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Question of the Day: Do you think Bafana Bafana will win tonight?
The Boko Haram Thread
- Thread starter LazyLion
- Start date
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
Nigerian Military shells Insurgent Camp, 21 killed
Soldiers in northeast Nigeria shelled suspected camps of Islamic extremists in the first military action of a new offensive against the insurgents, killing at least 21 people, a security official said Friday.
The fighting was in the Sambisa Forest Reserve, just south of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, which soldiers previously raided on the hunt for fighters belonging to the extremist network known as Boko Haram. Meanwhile, gunmen launched an assault on the hometown of one of Nigeria's former military rulers hundreds of miles (kilometers) away, attacking a police station and banks.
Soldiers started the attack on Sambisa Forest Reserve on Thursday, having previously converged in the area in advance of President Goodluck Jonathan's state of emergency decree affecting three states in the nation's northeast, a security official said. The shelling killed at least 21 suspected Islamic extremists, the official said. There was no independent confirmation of the assault or casualties.
"We are not going to leave the forest until it's over," the official said, referring to the emergency rule.
The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing military operation. Brig. Gen. Chris Olukolade, a military spokesman based in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, could not be immediately reached for comment Friday.
In a related development, mobile phone service returned Friday morning to parts of northeast Nigeria after being cut Thursday. The security official told the AP that the service cut came on the orders of Nigeria's government and security forces as soldiers moved into the northeast to begin operations. The official said service likely would be shut off again.
Mobile phones have become the only real communication device in Nigeria for both voice calls and the Internet, as the state-run telephone company collapsed years ago. By cutting off service at towers, the military could stop extremists from receiving warnings or intelligence ahead of their operations. Authorities said Thursday they had no information about the service cutoff or refused to comment.
Nigeria's military and security forces have tracked fighters by their mobile phone signals in the past as well, prompting extremists from Boko Haram to attack mobile phone towers in the region.
Under the president's directive, soldiers have ultimate control over security matters in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states. Over the last few days, witnesses and AP journalists have seen convoys of soldiers in trucks and buses moving through the region, as well as trucks carrying armored personnel carriers. Jet fighters also have been seen flying low over Yola, the capital of Adamawa state.
This new military campaign comes on top of a previous massive deployment of soldiers and police to the region. That deployment failed to stop violence by Islamic extremists, who have killed more than 1,600 people since 2010, according to an AP count.
Jonathan's emergency decree, declared on Tuesday, allows civilian governments to remain in place. Adamawa state Gov. Murtala Nyako, who belongs to Jonathan's ruling People's Democratic Party, criticized the president's decision in a radio address Thursday night.
"I believe that the declaration has been a shock to the people of the state and others," Nyako said. "True, this state has witnessed a few criminal activities by armed hoodlums in the last few years, but so (have) other states in the federation."
That could be seen Thursday night in Daura, a rural town in Katsina state that's the home of former military ruler and perennial presidential candidate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. There, far from the states under emergency rule, gunmen attacked a police station and at least two banks, witnesses said. Police officials declined to immediately comment about the attack Friday.
--
Associated Press writers also contributing to this report include Jon Gambrell in Lagos, Nigeria; Ibrahim Abdul in Yola, Nigeria; and Muawiya Garba Funtua in Katsina, Nigeria.
Source : Sapa-AP /mjs
Date : 17 May 2013 14:09
Soldiers in northeast Nigeria shelled suspected camps of Islamic extremists in the first military action of a new offensive against the insurgents, killing at least 21 people, a security official said Friday.
The fighting was in the Sambisa Forest Reserve, just south of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, which soldiers previously raided on the hunt for fighters belonging to the extremist network known as Boko Haram. Meanwhile, gunmen launched an assault on the hometown of one of Nigeria's former military rulers hundreds of miles (kilometers) away, attacking a police station and banks.
Soldiers started the attack on Sambisa Forest Reserve on Thursday, having previously converged in the area in advance of President Goodluck Jonathan's state of emergency decree affecting three states in the nation's northeast, a security official said. The shelling killed at least 21 suspected Islamic extremists, the official said. There was no independent confirmation of the assault or casualties.
"We are not going to leave the forest until it's over," the official said, referring to the emergency rule.
The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing military operation. Brig. Gen. Chris Olukolade, a military spokesman based in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, could not be immediately reached for comment Friday.
In a related development, mobile phone service returned Friday morning to parts of northeast Nigeria after being cut Thursday. The security official told the AP that the service cut came on the orders of Nigeria's government and security forces as soldiers moved into the northeast to begin operations. The official said service likely would be shut off again.
Mobile phones have become the only real communication device in Nigeria for both voice calls and the Internet, as the state-run telephone company collapsed years ago. By cutting off service at towers, the military could stop extremists from receiving warnings or intelligence ahead of their operations. Authorities said Thursday they had no information about the service cutoff or refused to comment.
Nigeria's military and security forces have tracked fighters by their mobile phone signals in the past as well, prompting extremists from Boko Haram to attack mobile phone towers in the region.
Under the president's directive, soldiers have ultimate control over security matters in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states. Over the last few days, witnesses and AP journalists have seen convoys of soldiers in trucks and buses moving through the region, as well as trucks carrying armored personnel carriers. Jet fighters also have been seen flying low over Yola, the capital of Adamawa state.
This new military campaign comes on top of a previous massive deployment of soldiers and police to the region. That deployment failed to stop violence by Islamic extremists, who have killed more than 1,600 people since 2010, according to an AP count.
Jonathan's emergency decree, declared on Tuesday, allows civilian governments to remain in place. Adamawa state Gov. Murtala Nyako, who belongs to Jonathan's ruling People's Democratic Party, criticized the president's decision in a radio address Thursday night.
"I believe that the declaration has been a shock to the people of the state and others," Nyako said. "True, this state has witnessed a few criminal activities by armed hoodlums in the last few years, but so (have) other states in the federation."
That could be seen Thursday night in Daura, a rural town in Katsina state that's the home of former military ruler and perennial presidential candidate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. There, far from the states under emergency rule, gunmen attacked a police station and at least two banks, witnesses said. Police officials declined to immediately comment about the attack Friday.
--
Associated Press writers also contributing to this report include Jon Gambrell in Lagos, Nigeria; Ibrahim Abdul in Yola, Nigeria; and Muawiya Garba Funtua in Katsina, Nigeria.
Source : Sapa-AP /mjs
Date : 17 May 2013 14:09
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
Air strikes, casualties in Nigerian Military Offensive
Nigeria's military on Friday attacked Boko Haram Islamist strongholds across the northeast, launching deadly air strikes on insurgent camps, the military said, while residents reported that forces had deployed in border areas to block the militants from fleeing.
Several thousand soldiers have spread across three northeastern states where President Goodluck Jonathan imposed a state of emergency after Boko Haram seized territory and declared war against the government.
"There have been air strikes since Wednesday," defence spokesman Brigadier General Chris Olukolade told AFP, specifying that they were continuing Friday.
"Every one of their strongholds is under attack," he said, adding that he believed "there are a lot of casualties," without providing a figure.
The offensive is ongoing in all three states put under emergency decree, including Adamawa and Yobe, but Borno state is expected to see the most intense fighting.
