformed me that they have examined, and dismissed, allegations against their own troops.β
Six months before leaving office in 2021, Bensouda said the criteria for opening an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Nigeria had been met.
Nigeria has not clearly addressed in public the ICCβs role in examining possible abuses by its security forces. It has in the past broadly supported the mission of the court.
In April 2022, Khan, the courtβs new prosecutor, paid his first visit to Nigeria and met with President Buhari, the presidentβs deputy, the foreign minister and the acting solicitor general. βMy message was clear: accountability for atrocity crimes is essential,β Khan said after the meetings.
In its proposed budget for 2023, however, the court did not set aside any money for a full-scaleΒ Nigerian probe. It said it faced βan unprecedented workload, in terms of both volume and complexity.β In its statement to Reuters, Khanβs office said it is currently dealing with 14 ongoing investigations and needs βappropriate resources to be allocatedβ by member states.
Bensouda said that the lack of funds had been an issue for her, as well. But Nigeriaβs situation should be a priority, she said, along with the other cases around the world.
βThat pressure is important,β she said, βfor impunity not to be an option.β
EDITORβS NOTE: This story was updated to include post-publication comments from the prosecutorβs office of the International Criminal Court.
Nightmare in Nigeria
By David Lewis, Reade Levinson and Libby George
Photo editing: Simon Newman
Art direction: Catherine Tai
Edited by Julie Marquis and Alexandra Zavis
Source: Reuters
