The Nation Newspaper

Tag: boko haram

  • Boko Haram: Niger to send troops to Nigeria

    Niger’s parliament unanimously approved late on Monday the deployment of troops to northern Nigeria as part of a regional offensive against the Boko Haram sect, which has launched several cross-border attacks in recent days.

    “The pooling of the efforts and resources of concerned countries will contribute without doubt to crushing this group which shows scorn, through its barbaric acts, for the Muslim religion,” Reuters quoted the National Assembly President, Adamou Salifou , as saying after the vote.

  • Shekau vows to defeat regional force in videos

    Shekau vows to defeat regional force in videos

    Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau vowed in a new video released yesterday that the group would defeat a regional force fighting it in the northeast, Niger and Cameroon.

    “Your alliance will not achieve anything. Amass all your weapons and face us. We welcome you,” he said in a 28-minute speech in one of three videos posted by the Islamists on YouTube.

    Troops from Nigeria have been backed by soldiers from Chad, Cameroon and Niger in recent weeks because of increased concerns about Boko Haram’s threat to regional security.

    In the second of the videos, images of the leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, are shown along with archive footage and a voiceover recalling a battle between British colonial soldiers and fighters from the Sokoto Caliphate in northern Nigeria.

    Shekau has namechecked al-Baghdadi before but appears to be positioning Boko Haram in a wider jihadi context by showing the Sokoto Caliphate, which was dismantled by the British in the early 20th century.

    “We never rose up to fight Africa. We rose up to fight the world,” he said.

    “We are going to fight the world on the principle that whoever doesn’t obey Allah and the Prophet to either obey or die or become a slave.”

    Shekau dismissed the size of the multinational force, which had previously been set at about 7,500.

    “You send 7,000 troops? Why don’t you send 70 million? This is small. Only 7,000? By Allah, it is small. We can seize them one-by-one. We can seize them one-by-one,” he said in Arabic.

    Shekau also directly threatened Chad’s President Idriss Deby, whose forces have attacked Boko Haram in the northeast Nigerian towns of Gamboru and Malam Fatori in recent days.

    Shekau’s challenge came after the United States said on Friday that Boko Haram could face a stronger test against more capable regional forces.

    Washington estimates that Boko Haram has a core of between 4,000 and 6,000 fighters but is well-equipped after raiding Nigerian Army positions.

    In the second video,  members of the sect were enforcing Sharia laws in an unnamed location where “offenders” were being punished.

    Two young men are receiving lashes of cane for allegedly committing adultery. Another young man’s right hand is chopped off for stealing while a third person is stoned to death for alleged fornication.

    The video shows a town inhabited with plenty residents, including women and children and many Boko Haram fighters shouting Allahu Akbar meaning “God is Great”.

    The third video shows the December 1, 2014 invasion of Damaturu, the  Yobe State capital.

    In the video, the insurgents come into the town in an armoured personnel carrier, driving through Gujba road  down to the Government House in Hilux vehicles and motorcycles.

    No fewer than 50 vehicles and cache of ammunition stolen during the Damaturu attack are displayed.

    “We had a field day in Damaturu, ate and dined, took what we wanted and thereafter drove out of the town at our own volition, with all the vehicles, ammunition and other things we wanted to take along,” he said.

    Shekau walks away majestically saying he has nothing to do with Gen. Muhammadu Buhari or President Goodluck Jonathan.

    He also called on the Niger Delta militants to come and face him as they claim.

  • Boko Haram suicide bomber hits Niger

    Boko Haram attacked Niger Republic town Diffa yesterday, killing five people in a suicide bombing, after the army repelled an attack by the sect.

    It was the second attack by Boko Haram in three days on Niger’s southern border region, where some 2,500 Chadian troops have gathered ahead of a planned military offensive by regional powers against the sect.

    Niger’s parliament is due to vote today on a proposal to send its troops into Nigeria to help fight Boko Haram.

    Residents in Diffa said fighting was heard between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. (0600 to 1000 GMT) in the southern outskirts of the town.

    “There was fighting between security forces and elements of Boko Haram who tried to enter the town,” said a military source. “Fighting is taking place around the bridge at Doutchi. There are many dead.”

    Local residents said a young boy carrying explosives blew himself up in Diffa’s market. Local radio Anefi, however, said the bomb was thrown by a young man on a motor-bike who escaped.

    “We have carried five bodies out of the market,” said a member of the local emergency services. “There are around 15 wounded, some of them in a serious condition.”

    Chadian forces already crossed into Nigeria last week to the south of Lake Chad to attack Boko Haram in the town of Gamboru, bordering Cameroon.

    On Saturday, the governments of Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Benin agreed to establish an 8,700 strong regional force.

    Chad has deployed some 2,500 soldiers to neighbouring Cameroon and Niger as part of this effort.

    Boko Haram has seized territory in northeastern Nigeria as part of a five-year insurgency to carve out an Islamist state. Around 10,000 people were killed last year.

    Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the weekend postponed elections until March 28 due to “security concerns” over Boko Haram’s insurgency.