Many have warned that there is a risk of high civilian deaths and Nigeria's military has been accused of massive rights violations in the past, including indiscriminate attacks on civilians.
The operation is the largest against Boko Haram since 2009, when soldiers flooded Borno's capital Maiduguri, killing more than 800 people and forcing the insurgents underground for a year.
In the town of Gamburu Ngala on the border with Cameroon in northern Borno, residents said that heavily armed troops and tanks arrived on Wednesday, sealing off previously unmanned border posts.
Northeast Nigeria, the epicentre of the Boko Haram insurgency, has porous borders with Cameroon, Chad and Niger, with criminal groups and militants flowing freely between the countries.
"Since January the border posts have been abandoned...but now these posts have been taken over by soldiers," said resident Haruna Garba.
Olukolade confirmed that forces had been sent to the region, but would not say whether the borders had been sealed.
Reports of Boko Haram's presence in Cameroon first emerged in February, following the kidnap there of a French family visiting a game park near the Nigerian border.
The abduction was claimed by Boko Haram and the family was released in April.
Soldiers have surrounded the town of Krenuwa in Marte district, also in northern Borno and one of the areas where Boko Haram has taken power, chased away all government officials and removed Nigerian flags, residents said.
Abur Kullima told AFP Friday that he fled his home in Krenuwa in fear of the coming assault.
He said that after the state of emergency was declared in a national broadcast late Tuesday, Islamist gunmen began moving through the district trying to mobilise people "in preparation to face Nigerian troops."
"I was so scared for my life and my family's, which led me to decide to leave," he told AFP from Gamburu Ngala, where he is staying with a friend.
Anyone who tries to leave Krenuwa is screened by the soldiers who have encircled the town, he said.
Boko Haram has become notorious for blending in with the local population, both in towns and major cities where they have carried out suicide bombings as well as gun and bomb assaults.
The group says it is fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north, but its demands have repeatedly shifted.
Some believe it has sought closer ties to foreign extremist groups like Al-Qaeda's North Africa affiliate, but most analysts believe its agenda is primarily domestic.
Nigeria is Africa's top oil producer but the population remains extremely poor and many of Boko Haram's fighters are believed to be youths radicalised out of frustration with government corruption.
The conflict is estimated to have cost 3,600 lives since 2009, including killings by the security forces.
Source : Sapa-AFP /mjs
Date : 17 May 2013 14:20
Nigeria's military on Friday attacked Boko Haram Islamist strongholds across the northeast, launching deadly air strikes on insurgent camps, the military said, while residents reported that forces had deployed in border areas to block the militants from fleeing.
Several thousand soldiers have spread across three northeastern states where President Goodluck Jonathan imposed a state of emergency after Boko Haram seized territory and declared war against the government.
"There have been air strikes since Wednesday," defence spokesman Brigadier General Chris Olukolade told AFP, specifying that they were continuing Friday.
"Every one of their strongholds is under attack," he said, adding that he believed "there are a lot of casualties," without providing a figure.
The offensive is ongoing in all three states put under emergency decree, including Adamawa and Yobe, but Borno state is expected to see the most intense fighting.
Many have warned that there is a risk of high civilian deaths and Nigeria's military has been accused of massive rights violations in the past, including indiscriminate attacks on civilians.
The operation is the largest against Boko Haram since 2009, when soldiers flooded Borno's capital Maiduguri, killing more than 800 people and forcing the insurgents underground for a year.
In the town of Gamburu Ngala on the border with Cameroon in northern Borno, residents said that heavily armed troops and tanks arrived on Wednesday, sealing off previously unmanned border posts.
Northeast Nigeria, the epicentre of the Boko Haram insurgency, has porous borders with Cameroon, Chad and Niger, with criminal groups and militants flowing freely between the countries.
"Since January the border posts have been abandoned...but now these posts have been taken over by soldiers," said resident Haruna Garba.
Olukolade confirmed that forces had been sent to the region, but would not say whether the borders had been sealed.
Reports of Boko Haram's presence in Cameroon first emerged in February, following the kidnap there of a French family visiting a game park near the Nigerian border.
The abduction was claimed by Boko Haram and the family was released in April.
Soldiers have surrounded the town of Krenuwa in Marte district, also in northern Borno and one of the areas where Boko Haram has taken power, chased away all government officials and removed Nigerian flags, residents said.
Abur Kullima told AFP Friday that he fled his home in Krenuwa in fear of the coming assault.
He said that after the state of emergency was declared in a national broadcast late Tuesday, Islamist gunmen began moving through the district trying to mobilise people "in preparation to face Nigerian troops."
"I was so scared for my life and my family's, which led me to decide to leave," he told AFP from Gamburu Ngala, where he is staying with a friend.
Anyone who tries to leave Krenuwa is screened by the soldiers who have encircled the town, he said.
Boko Haram has become notorious for blending in with the local population, both in towns and major cities where they have carried out suicide bombings as well as gun and bomb assaults.
The group says it is fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north, but its demands have repeatedly shifted.
Some believe it has sought closer ties to foreign extremist groups like Al-Qaeda's North Africa affiliate, but most analysts believe its agenda is primarily domestic.
Nigeria is Africa's top oil producer but the population remains extremely poor and many of Boko Haram's fighters are believed to be youths radicalised out of frustration with government corruption.
The conflict is estimated to have cost 3,600 lives since 2009, including killings by the security forces.
Source : Sapa-AFP /mjs
Date : 17 May 2013 14:20
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
Nigeria's Islamists could face war crimes charges: UN
Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists could face charges of crimes against humanity, the UN's human rights office warned Friday, also urging the government to ensure civilians are not swept up in an army counter-offensive.
"Members of Boko Haram and other groups and entities, if judged to have committed widespread or systematic attacks against a civilian population -- including on grounds such as religion or ethnicity -- could be found guilty of crimes against humanity," said Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
"Deliberate acts leading to population 'cleansing' on grounds of religion or ethnicity could also amount to a crime against humanity," he told reporters.
Nigeria's military has launched an offensive against Boko Haram strongholds, after President Goodluck Jonathan imposed a state of emergency in three northeastern states following the Islamists' seizure of territory and declaration of war on the government.
Colville underlined that UN rights chief Navi Pillay had repeatedly slammed the "cowardly attacks" by Boko Haram against civilians, politicians, the security forces and foreign nationals.
But with Nigeria's military accused of massive rights violations in the past, including indiscriminate attacks on the ordinary population, there are warnings of a risk of high number of civilian deaths.
"We also call on the Nigerian government to make sure its efforts to achieve security are in full compliance with human rights principles," said Colville.
"We urge security forces and the military to respect human rights, and avoid excessive use of force when conducting operations, as these can all too easily feed local resentment, especially when civilians are killed or have their property damaged," he added.
Boko Haram has become notorious for blending in with the local population, both in towns and major cities where they have carried out suicide bombings as well as gun and bomb assaults.
The conflict is estimated to have cost 3,600 lives since 2009, including killings by the security forces.
Source : Sapa-AFP /mjs
Date : 17 May 2013 15:56
Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists could face charges of crimes against humanity, the UN's human rights office warned Friday, also urging the government to ensure civilians are not swept up in an army counter-offensive.
