Nigeria says military has freed 178 captives of Boko Haram
Nigeria's new president, who met in late July with President Obama, has stepped up efforts to rescue hostages taken by Islamist militant group Boko Haram.
Nigeria's new president, who met in late July with President Obama, has stepped up efforts to rescue hostages taken by Islamist militant group Boko Haram.
Two weeks after Nigeria鈥檚 new president shook up his Army by forcing out 25 top generals, a military spokesman said 178 people had been rescued from Boko Haram.
Some 150 of the rescued were women and children. The operation took place in northeastern Borno state, the heartland of the militant Islamist group. The military said it had captured one of the group's commanders during the operation. 聽
If it proves true 鈥� Nigerian officials have in the past walked back such claims 鈥� the operation would be good news for President Mohammadu Buhari. The newly elected leader met President Obama in the Oval Office two weeks ago; Obama said Mr. Buhari had a "reputation for integrity" and praised his efforts to combat Boko Haram.聽
CNN reports that聽the Nigerian Army released photos showing lines of trucks packed with females and children as partial proof.聽The BBC says聽it is unknown whether any of those taken from captivity were among the 279 girls abducted from a school last year in Chibok in a kidnapping that got global attention.
Buhari was elected in March partly on a platform to knock out Boko Haram, which has been operating with violent impunity in Nigeria鈥檚 northeast region for at least six years. 聽The group, a toxic mixture of criminals, thugs, and young religious radicals, has declared its intent to create an Islamic caliphate there.聽An estimated 55,000 persons have been killed in often random attacks against 海角大神s and Muslims alike.聽
By the beginning of 2015, Boko Haram succeeded in creating a network of interlocking towns and contiguous territory in the northeast. A concerted effort by Nigeria and the forces of Chad and Cameroon helped break up those gains, even before Buhari took office.聽
As the Daily Mail reports today, Boko Haram:
Yet regional coordination against Boko Haram has so far been difficult for Buhari to achieve. The Sydney Morning Herald today points out that a July 30 deadline to set up a joint force has been missed:
The Obama administration pledged $5 million to Nigeria after Buhari鈥檚 election in March, which the US president declared an 鈥渁ffirmative鈥� symbol of Nigeria鈥檚 鈥渃ommitment to democracy.鈥�
At the time of the White House meeting between the two men, Reuters noted that:
The Pentagon has been hinting it may review some aid and coordination with Nigeria on Boko Haram, having a year ago been enthusiastic about doing so but finding it difficult to work with the previous administration.聽
Despite some gains, such as the recapture of those kidnapped today, the size and scale of the unrest is formidable. The聽Nigeria Security Tracker, published by the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, records聽nearly daily accounts聽of Boko Haram violence.聽