Boko Haram hits Nigerian town hard despite multinational offensive
The militant Islamist group killed 68 in Njaba, but has suffered setbacks in some areas after Nigeria teamed up with other West African countries to launch air and ground attacks.
The militant Islamist group killed 68 in Njaba, but has suffered setbacks in some areas after Nigeria teamed up with other West African countries to launch air and ground attacks.
Boko Haram fighters killed 68 people during an attack on the Nigerian town of Njaba, showing their ability to mount large-scale attacks despite a growing multinational military effort to check their advance.聽
The insurgents started shooting into houses in the northeastern town in the early hours of Tuesday, a military source told Reuters. News of the attack only started trickling in days later because Boko Haram had previously disabled cellphone towers in the area.聽
鈥淪ome of us were very lucky to run and hide,鈥� Babagana Aji, who witnessed the attack,聽told The Wall Street Journal, adding that the Islamist militants killed indiscriminately and burned down houses.聽The Nigerian Army said it was in pursuit of the militants.
In recent weeks Boko Haram has pulled out of numerous towns in Nigeria in the face of ground and air attacks by a multinational force comprising troops from Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Benin.聽
Nigeria鈥檚 Air Force chief told a senate committee on defense Thursday that the campaign in the northeast had completely destroyed Boko Haram鈥檚 stronghold in the region.
鈥淚t is very clear that by our efforts, we have been able to disrupt their communication lines,鈥� Adesola Amosu said. 鈥淭he command and control is substantially damaged.鈥�
On Wednesday, Chad鈥檚 President Idriss Deby called on Boko Haram鈥檚 leader, Abubakar Shekau, to surrender, and claimed he knew his whereabouts.
The Nigerian Army repelled an attack on the town of Ngamdu in Yobe state on Thursday, two military sources聽told Reuters,聽though they were unable to determine the number of casualties.
Previous Nigerian claims of victories against Boko Harem have proven overly optimistic. And it's unclear how effective the current anti-insurgency campaign has been in degrading the group's operational capabilities.聽
Many聽fighters have fled into neighboring countries like Cameroon, which have seen an uptick in militant attacks.
Foreign Policy reports that Boko Haram has started using the borders around Lake Chad as financial checkpoints to exact revenue:
Pressure is building on Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan to rein in Boko Haram ahead of March 28 elections that were postponed from last month. The delay was blamed on security concerns over the insurgency.