Fierce fighting as Islamists attack northeast Nigeria city of Gombe

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: Reuters

Heavily armed Boko Haram militants attacked the northeastern Nigerian city of Gombe on Saturday, fleeing residents and a security source said.

Explosions and gunfire could be heard after the fighters overwhelmed a checkpoint at the edge of the city, which has been bombed before but has never had the insurgents attempt to take it over.

Witness Abdul Hassan said soldiers ran away after the checkpoint was overwhelmed. The militants then burned down a police station on the outskirts of town, he said.
...
"There are gun shot sounds everywhere and heavy artillery fire. People are running down the streets from the area which under attack, The whole town is in a state of panic," resident Godfret Obeate told Reuters by telephone.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/02/14/uk-nigeria-violence-idUKKBN0LI0BJ20150214

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Hundreds of Boko Haram Islamists on Saturday invaded the restive northeast Nigerian city of Gombe, firing heavy guns and throwing leaflets calling on residents to boycott the forthcoming general elections, locals told AFP.

"The Boko Haram gunmen are now at the Jeka-da-Fari roundabout in the centre of the city, firing indiscriminately and throwing pamphlets calling on people not to participate in the elections," resident Ali Dahiru said.

Other witnesses said the extremists stormed the city around 9:00 am (0800 GMT) and advanced without any resistance from the security forces.

A Nigerian fighter jet encircled the city but made no attempt to attack the insurgents, said witness Kabiru Na-Gwandu.

https://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/boko-haram-invades-restive-nigerian-city-gombe-locals-111242520.html

[progree]

1. Sizable city - 280,000 people in the 2006 census, and capital of Gombe state

Gombe is a city in northeastern Nigeria (and a Local Government Area). It is the capital city of Gombe State and has an estimated population of 261,536.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gombe,_Nigeria

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. Nigeria troops repel Boko Haram attack on city of Gombe

Nigerian troops have repelled a Boko Haram attack on the north-east city of Gombe, officials say.

Soldiers and a fighter jet were used in a counter-attack after Islamist fighters overran a checkpoint on the edge of the city.

The insurgents were retreating towards their stronghold in the neighbouring state of Borno, witnesses said.
...
All roads in and out of Gombe have been blocked and a 24-hour curfew imposed, reports the BBC's Abdullahi Kaura Abubakar in Abuja.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-31469073

Quite far into Nigeria:

[brooklynite]

3. Hmm, how can we blame US foreign policy for these lone wolves?

[jamzrockz]

4. You can always blame some stupid

US foreign adventure for any trouble around the world. The humor is that the boko haram terrorists made off with weapons and heavy equipments from the fall out of the Libyan war. Also that a group which has no more than 1% support even in the Muslims states are getting assistance from foreign intelligence orgs.

But right now in Nigeria, there is all sorts of conspiracy theories going on as to why this group is flaring up now.

[whereisjustice]

6. I know, I know!!!

Nigeria Oil Pollution


The NBS said that relative poverty was most apparent in the north of the country, with Sokoto state's poverty rate the highest at 86.4%. Nigeria Poverty

Thanks to expansive oil fields and a reservoir of millions of barrels of crude, Nigeria is the third-richest country in Africa. But due to corruption, poor wealth distribution, and lack of infrastructure, the nation's people suffer from staggering rates of poverty.

It's sickening because Nigeria should be one of the richest countries in the world, said Charles Ebinger, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute and an expert on the energy industry.

And the [Niger River] Delta, where all the oil is, is one of the poorest regions in the whole country.

Nigeria exports two million barrels of oil every day, about half of which is sold to the U.S. Oil is by far the country's biggest industry, and it is a profitable one -- the nation's GDP is close to $250 billion. But that money does not flow down to the average Nigerian citizen, who lives on less than $2 a day.

Nigeria is a cautionary example of the oil curse's destructive impact, said John Campbell, the former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria.

http://www.ibtimes.com/nigeria-oil-poverty-ungodly-mess-214039|

oh, and then there's this. who could have guessed...?

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan Wants U.S. Troops to Fight Boko Haram

But I'm sure someone will speak up for the purity of us oil interests in nigeria. Clearly they have nothing to do with the poverty, pollution and general fucking mess making the country living hell for over 60% of population.

[Yupster]

7. There's oil there

We can always blame big oil.

[jamzrockz]

5. Find them all and please

for the love of god, kill all those bastards once they are captured. I do not care what their grievance is, any group going about killing innocent young boys and kidnapping young girls should be killed on the spot. No question asked