"Members of Boko Haram and other groups and entities, if judged to have committed widespread or systematic attacks against a civilian population -- including on grounds such as religion or ethnicity -- could be found guilty of crimes against humanity," said Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
"Deliberate acts leading to population 'cleansing' on grounds of religion or ethnicity could also amount to a crime against humanity," he told reporters.
Nigeria's military has launched an offensive against Boko Haram strongholds, after President Goodluck Jonathan imposed a state of emergency in three northeastern states following the Islamists' seizure of territory and declaration of war on the government.
Colville underlined that UN rights chief Navi Pillay had repeatedly slammed the "cowardly attacks" by Boko Haram against civilians, politicians, the security forces and foreign nationals.
But with Nigeria's military accused of massive rights violations in the past, including indiscriminate attacks on the ordinary population, there are warnings of a risk of high number of civilian deaths.
"We also call on the Nigerian government to make sure its efforts to achieve security are in full compliance with human rights principles," said Colville.
"We urge security forces and the military to respect human rights, and avoid excessive use of force when conducting operations, as these can all too easily feed local resentment, especially when civilians are killed or have their property damaged," he added.
Boko Haram has become notorious for blending in with the local population, both in towns and major cities where they have carried out suicide bombings as well as gun and bomb assaults.
The conflict is estimated to have cost 3,600 lives since 2009, including killings by the security forces.
Source : Sapa-AFP /mjs
Date : 17 May 2013 15:56
Again, our beliefs have nothing to do with what is happening in those countries. And Il say this again, I can google priest+children and il get list of child molestors, does that mean Christians condone that behaviour? No. Make an effort and actually speak to a learned person in the religion of Islam (no, I am not one) and you'll find out the true nature of what we follow. Until then, your opinion doesn't really mean much to me as it was derived from "googling"
marine1
Honorary Master
Wow just wow.
So Google is the bad one now?
Islamic countries are backward and barbaric all in the name of a religion.
They have failed to change with the times.
With them you are either with them or you die.
Would you really want to go down this road and debate it?
No problem with google. Problem with people like you who sit at a PC then claim to know everything. Pointless saying much to you, as you only believe what you want to. No debate will ever change your mind, so I won''t waste my energy. Goodluck, hopefully one day, you can look at life positively and see that not all people from a certain religion/location/culture are bad.
Peace out.
marine1
Honorary Master
I do not know everything. Its funny though, and very simple.
Support for Israel and the west will change my opinion in a flash. Not fence sitting and saying yes both sides are wrong, take a stand and stand against Arab terror. That will change my mind right away
Lightscribe
Banned
Again, your belief does have everything to do with it. I have spoken to Muslims since I was 11...I have spoken to people of different religions for a large part of my life. Politicians also. At 23, in Dec 1988, I was in the Union Buildings, on behalf of my African friends, chatting about serious events in South Africa, following Barend Hendrik Strydom's rampage. They told me then, to tell my friends that we would have a Black president in two years. What were you doing back then?
Now that you know more about my opinion, not just being from Googling, discuss your worldview with us. We are always interested in hearing of lasting solutions from Muslims, rather than instant self righteous defense of your worldview.
We know that not all are. That's why we are talking to you. Do you think we could have the kind of conversations we have here, in any Muslim country? See that. Yes, that intolerance for free speech and a great deal of other hateful stuff.
It's hard to look under the bed, but at some stage Muslims need to. Look at it express itself. Google "Islamic terrorism"...
Last edited:
No the beliefs of islam has everything to do with this.
It's like trying to ignore the gropers, pedophiles and granny touchers in the family. Everybody hates them but we all know they are there and there's quite a few of them.
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
14 Insurgents, 3 Soldiers killed in offensive
The Nigerian army's offensive against Boko Haram Islamists in the north of the country has left 14 insurgents and three soldiers dead, the defence ministry said Sunday in its latest toll from the operation.
"After a mop up of scenes of battle (since Saturday), 14 terrorists were confirmed dead... Altogether three soldiers died, while seven are wounded and are being treated in a military medical facility," the ministry said in a statement.
Source : Sapa-AFP /sm
Date : 19 May 2013 20:15
The Nigerian army's offensive against Boko Haram Islamists in the north of the country has left 14 insurgents and three soldiers dead, the defence ministry said Sunday in its latest toll from the operation.
"After a mop up of scenes of battle (since Saturday), 14 terrorists were confirmed dead... Altogether three soldiers died, while seven are wounded and are being treated in a military medical facility," the ministry said in a statement.
Source : Sapa-AFP /sm
Date : 19 May 2013 20:15
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
Fighting escelates in key city
A key city in northeast Nigeria was on lockdown Sunday as the military enforced a 24-hour curfew and blocked supply routes in its sweeping campaign against Islamist insurgents.
The operation against Boko Haram, the group that wants an Islamic state in northern Nigeria, is aimed at retaking territory seized by the militants and ridding the country of "terrorist activities," the miltary has said.
The offensive has included air strikes on Boko Haram strongholds in remote parts of northeastern Borno state, and has spread to the state capital Maiduguri, the insurgents' traditional home base -- which residents said Sunday was under a blockade.
Soldiers sealed roads heading out of Maiduguri, blocking supply routes to remote towns where Boko Haram Islamists have seized power, residents said.
"There is a huge build-up of trucks loaded with essential commodities... along the Baga road on the way out of Maiduguri to the northern part of the state," said resident Ibrahim Yahaya.
"The drivers said they have been prevented by the military from going northward," he told AFP by email.
The phone network in Borno has all but collapsed since President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday declared a state of emergency there and in two neighbouring states, Adamawa and Yobe.
The military on Saturday imposed a round-the-clock curfew in 12 Maiduguri neighbourhoods considered Boko Haram bastions.
The curfew was being enforced on Sunday, with most roads deserted, an AFP journalist reported, while some living in areas not impacted by the curfew also stayed in doors.
"My area is not affected but I have to stay at home with my family," trader Ezekiel Adamu said.
He explained that he was afraid of coming across soldiers, who "seem to have more power with the state of emergency."
-- 'This is the challenge of emergency rule' --
Supplies were also running short in the city, where Boko Haram was founded more than a decade ago by the radical cleric Mohammed Yusuf, who was killed in detention in 2009.
The price of basic goods has soared with supply lorries prevented from entering the city.
"We've been eating without meat since Friday... but there is nothing I can do. This is the challenge of emergency rule," said resident David Olutayo.
Supply shortages and price hikes have also started to bite in the town of Gomboru Ngala, on the border with Cameroon, where some Borno residents have fled to escape the air raids.
"Trucks bringing in goods from Maiduguri have ceased since last week," said resident Grema Babagoni, adding that prices have soared as much as 25 percent.
"If the blockade continues for some time we may completely run out of supplies," he told AFP
Residents in Gomboru Ngala can be reached by phone as the service uses Cameroonian lines.
The town has seen an influx of people fleeing the nearby Marte district, one of the areas where Boko Haram chased out the government and removed Nigerian flags.
Marte has been among the areas targeted by air strikes, residents have told AFP.
A senior rescue official who requested anonymity told AFP that he had could not say what impact the offensive has had on civilians because his staff in Borno and Yobe have been unreachable.