  • Blow for Boko Haram in Borno

    Blow for Boko Haram in Borno

    Scores of Boko Haram insurgents were killed by  troops as they attempted to attack Damboa town, the headquarters of Damboa Local Government of Borno State at the weekend, according to residents.

    A resident of the area, Aisami Bukar, who escaped to Maiduguri, disclosed to our correspondent on telephone that the insurgents who came in large numbers at about noon and were sighted by troops of 195 Battalion of the army whose men gave them a devastating blow.

    He said insurgents were attacking Damboa from Kalla village, just two kilometers away when the military launched artillery guns and killed scores.

    He said: ”Scores of the Boko Haram insurgents who attempted to attack Damboa had a bad outing , as the troops intercepted them at Kalla village on the outskirts of Damboa.”

    He added: “The insurgents  were intercepted  by the soldiers, who swiftly reacted by shooting artillery missiles and scores of them were killed”.

    A Civilian JTF members, Haruna Isa, collaborated it saying: “The army did  a good job in Damboa, it would have been a different story today. But we thank Allah “.

    He said bodies of the insurgents and their vehicles were burnt and scattered all over in the bush.

    A military source, who does not want his name in print, said: “Yes our troops in Damboa this afternoon successfully foiled an attempt to sack Damboa town, where they killed scores of the insurgents.

    Damboa is 87km south of Maiduguri, the state capital. One of the exit points out of the state capital that was once seized by the insurgents.

  • Boko haram insurgents killed in Borno

    Scores of Boko Haram insurgents were reportedly killed On Sunday by troops of the Nigerian Army in an attempt to attack Damboa town, the headquarters of Damaboa Local Government of Borno State, according to local residents.

    A resident of the area, Aisami Bukar who escaped to Maiduguri disclosed to our correspondent on phone that the insurgents who came in large numbers at about at about 12:00 noon and were sighted by troops of 195 battalion of the Nigerian army who repelled them.

    He said that insurgents were attempting to attack Damboa from Kalla village just two kilometers from Damboa town when the military lunched artillery guns and killed scores of them.

    “Scores of the Boko Haram insurgents who attempted to attack Damboa at about 12:00pm had a bad outing as the troops of the Nigerian Army intercepted them at Kalla village at the outskirt of Damboa.

    ” Insurgents were intercepted by the soldiers, who swiftly reacted by shooting artillery missiles and burnt them; they crushed all of them, as scores of them were killed in the process,” the source said.

    A civilian JTF, Haruna Isa corroborated the report of the incident saying that “the army did a good job in Damboa. It would have been a different story today. But we thank Allah that the boys did not have luck this time”.

    He informed that corpses of the insurgents and their vehicles were burnt and scattered all over in the bush.

    A military source who does not want his name in print, told our correspondent in Maiduguri that their troops in Damboa successfully foiled another attempt to take over Damboa.

    “Yes our troops in Damboa this afternoon successfully foiled an attempt to sack Damboa town where they killed scores of the insurgents,” he confirmed.

    Damboa is 87km south of Maiduguri, the state capital, one of the exit point out of the state capital that was once seized by the insurgents.

  • Boko Haram: African nations pledge 8,700 troops

    African nations pulling together a regional force to fight Nigeria’s Boko Haram militants on Saturday pledged 8,700 soldiers, policemen and civilians, an increase from earlier estimates for the mission.

    The African Union had previously authorised a force of 7,500 troops from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin to take on the insurgents, who have seized large swathes of northeastern

    Nigeria and mounted attacks on neighbouring nations, Reuters says.

    Nigeria’s military is struggling against the five-year insurgency, which has killed thousands of Nigerians and displaced some 1.5 million people.

    With Nigeria also trying to organise elections and the militant threat turning increasingly regional, diplomats have said neighbouring nations must bury mutual mistrust and join the fight to defeat the militants.

    The new troop pledges came after three days of talks in Cameroon between experts from the nations of the Lake Chad basin, the region where Boko Haram is seeking to create an Islamist enclave.

    No budget for the regional mission was given and neither were details on when troops would be deployed.

    Further talks are to take place before the AU seeks support for the mission from the United Nations Security Council.

    Chad has already dispatched 2,500 soldiers to Cameroon and Niger and its troops have engaged the militants in a series of battles that have killed hundreds along the border zone.

     

  • ‘Boko Haram has up to 6,000 hardcore militants’

    The Boko Haram sect, which is fighting a violent insurgency in northeast Nigeria, has about 4,000-6,000 “hardcore” fighters, United States intelligence officials said on Friday.

    In an assessment of the group, whose five-year uprising has included massacres and kidnappings and spread from Nigeria into neighboring states, the officials said they did not believe it posed a major threat to Nigeria’s oilfields in the south.

    The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the militants were believed to be still holding about 300 schoolgirls they kidnapped early last year and had dispersed them to multiple locations.

    Around 10,000 people were killed in Boko Haram attacks last year. The group poses the biggest security threat in Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer and biggest economy, Reuters says.

