BOKO HARAM ATTACKS IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

BOKO HARAM ATTACKS IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

നൈജീരിയയില്‍ ബോക്കോ ഹറാം 100 പേരെ കൊന്നു

Boko Haram Islamist militants killed about 100 people this week in attacks on villages in northeast Nigeria, with residents fleeing the onslaught, according to a senator representing the region.The insurgents attacked three local government areas of Kala Balge, Gamboru Ngala and Dikwa in Borno state, Ahmed Zanna, the senator representing central Borno, said by phone on Friday from the capital, Abuja. “The attackers killed no less than 100 people in the villages and at market places.”

The violence started late Feb. 24 through Feb. 25 and wasn’t reported earlier because of poor telecommunication networks, Zanna said.The conflict with Boko Haram has left thousands of people dead and has escalated this year, drawing in soldiers from neighboring countries, including Chad and Niger to help fight the group. The election commission of Africa’s largest economy postponed presidential polls by six weeks to March 28, to give the army time to defeat the militants.Military spokesman Major-General Chris Olukolade didn’t answer a call to his mobile phone or immediately reply to a text message seeking comment. Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant-General Kenneth Minimah said this week Nigeria can defeat Boko Haram before the elections next month.

 “They shot to death some of our people and others were slaughtered,” he said by phone on Friday. “I narrowly escaped to the bush while Boko Haram were on the rampage shooting some of us running away.”Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration has come under fire for failing to tackle the worsening insurgency, with security a key issue in his campaign for re-election in a contest against former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari.On Thursday, bomb attacks on two Nigerian towns killed more than 30 people in northeast Biu and central Jos.Jonathan the same day visited areas in the country’s northeast affected by the insurgency to thank troops who recently seized key towns.

His stops included the border town of Baga, which the army said it captured from the rebels on Feb. 21, more than a month after Boko Haram seized the town in a raid that human rights group Amnesty International said killed hundreds of people.“We have already recovered much territory,” Jonathan said in an e-mailed statement sent by his office on Friday. “Very soon our troops will clear the terrorists out of other areas not presently under our control.”വടക്കുപടിഞ്ഞാറന്‍ നൈജീരിയയില്‍ ജിഹാദി സംഘടനയായ ബോക്കോ ഹറാം നടത്തിയ ആക്രമണത്തില്‍ 100 പേര്‍ കൊല്ലപ്പെട്ടു. കുക്കുവയില്‍ റംസാന്‍ മാസത്തില്‍ നോമ്പുതുറക്കുന്ന സമയത്ത് പള്ളിക്കു നേരെയായിരുന്നു ആക്രമണം. ചൊവ്വാഴ്ച കുക്കുവയില്‍ നിന്നും 50 കിലോമീറ്റര്‍ അകലെ തീവ്രവാദികള്‍ ഒരു ഗ്രാമം ആക്രമിച്ച് 48 പേരെ കൊലപ്പെടുത്തിയിരിന്നു. ബുധനാഴ്ച രാത്രിയായിരുന്നു പള്ളിക്കു നേരെ ആക്രമണമുണ്ടായത്.പള്ളിക്കുനേരെയുണ്ടായ ആക്രമണത്തിന് പിന്നാലെ തീവ്രവാദികള്‍വീടുകള്‍ക്കുനേരെയും ആക്രമണം നടത്തി സ്ത്രീകളേയും കുട്ടികളേയും കൊലപ്പെടുത്തി.

               Prof. John Kurakar