"I have sent emails and texts but have not heard anything yet," the official said.
The operation could prove to be the largest ever against Boko Haram.
A brutal crackdown on the insurgents in 2009, concentrated in Maiduguri, killed more than 800 people and forced the Islamists underground for a year.
Since re-emerging in 2010, they have carried out scores of attacks, including gun raids and suicide bombings.
Many fear that like the 2009 crackdown, the current campaign may fail to crush the group.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous country and top oil producer, has been urged to tackle root causes of the conflict, including acute poverty and excessive government corruption which has helped radicalise many young Muslims in the north.
There is also a risk of high civilian casualties, with Nigeria's military having been accused of massive rights abuses in the past.
The conflict is estimated to have cost 3,600 lives since 2009, including killings by the security services.
Jonathan has said that negotiations remain possible amid the sweeping offensive, but the Islamists have so far shown no signs of wanting to talk.
Source : Sapa-AFP /sdv
Date : 19 May 2013 18:46
A key city in northeast Nigeria was on lockdown Sunday as the military enforced a 24-hour curfew and blocked supply routes in its sweeping campaign against Islamist insurgents.
The operation against Boko Haram, the group that wants an Islamic state in northern Nigeria, is aimed at retaking territory seized by the militants and ridding the country of "terrorist activities," the miltary has said.
The offensive has included air strikes on Boko Haram strongholds in remote parts of northeastern Borno state, and has spread to the state capital Maiduguri, the insurgents' traditional home base -- which residents said Sunday was under a blockade.
Soldiers sealed roads heading out of Maiduguri, blocking supply routes to remote towns where Boko Haram Islamists have seized power, residents said.
"There is a huge build-up of trucks loaded with essential commodities... along the Baga road on the way out of Maiduguri to the northern part of the state," said resident Ibrahim Yahaya.
"The drivers said they have been prevented by the military from going northward," he told AFP by email.
The phone network in Borno has all but collapsed since President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday declared a state of emergency there and in two neighbouring states, Adamawa and Yobe.
The military on Saturday imposed a round-the-clock curfew in 12 Maiduguri neighbourhoods considered Boko Haram bastions.
The curfew was being enforced on Sunday, with most roads deserted, an AFP journalist reported, while some living in areas not impacted by the curfew also stayed in doors.
"My area is not affected but I have to stay at home with my family," trader Ezekiel Adamu said.
He explained that he was afraid of coming across soldiers, who "seem to have more power with the state of emergency."
-- 'This is the challenge of emergency rule' --
Supplies were also running short in the city, where Boko Haram was founded more than a decade ago by the radical cleric Mohammed Yusuf, who was killed in detention in 2009.
The price of basic goods has soared with supply lorries prevented from entering the city.
"We've been eating without meat since Friday... but there is nothing I can do. This is the challenge of emergency rule," said resident David Olutayo.
Supply shortages and price hikes have also started to bite in the town of Gomboru Ngala, on the border with Cameroon, where some Borno residents have fled to escape the air raids.
"Trucks bringing in goods from Maiduguri have ceased since last week," said resident Grema Babagoni, adding that prices have soared as much as 25 percent.
"If the blockade continues for some time we may completely run out of supplies," he told AFP
Residents in Gomboru Ngala can be reached by phone as the service uses Cameroonian lines.
The town has seen an influx of people fleeing the nearby Marte district, one of the areas where Boko Haram chased out the government and removed Nigerian flags.
Marte has been among the areas targeted by air strikes, residents have told AFP.
A senior rescue official who requested anonymity told AFP that he had could not say what impact the offensive has had on civilians because his staff in Borno and Yobe have been unreachable.
"I have sent emails and texts but have not heard anything yet," the official said.
The operation could prove to be the largest ever against Boko Haram.
A brutal crackdown on the insurgents in 2009, concentrated in Maiduguri, killed more than 800 people and forced the Islamists underground for a year.
Since re-emerging in 2010, they have carried out scores of attacks, including gun raids and suicide bombings.
Many fear that like the 2009 crackdown, the current campaign may fail to crush the group.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous country and top oil producer, has been urged to tackle root causes of the conflict, including acute poverty and excessive government corruption which has helped radicalise many young Muslims in the north.
There is also a risk of high civilian casualties, with Nigeria's military having been accused of massive rights abuses in the past.
The conflict is estimated to have cost 3,600 lives since 2009, including killings by the security services.
Jonathan has said that negotiations remain possible amid the sweeping offensive, but the Islamists have so far shown no signs of wanting to talk.
Source : Sapa-AFP /sdv
Date : 19 May 2013 18:46
Lightscribe
Banned
He obviously has no idea who he is fighting...
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
Nigeria says it has retaken five Islamist strongholds
Nigeria's military said Monday it had re-established control in five remote areas of the northeast where Islamist insurgents had seized territory, as it pressed on with a sweeping offensive against Boko Haram militants.
Several thousand troops were last week deployed across three states in the volatile region, and fighter jets have pounded Boko Haram camps as the military tries to rid the country of "terrorist activities."
The military has "secured the environs of New Marte, Hausari, Krenoa, Wulgo and Chikun Ngulalo after destroying all the terrorists' camps," a defence ministry statement said.
All of the areas recaptured in northern Borno state near the Cameroon border were considered Boko Haram strongholds.
President Goodluck Jonathan sent his troops in after declaring a state of emergency in Borno and two neighbouring states of Yobe and Adamawa.
He said Boko Haram -- whose shifting demands include the creation of an Islamic state in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north -- had chased out local officials in some areas and removed the Nigerian flag.
Residents in New Marte and Krenoa have told AFP they were among the areas targeted by military air strikes.
"The troops are already interacting with locals and citizens assuring them of their safety and freedom from the activities of insurgents," the statement added.
The military said that 120 suspected insurgents were arrested while organising the funeral of one of their leaders in Maiduguri, who had "died in an encounter with special forces the previous day."
The arrested suspects are being interrogated by the military, said the statement, adding that troops had also blocked insurgents trying to flee towards neighbouring Chad and Niger.
Sources in Cameroon said thousands of Nigerians fleeing the fighting had crossed the border in recent days.
"Since Nigeria declared the state of emergency, they have been coming here," a Cameroonian security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
An AFP reporter in the village of Seram, barely a mile from the Nigerian border, saw several hundred Nigerian civilians who had set up camp.
Aly Doukar, a Nigerian driver from the village of Woulgo, said his home was deserted when he returned from work last week.
"When I enquired, I heard the army had been there and fired shots in the air. I was told my family had fled to Cameroon. This is why I am here, I've come to bring them back," he said.
The remote, thinly populated region of northern Nigeria has porous borders where criminal groups and weapons have flowed freely for years, and the army has deployed troops to seal border crossings.
The military on Saturday imposed a round-the-clock curfew in 12 Maiduguri neighbourhoods considered Boko Haram strongholds.
There is a risk of high civilian casualties, with the Nigerian military having been accused of massive rights abuses in the past.
The Boko Haram conflict is estimated to have cost 3,600 lives since 2009, including killings by the security services.
Finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Monday sought to assure the international community that despite current security challenges, the nation's economy, the second largest in Africa, was still strong.