    Concern over the insurgency appears to be and one of the main reasons for what appears to be a surge in political support for opposition leader, Muhammadu Buhari, in a February 14 election.

    Many Nigerians believe Buhari, as a former military ruler, will be able to bolster the army’s hapless efforts to counter the insurgency, and that as a Muslim he may even be able to take some of the wind out of Boko Haram’s ideological sails.

    The officials said the militants had been engaging in both small-scale and larger attacks in recent weeks and they expected this mixed pattern of operations to continue during the election period.

    The U.S intelligence officials said the Nigerian military forces were stretched thin in fighting the insurgents, as well as by their involvement in international peacekeeping forces.

  • Boko Haram: US offers more help if FG keeps to poll timetable

    Boko Haram: US offers more help if FG keeps to poll timetable

    The United States has offered more assistance to Nigeria in its fight against Boko Haram if the Federal Government keeps to February 14 and 28 poll timetable.

    The Deputy Spokesperson of the US Department of State, Marie Harf, gave the condition at the department’s daily briefing on Thursday.

    The transcript of the session was obtained on Friday by our correspondent.

    She said the US was committed to the building of capacity of Nigerian troops and other countries in the region.

    She said: “We certainly provide a great amount of assistance to Nigeria when it comes to the fight against Boko Haram.

    “Well, we certainly have, as the United States, provided assistance to help in this fight, and you heard the Secretary when he was in Nigeria say we want to do more to help the Nigerians.

    “Part of that depends upon them going forward with the elections as scheduled, holding them – limiting the violence, having credible and fair elections.

    “So we certainly believe this is a critical challenge. Boko Haram is a little bit of a different threat than ISIS. Obviously, each threat is different, but we’re very committed to helping the countries in the region fight this.”

    To win the war against Boko Haram, Harf said Nigeria and allied forces (Chad, Cameroon and Niger) require more capacity and more willingness.

    “Well, I clearly think if you just look at the sheer amount of violence that Boko Haram has been able to perpetrate that there needs to be more capacity and more willingness among some of the parties.

    Some of the – there’ve been some times when people have stepped up and really tried to be aggressive against Boko Haram, but clearly more needs to be done,” she added.

    Asked if Western nations were reluctant in moving against Boko Haram, Harf said: “Well, I think that’s probably a larger analytical question that I’m not going to delve into from here.

    “I can just speak for the U.S. and what – this building and this government is very committed to helping Nigeria and the countries in the region build their capacity and push them to take on this fight even more seriously.”

    On the alleged incursions into Nigeria by Chadian forces to fight Boko Haram, she said she could not confirm it.

    But she was quick to add that the US thinks a regional effort is needed to curtail the insurgents.

    She said: “Well, we have obviously seen these reports about where certain troops are and who’s fighting who. We do believe that a regional effort is needed to fight Boko Haram. “Obviously, Nigeria plays the most important role here. So I can’t confirm reports that Chadian forces have been inside Boko – excuse me, inside Nigeria fighting Boko Haram, but we do think that a regional effort is needed.

    “We’ve talked to the regional partners about it, so I can check and see if there are more details.”

  • Boko Haram: Nigeria, Chad end parley in Abuja

    Boko Haram: Nigeria, Chad end parley in Abuja

    Military delegations from Nigeria and Chad yesterday concluded a bilateral meeting to review the progress of the ongoing counter terrorism campaign being conducted in the Lake Chad Basin area.

    The Director of Defence Information, Maj-Gen. Chris Olukolade, made the disclosure in a statement last night.

    The statement said: “The forum noted with satisfaction, the recent successes in the various fronts of the operations and resolved on additional measures to sustain the momentum of the campaign.

    “They also resolved to enhance established structures for the coordination and logistics of the combined operations towards a speedy defeat of terror in the region.

    “The bilateral forum where the Nigerian military delegation led by Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh and the Chadian’s led by Major General Brahim Mahamat discussed details of the ongoing onslaught on terrorism is a follow-up to an earlier one held last month.

    “The two countries are currently involved along with others in military operations aimed at stamping out the activities of terrorists who have constituted a menace to security in the entire region.”

  • Boko Haram fighters flee Cameroon after attack

    Cameroonian officials said on Friday that Boko Haram fighters who attacked a town in the far north had retreated to Nigeria.

    At least 100 people were killed in the attack.

    Government spokesman Issa Tchiroma Bakary said Cameroonian soldiers assisted by Chadian forces successfully chased several insurgents out of the town of Fotokol.

    However, the terrorists attacked a border town in Niger Republic, the second foreign country attacked by the group in one week.

    The Boko Haram assault inside Cameroon marked an escalation in Boko Haram attack in the sub-region.

    After being bombed out of several Nigerian towns, hundreds of Boko Haram fighters responded by attacking Fotokol in Cameroon, razing mosques and churches and warning Nigeria’s neighbours not to join the battle against their insurgency.

    Last week, African leaders authorized a 7,500-strong force to fight the extremists, including pledges of troops from Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin.

    The Niger Republic attack came as regional leaders met for a second day in the Cameroonian capital to finalize plans for a coordinated military response to the terror group.