Boko Haram Rampages, Slaughters in Northeast Nigeria

[undeterred]

Source: Wall Street Journal

By the fifth day of Boko Haram’s rampage through the northeast Nigerian town of Baga, so many residents had been shot that “dead bodies were littered everywhere,” said Maina Ma’aji Lawan, the senator for the area. Then the Islamist insurgents torched the town. “There is not any single house that is standing there,” said Baba Hassan, a resident who said he witnessed the attack.

In the early hours of the carnage Bulama Masta began to lose his children as they tried to flee to safety. Two drowned last Saturday as the family swam away from Baga, which sits on the shores of Lake Chad. Three others were shot on Sunday, he said. He arrived childless on Monday at the largest nearby city, Maiduguri.

Since taking over the town in the past week, Boko Haram fighters also swept through the surrounding villages, killing residents of communities who they consider to be opponents, according to Mr. Masta and other survivors, officials and local vigilantes.

While the sudden savagery of Islamic extremists shocked Parisians this past week, Baga is part of another atlas where militant groups have made brutality a regular occurrence. The violence provided a gruesome backdrop as President Goodluck Jonathan launched his re-election campaign during the same week. There were doubts about whether a huge swath of the country would be able to vote.

Read more: http://www.wsj.com/articles/boko-haram-rampages-slaughters-in-northeast-nigeria-1420816770

---

[PumpkinAle]

1. Nigerians are sadly a forgotten people

(let's just focus on the West - snark)

[undeterred]

2. Not to all of us.

Boko Haram is as bad as al quaeda, not that its easy to compare. They have slaughtered thousands of innocent civilians.

[Skittles]

3. thank you

I do not forget Africa

[alcina]

20. Discussion on CBC

One of today's programs is comparing ISIS and Boko Haram, with a discussion of why the west is so concerned about one and not the other. It's an interesting -- and rare -- discussion. You can get the podcast here:

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2015/01/13/boko-haram-largely-ignored-but-sone-say-a-threat-on-par-with-isis/

[Johnyawl]

4. Where the fuck is the Nigerian Army??!!

[undeterred]

5. Why Nigeria has not yet defeated Boko Haram

Why Nigeria has not yet defeated Boko Haram
Nov 19th 2014, 23:50 BY O.A. | NAIROBI

FOR the past five years an Islamic extremist group called Boko Haram has grown in stature and gruesomeness in Nigeria's north-east. It has expanded its membership, range of operations and the territory it controls to the point where two dozens cities are beyond government control. This has happened despite the fact that Nigeria is now Africa's largest economy and has a highly capable political elite. Currently the army is fighting insurgents for control of the city of Chibok where Boko Haram abducted more than 200 schoolgirls earlier this year. How come Nigeria's situation keeps getting worse, given international support for the Nigerian government?

The crisis in the north-east needs to be seen in the context of generally rising criminality in Nigeria. Kidnappings for ransom are rife: celebrities and clergymen are plucked off the street in daylight. Hundreds of people are killed every year in land disputes. Thieves siphon off as much as a fifth of the country’s oil output in the Niger delta. Piracy is common. Rampant criminality also infects politics. Gangsters aid politicians by intimidating opponents. In return elected officials share out funds plundered from state coffers. Two years ago KPMG, a global audit firm, named Nigeria as the most fraud-prone country in Africa.

Boko Haram’s motivations lie not so much in religious fanaticism as in protest against government neglect. While fabulously wealthy, Nigeria's government and elite shares very little with the masses, especially those in the north-east, traditionally the poorest and least influential part of the country. Development levels there are among the lowest in the world, despite being one of OPEC's biggest oil producers. Nigeria's government has also neglected to pour money into its armed forces, out of both greed and fear. Coups used to be common. So now unpopular leaders are fighting an insurgency without capable security forces, which often inflames the situation, for example when under-paid and ill-trained soldiers rape and pillage just like Boko Haram.

The only way to defeat the insurgents is for Nigeria to do what it should have done long ago for other reasons: sort out its governance. Politicians should concentrate on building institutions, such as a fair-minded police force and a competent health care system, rather than filling their pockets in cooperation with criminals. Only then will the government be able to build a decent army and channel enough resources to the poor in the north-east. That is the way to defeat Boko Haram.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2014/11/economist-explains-10

That's the gist of why Nigeria's army cannot defeat Boko Haram.

[Johnyawl]

8. Thanks for posting that link.

What a mess.

[jamzrockz]

16. What an utter piece garbage article

All the things mentioned in this article has been going on for a long time without anyone calling or needing a group like Boko haram. When I was in high school (late 90s) we were making already reading old news stories of Nigeria being the most corrupt country in the world. The good thing is that it hasn't gotten any worse and Nigerians have rather gotten used to it. And most importantly the vast vast majority prefer the corruption over violence by the likes of Boko Haram.

Also we have had many vigilante groups that actually fought crime and corruption without the raping, killing and destruction seen with Boko haram. I remember the bakasi guys who just patrolled the street with machetes and magic charms. Everybody loved them because they chased the armed robbers out and exposed govt corruption. People made songs and movies about them because they were genuinely loved by the people.

Speaking of movies and music, even with the piracy we see now, Nigerian movies and music is enjoying the highest level of success. Movie and music stars are financially more successful than they have ever been in the past. None of the reasons stated in that article is a reason for Boko haram.