"Economic growth was 6.5% in the first quarter of 2013, inflation is down to single digit, fiscal deficit is only 1.8 of GDP, foreign reserves stand at $48 billion," her office said in a statement.
Source : Sapa-AFP /mjs
Date : 20 May 2013 22:23
Nigeria's military said Monday it had re-established control in five remote areas of the northeast where Islamist insurgents had seized territory, as it pressed on with a sweeping offensive against Boko Haram militants.
Several thousand troops were last week deployed across three states in the volatile region, and fighter jets have pounded Boko Haram camps as the military tries to rid the country of "terrorist activities."
The military has "secured the environs of New Marte, Hausari, Krenoa, Wulgo and Chikun Ngulalo after destroying all the terrorists' camps," a defence ministry statement said.
All of the areas recaptured in northern Borno state near the Cameroon border were considered Boko Haram strongholds.
President Goodluck Jonathan sent his troops in after declaring a state of emergency in Borno and two neighbouring states of Yobe and Adamawa.
He said Boko Haram -- whose shifting demands include the creation of an Islamic state in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north -- had chased out local officials in some areas and removed the Nigerian flag.
Residents in New Marte and Krenoa have told AFP they were among the areas targeted by military air strikes.
"The troops are already interacting with locals and citizens assuring them of their safety and freedom from the activities of insurgents," the statement added.
The military said that 120 suspected insurgents were arrested while organising the funeral of one of their leaders in Maiduguri, who had "died in an encounter with special forces the previous day."
The arrested suspects are being interrogated by the military, said the statement, adding that troops had also blocked insurgents trying to flee towards neighbouring Chad and Niger.
Sources in Cameroon said thousands of Nigerians fleeing the fighting had crossed the border in recent days.
"Since Nigeria declared the state of emergency, they have been coming here," a Cameroonian security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
An AFP reporter in the village of Seram, barely a mile from the Nigerian border, saw several hundred Nigerian civilians who had set up camp.
Aly Doukar, a Nigerian driver from the village of Woulgo, said his home was deserted when he returned from work last week.
"When I enquired, I heard the army had been there and fired shots in the air. I was told my family had fled to Cameroon. This is why I am here, I've come to bring them back," he said.
The remote, thinly populated region of northern Nigeria has porous borders where criminal groups and weapons have flowed freely for years, and the army has deployed troops to seal border crossings.
The military on Saturday imposed a round-the-clock curfew in 12 Maiduguri neighbourhoods considered Boko Haram strongholds.
There is a risk of high civilian casualties, with the Nigerian military having been accused of massive rights abuses in the past.
The Boko Haram conflict is estimated to have cost 3,600 lives since 2009, including killings by the security services.
Finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Monday sought to assure the international community that despite current security challenges, the nation's economy, the second largest in Africa, was still strong.
"Economic growth was 6.5% in the first quarter of 2013, inflation is down to single digit, fiscal deficit is only 1.8 of GDP, foreign reserves stand at $48 billion," her office said in a statement.
Source : Sapa-AFP /mjs
Date : 20 May 2013 22:23
Nerfherder
Honorary Master
Still has the best name for a president ever : Goodluck Johnathan.
I have a feeling this conflict is not going to end well.
I have a feeling this conflict is not going to end well.
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
Nigeria to release all women held for 'Terrorism'
Nigeria said Tuesday it would release several suspects held for "terrorist activities," including all women in custody, in what it called a peace gesture to the Islamists it is battling in the north.
The announcement came as Nigeria pressed ahead with a nearly week-old offensive against Islamist insurgents in the northeast of Africa's most populous nation, while the Red Cross said at least 2,400 people had fled violence in the region.
"Consequent upon the directives of the president ... the Defence Headquarters will be releasing from detention a number of persons being held in connection with terrorist activities," a defence statement said, adding it included "all women under custody."
Islamist extremist group Boko Haram has previously demanded the release of women prisoners, though the defence statement made no mention of the demand.
The statement said the move was linked to recommendations from a panel set up by the presidency to explore options for dialogue with the insurgents.
"The measure, which is in line with presidential magnanimity to enhance peace efforts in the country, will result in freedom for suspects including all women under custody," it said.
Nigerian authorities have been accused of unlawful detentions and indiscriminate arrests in connection with the Islamist insurgency.
Residents caught up in the violence were given a measure of relief on Tuesday, with authorities relaxing a round-the-clock curfew in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, Boko Haram's stronghold.
The relaxing of the curfew, initially imposed on Saturday, allowed residents to begin venturing out between 7:00 am (0600 GMT) and 5:00 pm to restock on food and supplies.
"I have been indoor since Saturday night because of the 24-hour curfew," one resident said. "I have to come out today to get money in the bank and purchase food items and other essential commodities for my family."
However, the government gave no sign that its offensive would let up and requested support from neighbouring Niger.
"As you know, there are operations in progress in Nigeria in three states very affected by the problem of terrorism, and we are hoping to have support from the Republic of Niger in the battle to defeat these terrorists," Nigerian junior foreign minister Nurudeen Muhammed said.
Speaking in Niger after talks with President Mahamadou Issoufou, he did not specify what type of support.
Nigeria launched the sweeping operation on May 15, deploying thousands of troops across three states -- Adamawa, Borno and Yobe -- where President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency after the Islamists seized territory.
Fighter jets targeted Boko Haram strongholds in the offensive seeking to end the deadly Islamist insurgency underway since 2009. Telecommunications in affected areas have been out of service since the weekend.
On Monday, Nigeria's military said it had re-established control in five remote areas of the northeast. About 120 of the insurgents had also been arrested, the military had said.
Nigeria's military has previously been accused of major abuses in its fight against Boko Haram, and activists as well as the United States have raised concerns over the latest fighting.
The Boko Haram conflict is estimated to have cost 3,600 lives since 2009, including killings by the security services.
At least 2,400 people had fled violence in northern Nigeria and were being provided with emergency supplies in the Diffa area of Niger, the Red Cross said Tuesday.
"These people, most of whom are originally from Niger but settled in Nigeria some time back, in some cases decades ago, are completely destitute," said Jean-Nicolas Marti, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross' regional delegation for Niger and Mali.
"They have been taken in by families that are sharing their meagre resources with them."
The Red Cross noted that the Diffa area was the scene earlier this year of severe flooding.
"If population displacement were to continue at the current pace, or to increase, there is a risk that the delicate economic and food balance in the area could be destroyed, with consequences for the resident population," said Marti.
In neighbouring Cameroon, authorities have tightened border controls to prevent fleeing Boko Haram insurgents from taking refuge there.
"But it is not easy to track down suspected Boko Haram members because of the porosity of the borders," a police officer in the Fotokol district told AFP.
"With the massive influx of Nigerians last week, it is absolutely necessary to intensify patrols so that certain members of Boko Haram do not infiltrate into our territory."
Motorcycles and Cameroonian vehicles are not allowed into Gamboru, a Nigerian border town.
Residents are only allowed to cross a bridge linking both borders by foot between 0900 GMT and 1700 GMT.
Source : Sapa-AFP /mjs
Date : 21 May 2013 21:05
Nigeria said Tuesday it would release several suspects held for "terrorist activities," including all women in custody, in what it called a peace gesture to the Islamists it is battling in the north.
The announcement came as Nigeria pressed ahead with a nearly week-old offensive against Islamist insurgents in the northeast of Africa's most populous nation, while the Red Cross said at least 2,400 people had fled violence in the region.
"Consequent upon the directives of the president ... the Defence Headquarters will be releasing from detention a number of persons being held in connection with terrorist activities," a defence statement said, adding it included "all women under custody."
Islamist extremist group Boko Haram has previously demanded the release of women prisoners, though the defence statement made no mention of the demand.
The statement said the move was linked to recommendations from a panel set up by the presidency to explore options for dialogue with the insurgents.
"The measure, which is in line with presidential magnanimity to enhance peace efforts in the country, will result in freedom for suspects including all women under custody," it said.
Nigerian authorities have been accused of unlawful detentions and indiscriminate arrests in connection with the Islamist insurgency.
Residents caught up in the violence were given a measure of relief on Tuesday, with authorities relaxing a round-the-clock curfew in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, Boko Haram's stronghold.
The relaxing of the curfew, initially imposed on Saturday, allowed residents to begin venturing out between 7:00 am (0600 GMT) and 5:00 pm to restock on food and supplies.
"I have been indoor since Saturday night because of the 24-hour curfew," one resident said. "I have to come out today to get money in the bank and purchase food items and other essential commodities for my family."
However, the government gave no sign that its offensive would let up and requested support from neighbouring Niger.
"As you know, there are operations in progress in Nigeria in three states very affected by the problem of terrorism, and we are hoping to have support from the Republic of Niger in the battle to defeat these terrorists," Nigerian junior foreign minister Nurudeen Muhammed said.
Speaking in Niger after talks with President Mahamadou Issoufou, he did not specify what type of support.
Nigeria launched the sweeping operation on May 15, deploying thousands of troops across three states -- Adamawa, Borno and Yobe -- where President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency after the Islamists seized territory.
Fighter jets targeted Boko Haram strongholds in the offensive seeking to end the deadly Islamist insurgency underway since 2009. Telecommunications in affected areas have been out of service since the weekend.
On Monday, Nigeria's military said it had re-established control in five remote areas of the northeast. About 120 of the insurgents had also been arrested, the military had said.
Nigeria's military has previously been accused of major abuses in its fight against Boko Haram, and activists as well as the United States have raised concerns over the latest fighting.
The Boko Haram conflict is estimated to have cost 3,600 lives since 2009, including killings by the security services.
At least 2,400 people had fled violence in northern Nigeria and were being provided with emergency supplies in the Diffa area of Niger, the Red Cross said Tuesday.
"These people, most of whom are originally from Niger but settled in Nigeria some time back, in some cases decades ago, are completely destitute," said Jean-Nicolas Marti, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross' regional delegation for Niger and Mali.
"They have been taken in by families that are sharing their meagre resources with them."
The Red Cross noted that the Diffa area was the scene earlier this year of severe flooding.
"If population displacement were to continue at the current pace, or to increase, there is a risk that the delicate economic and food balance in the area could be destroyed, with consequences for the resident population," said Marti.
In neighbouring Cameroon, authorities have tightened border controls to prevent fleeing Boko Haram insurgents from taking refuge there.
"But it is not easy to track down suspected Boko Haram members because of the porosity of the borders," a police officer in the Fotokol district told AFP.
"With the massive influx of Nigerians last week, it is absolutely necessary to intensify patrols so that certain members of Boko Haram do not infiltrate into our territory."
Motorcycles and Cameroonian vehicles are not allowed into Gamboru, a Nigerian border town.
Residents are only allowed to cross a bridge linking both borders by foot between 0900 GMT and 1700 GMT.
Source : Sapa-AFP /mjs
Date : 21 May 2013 21:05
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
Islamist extremists raised their black flag over this village in the remote plains of northeast Nigeria, setting fire to a church, shutting down the schools and bombing the police station in a violent overthrow of government control.
Just as quickly as they rose out of the desert scrub several months ago, however, they recently disappeared as Nigeria's military regained control of this area as part of a new offensive. As attack helicopters hovered overhead and tanks hid among the scrawny trees, military commanders told journalists touring the region Wednesday that they had struck a decisive blow against radicals who want to impose strict Islamic law over this multiethnic nation of more than 160 million people.
Yet behind the smiles and speeches, commanders acknowledged fighters with the extremist network Boko Haram likely escaped their dragnet, burning equipment they couldn't carry while still maintaining an arsenal of heavy weaponry. That means Nigeria's quick military successes may carry the price of years of troop commitments in this region of crumbling roads and derelict power lines to hold territory against a now-unseen adversary.
"One year, two years, three years - that's what we signed up for," Lt. Col. Olufemi Olorunyomi said.
The new military offensive comes after President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency May 14 in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states -a territory of some 155,000 square kilometers (60,000 square miles) of the Sahel bordering Cameroon, Chad and Niger. In a nationally televised speech, Jonathan acknowledged that the nation had lost control of some villages and towns to extremist fighters already responsible for more than 1,600 killings since 2010 alone, according to an Associated Press count.
Military reinforcements arrived to a northeast already heavily occupied with soldiers, but now with the authority to arrest anyone at will and occupy any building believed to harbor extremists. For weeks, the military issued statements outlining quick advances and mass arrests, while never offering clear explanations of its own losses. On Wednesday, the military flew foreign and local journalists from Nigeria's capital, Abuja, to Maiduguri in Borno state as part of a tour of one battleground area.
The tour clearly offered the message Nigeria's military wants publicized: Soldiers routed the extremists.
The chief of defense staff "was interested in the whole world knowing what was going on, and we have nothing to hide," said Gen. Jah Ewansiha, the commanding officer of the joint police and military task force in the northeast. However, commanders ordered journalists not to "clandestinely interview" any soldiers and tried to limit questions to officers who spoke along the way.
Officers displayed out of a cache of weapons they said they seized from Boko Haram fighters, ranging from locally made pistols that fire a single shotgun shell to truck-mounted anti-aircraft guns firing 12.7 mm rounds. Long belts of heavy ammunition mixed with rounds for Kalashnikov assault rifles. Much of the weaponry appears to be from old Eastern Europe arsenals, Col. Kayode Ogundele said, likely smuggled into the country as part of West Africa's thriving illegal arms trade.
The colonel acknowledged that extremists likely still have anti-aircraft guns and other sophisticated weaponry that poses a serious threat to Nigeria's military.
"I have a strong belief they still have some of them, and we are on it," Ogundele said.
Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state and the spiritual home of Boko Haram, had long lines Wednesday at ATMs, and some stores were open. Mobile phone service remains turned off in the region, as security officials have told the AP that the government shut down the networks in hopes of disrupting extremists. A military convoy carrying journalists sped past lines of waiting cars at numerous checkpoints, led and followed by armored personnel carriers with gunners who constantly swiveled their machine guns.
The caravan headed northeast some 95 kilometers (60 miles) toward Marte, and signs of the challenges facing northeast slowly came into view. The desert swallowed portions of the poorly maintained asphalt road. The convoy drove instead on hard-pan ground that had cracked under the blistering sun. Power lines from Nigeria's decrepit state-run electricity company lay in the sand.