My suspicion is that some people in the North are propping this group up so as to undermine the southern christian president. I don't have any proof of this but I find it really hard to believe that the Nigeria army are having a hard time dismantling this group.

[milestogo]

18. So you're from Nigeria?

[Sopkoviak]

6. Boko Haram

("Western education is forbidden&quot officially called Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'Awati Wal-Jihad (People Committed to the Prophet's Teachings for Propagation and Jihad)..

Is obviously blowback for Abu Ghraib, the drone murder of Anwar al-Awaky, the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq and so many other grievances that even they can't remember them all.

It has nothing to do with Islam.

No really, nothing to do at all.

[undeterred]

7. Its a Nigerian terrorist group that attacks Nigerians.

It has nothing to do with American military adventures.

Everything that happens in the world is not about the US.

[7962]

9. I'm hoping he's being sarcastic. But you never know......

[appal_jack]

12. I think that you are missing some sarcasm here.

Not to speak for Sopkoviak, but I view this:

("Western education is forbidden&quot officially called Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'Awati Wal-Jihad (People Committed to the Prophet's Teachings for Propagation and Jihad)..

Is obviously blowback for Abu Ghraib, the drone murder of Anwar al-Awaky, the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq and so many other grievances that even they can't remember them all.

It has nothing to do with Islam.

No really, nothing to do at all.

(my emphases added for, well, emphasis) as a brilliant bit of satire, aimed at a blame-the-US-always faction of DU...

-app

[jtuck004]

10. Did you mean to tie terrorists to tens of millions of peaceful followers

of Islam, or somehow conflate them? Because they are far different.

It's not helpful. It is hateful.

...
Islam is generally used in conversation to denote the religion or community of believes as a whole. For instance: ‘The Islamic community in town will be celebrating Eid next week.’ It is also used when talking about the religion as a noun unto itself. For instance: ‘Islam is based on the sayings of the Prophet Mohammed that have been written down in the Quran.’

Read more: Difference Between Islam and Muslim | Difference Between | Islam vs Muslim http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/difference-between-islam-and-muslim/#ixzz3ONjVIXE6
...

[Sopkoviak]

11. Absolutely that's what I meant to do.

And your opinion and some obscure little website reference is just that.

Just because it's on the internets doesn't make it so.

[jtuck004]

13. "Just because it's on the internets doesn't make it so." < Some people are just clueless

as to irony, but funny as hell.



I won't need to read any more of your hate speech. Bye.

[Sopkoviak]

17. Seeya.

[jamzrockz]

15. I know this is satire

But don't forget that they are part of the beneficiaries of the arms stolen out of Libya after the catastrophic failure called the Libyan war. Most of the members are graduates from the Saudi Wahhabi Islamic schools. Saudi being a very big ME of the US.

Not claiming it is all the US's fault but when you involve yourself with everything and everyone, lots of things good and bad will connect back to you.

[undeterred]

14. 2,000 feared killed in 'deadliest' Boko Haram attack in Nigeria

Kano, Nigeria (CNN)Boko Haram militants opened fire on northern Nigerian villages, leaving bodies scattered everywhere and as many as 2,000 people feared dead, officials said. "The attack on Baga and surrounding towns looks as if it could be Boko Haram's deadliest act," Amnesty International said in a statement.

Islamist militants sprayed bullets as they stormed in last weekend in trucks and armored vehicles, local authorities said Friday. When they arrived, they unloaded motorcycles and pursued residents who fled into the bush, firing indiscriminately, said Baba Abba Hassan, a local district head. Local officials reported death tolls ranging from hundreds to as many as 2,000 people.

"Dead bodies litter the bushes in the area and it is still no?t safe to go and pick them (up) for burial," said Musa Bukar, the chairman of the local government where Baga is located. "Some people who hid in their homes were burned alive."

Raid lasted for days

During the raid that started January 3, hundreds of gunmen seized the town of Baga and neighboring villages, as well as a multinational military base. Attacks started at dawn and continued throughout last weekend, according to residents. Though local officials gave conflicting death tolls, they agreed on the massive number of fatalities. More than 2,000 people were killed in attacks on 16 villages, Bukar said. He could not explain how he arrived at that toll.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/09/africa/boko-haram-violence/

[inanna]

19. More than 7,000 flee to western Chad to escape attacks on key town in Nigeria (UNHCR)

News Stories, 9 January 2015

DAKAR, Senegal, January 9 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency on Friday reported that some 7,300 Nigerian refugees have arrived in western Chad in the past 10 days, fleeing attacks by insurgents on Baga town and surrounding villages in north-east Nigeria.

A spokesperson said UNHCR teams in Chad were at the border and seeking more information on the new arrivals and their needs. The attack this week on Baga left hundreds of people dead, according to media reports, and forced most of its surviving inhabitants to flee.

The newly arrived refugees in Chad are staying with local communities in villages around 450 kilometres north-west of the capital, N'Djamena. The Chadian government has requested the assistance of aid agencies to help the refugees – distribution of relief items has started.

UNHCR is assessing the protection situation and coordinating aid delivery. "We're already providing plastic sheets, jerry cans, mats, blankets and kitchen tools. Other humanitarian organizations are distributing aid too," UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards noted in Geneva.

Link: http://www.unhcr.org/54afb6dc9.html