The northeast remains one of the poorest places in the nation, where 75 percent of people live in absolute poverty on less than $1 a day, according to Nigerian government statistics. That poverty, coupled with growing anger over public corruption and few opportunities for the region's youth, helps fuel the insurgency. That allowed Boko Haram extremists to take over Marte several months ago as they preached about religious purity and called the government sacrilegious, Olorunyomi said.
Shortly after the president's announcement in May, soldiers moved into the area and took control. They discovered an extremist camp close to a nearby village called Kerinowa. What happened next remains unclear, as officials contradicted each other on whether they attacked the camp and destroyed the extremists' vehicles or whether the fighters torched what they couldn't carry and escaped.
The camp, hidden in brush, was deserted Wednesday, the ground scattered with medical supplies and discarded clothes. Authorities said extremists had begun coating their vehicles with mud and hiding them under trees to avoid being spotted from the air. Brig. Gen. Chris Olukolade, the military's top spokesman, has said the military carried out some aerial bombings against fighters.
At Kerinowa, several hundred people gathered to greet the military convoy and journalists. A teacher there said no one supported the extremists and that the Nigerian military had rescued them. But while everyone smiled and clapped for the commanders, the teacher said he was afraid to give his name out of fear of extremists retaliating against him - suggesting some had slipped back into the community unnoticed.
What happens next in the campaign remains unclear, though deployments across the nation and abroad have put increasing strain on Nigeria's estimated 76,000-member armed forces. Commanders said they wanted to invest in local communities while also protecting them, suggesting a long deployment. Meanwhile, extremists who slip away could just as easily return.
As the meeting in Kerinowa ended, those gathered prayed in unison to Allah for peace in the region. Only a few steps away, a soldier carrying an assault rifle watched, his helmet bearing the graffiti: "The joy of the Lord is my shield."
---
Jon Gambrell can be reached at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.
Source : Sapa-AP /mjs
Date : 06 Jun 2013 03:31
Just as quickly as they rose out of the desert scrub several months ago, however, they recently disappeared as Nigeria's military regained control of this area as part of a new offensive. As attack helicopters hovered overhead and tanks hid among the scrawny trees, military commanders told journalists touring the region Wednesday that they had struck a decisive blow against radicals who want to impose strict Islamic law over this multiethnic nation of more than 160 million people.
Yet behind the smiles and speeches, commanders acknowledged fighters with the extremist network Boko Haram likely escaped their dragnet, burning equipment they couldn't carry while still maintaining an arsenal of heavy weaponry. That means Nigeria's quick military successes may carry the price of years of troop commitments in this region of crumbling roads and derelict power lines to hold territory against a now-unseen adversary.
"One year, two years, three years - that's what we signed up for," Lt. Col. Olufemi Olorunyomi said.
The new military offensive comes after President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency May 14 in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states -a territory of some 155,000 square kilometers (60,000 square miles) of the Sahel bordering Cameroon, Chad and Niger. In a nationally televised speech, Jonathan acknowledged that the nation had lost control of some villages and towns to extremist fighters already responsible for more than 1,600 killings since 2010 alone, according to an Associated Press count.
Military reinforcements arrived to a northeast already heavily occupied with soldiers, but now with the authority to arrest anyone at will and occupy any building believed to harbor extremists. For weeks, the military issued statements outlining quick advances and mass arrests, while never offering clear explanations of its own losses. On Wednesday, the military flew foreign and local journalists from Nigeria's capital, Abuja, to Maiduguri in Borno state as part of a tour of one battleground area.
The tour clearly offered the message Nigeria's military wants publicized: Soldiers routed the extremists.
The chief of defense staff "was interested in the whole world knowing what was going on, and we have nothing to hide," said Gen. Jah Ewansiha, the commanding officer of the joint police and military task force in the northeast. However, commanders ordered journalists not to "clandestinely interview" any soldiers and tried to limit questions to officers who spoke along the way.
Officers displayed out of a cache of weapons they said they seized from Boko Haram fighters, ranging from locally made pistols that fire a single shotgun shell to truck-mounted anti-aircraft guns firing 12.7 mm rounds. Long belts of heavy ammunition mixed with rounds for Kalashnikov assault rifles. Much of the weaponry appears to be from old Eastern Europe arsenals, Col. Kayode Ogundele said, likely smuggled into the country as part of West Africa's thriving illegal arms trade.
The colonel acknowledged that extremists likely still have anti-aircraft guns and other sophisticated weaponry that poses a serious threat to Nigeria's military.
"I have a strong belief they still have some of them, and we are on it," Ogundele said.
Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state and the spiritual home of Boko Haram, had long lines Wednesday at ATMs, and some stores were open. Mobile phone service remains turned off in the region, as security officials have told the AP that the government shut down the networks in hopes of disrupting extremists. A military convoy carrying journalists sped past lines of waiting cars at numerous checkpoints, led and followed by armored personnel carriers with gunners who constantly swiveled their machine guns.
The caravan headed northeast some 95 kilometers (60 miles) toward Marte, and signs of the challenges facing northeast slowly came into view. The desert swallowed portions of the poorly maintained asphalt road. The convoy drove instead on hard-pan ground that had cracked under the blistering sun. Power lines from Nigeria's decrepit state-run electricity company lay in the sand.
The northeast remains one of the poorest places in the nation, where 75 percent of people live in absolute poverty on less than $1 a day, according to Nigerian government statistics. That poverty, coupled with growing anger over public corruption and few opportunities for the region's youth, helps fuel the insurgency. That allowed Boko Haram extremists to take over Marte several months ago as they preached about religious purity and called the government sacrilegious, Olorunyomi said.
Shortly after the president's announcement in May, soldiers moved into the area and took control. They discovered an extremist camp close to a nearby village called Kerinowa. What happened next remains unclear, as officials contradicted each other on whether they attacked the camp and destroyed the extremists' vehicles or whether the fighters torched what they couldn't carry and escaped.
The camp, hidden in brush, was deserted Wednesday, the ground scattered with medical supplies and discarded clothes. Authorities said extremists had begun coating their vehicles with mud and hiding them under trees to avoid being spotted from the air. Brig. Gen. Chris Olukolade, the military's top spokesman, has said the military carried out some aerial bombings against fighters.
At Kerinowa, several hundred people gathered to greet the military convoy and journalists. A teacher there said no one supported the extremists and that the Nigerian military had rescued them. But while everyone smiled and clapped for the commanders, the teacher said he was afraid to give his name out of fear of extremists retaliating against him - suggesting some had slipped back into the community unnoticed.
What happens next in the campaign remains unclear, though deployments across the nation and abroad have put increasing strain on Nigeria's estimated 76,000-member armed forces. Commanders said they wanted to invest in local communities while also protecting them, suggesting a long deployment. Meanwhile, extremists who slip away could just as easily return.
As the meeting in Kerinowa ended, those gathered prayed in unison to Allah for peace in the region. Only a few steps away, a soldier carrying an assault rifle watched, his helmet bearing the graffiti: "The joy of the Lord is my shield."
---
Jon Gambrell can be reached at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.
Source : Sapa-AP /mjs
Date : 06 Jun 2013 03:31
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
11 Killed in Fake Funeral Attack
Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists have stormed a neighbourhood in the restive city of Maiduguri, killing at least 11 people with weapons hidden in a coffin, local residents said Monday.
There were conflicting reports as to the number of people who lost their lives in the attack that began late Friday.
Information has been slow to emerge in the region because the mobile phone network has been shut down by the military amid an offensive aimed at crushing the Islamists.
Military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa confirmed that gunmen launched attacks on Friday evening in the neighbourhoods of Hausari, Fizzan and Gwange.
Hausari resident Moh'd Aji said 10 attackers came in a pick-up truck, with a coffin visible in the exposed flat-bed rear.
"Everybody thought they were going for burial until they alighted from their vehicle and started bringing out their guns," said Aji.
"They just opened fire into different directions."
He said 11 bodies were recovered after the attack, including one child.
Another resident, Habibu Malud, said 13 people were killed.
The military spokesman said troops responded on Saturday morning, raiding insurgent "hideouts" in the targeted neighbourhoods.
"Five of the suspects died in a shootout as they attempted to flee," Musa said.
It was not clear if the five dead reported by Musa were among the corpses spotted by residents.
Boko Haram fighters are known to blend in with the local population, and distinguishing between insurgent deaths and civilian casualties is typically difficult.
The group has said it is fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north.
The insurgency has left 3,600 people dead since 2009, including killings by the security services.
The military launched a sweeping offensive against Boko Haram on May 15 and has claimed successes, describing the Islamists as being in "disarray."
But those claims have been impossible to verify and there are concerns that the insurgents may regroup once the military pressure fades.
There has been a lull in the number of reported attacks since the offensive was launched, but very little information has emerged from the northeast with the phone networks down.
The group has repeatedly carried out attacks in Maiduguri, their traditional base.
They were thought to have relocated to sparsely populated areas in Nigeria's semi-desert northeast amid a crackdown in Maiduguri.
The ongoing offensive has been most heavily concentrated in these remote areas, particularly along the border with Cameroon.
Source : Sapa-AFP /sdv
Date : 10 Jun 2013 16:11
Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists have stormed a neighbourhood in the restive city of Maiduguri, killing at least 11 people with weapons hidden in a coffin, local residents said Monday.
There were conflicting reports as to the number of people who lost their lives in the attack that began late Friday.
Information has been slow to emerge in the region because the mobile phone network has been shut down by the military amid an offensive aimed at crushing the Islamists.
Military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa confirmed that gunmen launched attacks on Friday evening in the neighbourhoods of Hausari, Fizzan and Gwange.
Hausari resident Moh'd Aji said 10 attackers came in a pick-up truck, with a coffin visible in the exposed flat-bed rear.
"Everybody thought they were going for burial until they alighted from their vehicle and started bringing out their guns," said Aji.
"They just opened fire into different directions."
He said 11 bodies were recovered after the attack, including one child.
Another resident, Habibu Malud, said 13 people were killed.
The military spokesman said troops responded on Saturday morning, raiding insurgent "hideouts" in the targeted neighbourhoods.
"Five of the suspects died in a shootout as they attempted to flee," Musa said.
It was not clear if the five dead reported by Musa were among the corpses spotted by residents.
Boko Haram fighters are known to blend in with the local population, and distinguishing between insurgent deaths and civilian casualties is typically difficult.
The group has said it is fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north.
The insurgency has left 3,600 people dead since 2009, including killings by the security services.
The military launched a sweeping offensive against Boko Haram on May 15 and has claimed successes, describing the Islamists as being in "disarray."
But those claims have been impossible to verify and there are concerns that the insurgents may regroup once the military pressure fades.
There has been a lull in the number of reported attacks since the offensive was launched, but very little information has emerged from the northeast with the phone networks down.
The group has repeatedly carried out attacks in Maiduguri, their traditional base.
They were thought to have relocated to sparsely populated areas in Nigeria's semi-desert northeast amid a crackdown in Maiduguri.
The ongoing offensive has been most heavily concentrated in these remote areas, particularly along the border with Cameroon.
Source : Sapa-AFP /sdv
Date : 10 Jun 2013 16:11
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
Militants force thousands to flee in N. Nigeria
Refugees say Islamic extremists threatening a bloodbath are forcing thousands of people from villages in north Nigeria where the fighters have regrouped following a monthlong military crackdown.
People who escaped through the bush to the Borno state capital of Maiduguri say militants from the Boko Haram terrorist network also have written letters warning government workers to resign their jobs or face death.
They said some villagers fled to neighboring Cameroon.
In a separate operation in Kano state, west of Borno, police say they have rounded up 400 migrants and are deporting those who do not have the necessary documents.
A state of emergency and military and police crackdown since May 14 has failed to crush the extremists blamed for the killings of more than 1,600 people since 2010.
Source : Sapa-AP /nsm
Date : 22 Jun 2013 16:29
Refugees say Islamic extremists threatening a bloodbath are forcing thousands of people from villages in north Nigeria where the fighters have regrouped following a monthlong military crackdown.
People who escaped through the bush to the Borno state capital of Maiduguri say militants from the Boko Haram terrorist network also have written letters warning government workers to resign their jobs or face death.
They said some villagers fled to neighboring Cameroon.
In a separate operation in Kano state, west of Borno, police say they have rounded up 400 migrants and are deporting those who do not have the necessary documents.
A state of emergency and military and police crackdown since May 14 has failed to crush the extremists blamed for the killings of more than 1,600 people since 2010.
Source : Sapa-AP /nsm
Date : 22 Jun 2013 16:29
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
Nigeria captures Boko Haram Leaders
The Nigeria military has captured key leaders of the militant Islamic sect Boko Haram and recovered a cache of weapons, local newspaper Daily Post reported Wednesday.
Troops deployed to Borno and Yobe, two northern states that have been placed under state of emergency since May 14, uncovered several camps that the insurgents had built in the forests.
"The team [discovered] various weapons, including rockets and locally fabricated weapon accessories captured in the forest," military spokesperson Brigadier General Chris Olukolade said in a statement.
The task force also recovered "a large number of materials to make improvised explosive devices, laptops, mobile communication equipment, as well as locally made rockets and rocket launchers," according to Olukolade.
Olukolade did not disclose how many insurgents were arrested or their names.
Source : Sapa-dpa /pk
Date : 26 Jun 2013 10:20 OrigID : LC893849
The Nigeria military has captured key leaders of the militant Islamic sect Boko Haram and recovered a cache of weapons, local newspaper Daily Post reported Wednesday.
Troops deployed to Borno and Yobe, two northern states that have been placed under state of emergency since May 14, uncovered several camps that the insurgents had built in the forests.
"The team [discovered] various weapons, including rockets and locally fabricated weapon accessories captured in the forest," military spokesperson Brigadier General Chris Olukolade said in a statement.
The task force also recovered "a large number of materials to make improvised explosive devices, laptops, mobile communication equipment, as well as locally made rockets and rocket launchers," according to Olukolade.
Olukolade did not disclose how many insurgents were arrested or their names.
Source : Sapa-dpa /pk
Date : 26 Jun 2013 10:20 OrigID : LC893849