Nigeria's army says it has rescued 178 people held by the Boko Haram group in Nigeria's Borno state in raids that destroyed several camps in the country's northeast.
Army spokesman Colonel Tukur Gusau said in a statement on Sunday that 101 of the those freed were children, 67 were women and 10 were men.
Gusau said that a Boko Haram commander had also been captured in the raids on camps around the town of Bama, about 70km southeast of the state capital Maiduguri.
Nigeria's air force earlier said on Sunday that it helped ground troops repel an attack by Boko Haram around the village of Bitta on the southern edge of the Sambisa forest reserve, a stronghold of the group.
Bitta is west of Gwoza, a town near the Cameroonian border that was believed to be the group's headquarters until a major offensive was launched earlier this year against the group.
Last week the army said it rescued 71 kidnapped people.
Vow to crush group
Earlier on Sunday, witnesses said Boko Haram fighters killed 13 people in an attack on Malari village, which is also in Borno state.
Moha Saleh, a local farmer, told AFP news agency on Sunday that 27 people were also injured in the attack, which began when the armed group stormed the village at around 1am local time.
"They also set many houses ablaze after accusing us of telling soldiers their whereabouts," he reportedly said.
A local community vigilante, Goni Musi, confirmed the death toll.
Hundreds freed
Hundreds have been freed from Boko Haram captivity this year but none of the 219 girls abducted in April 2014 from a school in Chibok were among those rescued on Sunday, the AP news agency reported.
Boko Haram was pushed out of most of the vast swaths of territory it controlled at the start of the year but they have dispersed and returned to tactics of raiding towns and hitting soft targets with bombs.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has vowed to crush the group with a multinational joint task force comprising 8,700 troops from Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, Chad, and Benin that is being set up in the Chadian capital N'Djamena.
The force was supposed to start operations on July 31 but has been dogged by a lack of funding and political will.
Buhari visited Cameroon this past week in an effort to smooth over differences over cross-border pursuit and then to Benin.
AP
Monday, August 3, 2015
Friday, July 31, 2015
10 dead in suicide bomb blast in Nigeria
A suicide bomber killed about 10 people at a crowded market early Friday in a blast that thundered across the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, witnesses said.
The region has been pummeled by suicide bombings that have killed hundreds carried out by the Boko Haram Islamic extremists since Nigeria elected a new president who promised to root out the extremists.
Trader Bukar Shettima said the explosion lifted him off his feet and threw him to the ground. "Thank God I was not too close," he said. "But I saw nauseating corpses and battered bodies of humans littering the ground."
A police bomb expert said the bomber was a man, not a woman as had been originally described by witnesses. Both were in a tricycle taxi that exploded at a taxi rank outside Gamboru wholesale vegetable market.
The expert, who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to reporters, said he helped collect seven bodies.
Civilian self-defense fighter Kabiru Yaro said he carried away at least 10 corpses. It is difficult to get an exact toll in such attacks because of the numerous body parts.
A suicide bombing at the same market killed at least 20 last month.
Nigeria's military Thursday announced its first major success in weeks: soldiers rescued 71 Boko Haram captives, mostly girls and women, in battles that killed many militants and destroyed their camps in three villages near Maiduguri.
President Muhammadu Buhari this week visited neighboring Cameroon to bolster support for the 8,700-strong, four-nation army to curb the uprising that has spilled across borders. Deployment has been delayed by a lack of funds.
The 6-year-old uprising has killed 20,000 people and driven nearly 2 million from their homes.
AP
The region has been pummeled by suicide bombings that have killed hundreds carried out by the Boko Haram Islamic extremists since Nigeria elected a new president who promised to root out the extremists.
Trader Bukar Shettima said the explosion lifted him off his feet and threw him to the ground. "Thank God I was not too close," he said. "But I saw nauseating corpses and battered bodies of humans littering the ground."
A police bomb expert said the bomber was a man, not a woman as had been originally described by witnesses. Both were in a tricycle taxi that exploded at a taxi rank outside Gamboru wholesale vegetable market.
The expert, who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to reporters, said he helped collect seven bodies.
Civilian self-defense fighter Kabiru Yaro said he carried away at least 10 corpses. It is difficult to get an exact toll in such attacks because of the numerous body parts.
A suicide bombing at the same market killed at least 20 last month.
Nigeria's military Thursday announced its first major success in weeks: soldiers rescued 71 Boko Haram captives, mostly girls and women, in battles that killed many militants and destroyed their camps in three villages near Maiduguri.
President Muhammadu Buhari this week visited neighboring Cameroon to bolster support for the 8,700-strong, four-nation army to curb the uprising that has spilled across borders. Deployment has been delayed by a lack of funds.
The 6-year-old uprising has killed 20,000 people and driven nearly 2 million from their homes.
AP
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Nigeria appoints new general to lead fight against Boko Haram
Nigeria has named a general to lead the new multinational task force to fight Boko Haram Islamists, the military said on Thursday.
Major General Iliya Abbah, who previously commanded military operations in the oil-rich Niger Delta, will head the new force, Nigerian military spokesman Major General Chris Olukolade said.
The 8,700-strong Multi-National Joint Task Force, drawing in Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin, is expected to be more effective than the current alliance in the battle to end Boko Haram's six-year insurgency that has claimed some 15,000 lives.
Abbah was until his new appointment the military secretary in the army, Olukolade added.
The spokesman had said on Tuesday that the new regional force is expected to go into action very soon, but did not specify when for tactical reasons.
Boko Haram has stepped up its attacks since President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in in May, unleashing a wave of violence that has claimed 800 lives in just two months.
The new regional force will be headquartered in Chadian capital N'Djamena, but few other details have emerged on its specific nature, raising concerns its deployment may face delays.
Buhari is currently in neighbouring Cameroon for talks on how to combat the escalating regional threat from Boko Haram Islamists.
Nigeria's presidency said Buhari's talks with Cameroonian President Paul Biya were part of his "ongoing effort to build a more effective regional coalition against Boko Haram".
The Nigerian president has already visited neighbouring Chad and Niger, which have also suffered from attacks by the Islamist fighters.
He is also expected to visit neighbouring Benin on Saturday.
AFP
Related story: Nigeria president Muhammadu Buhari sacks army, navy and air force chiefs
Major General Iliya Abbah, who previously commanded military operations in the oil-rich Niger Delta, will head the new force, Nigerian military spokesman Major General Chris Olukolade said.
The 8,700-strong Multi-National Joint Task Force, drawing in Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin, is expected to be more effective than the current alliance in the battle to end Boko Haram's six-year insurgency that has claimed some 15,000 lives.
Abbah was until his new appointment the military secretary in the army, Olukolade added.
The spokesman had said on Tuesday that the new regional force is expected to go into action very soon, but did not specify when for tactical reasons.
Boko Haram has stepped up its attacks since President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in in May, unleashing a wave of violence that has claimed 800 lives in just two months.
The new regional force will be headquartered in Chadian capital N'Djamena, but few other details have emerged on its specific nature, raising concerns its deployment may face delays.
Buhari is currently in neighbouring Cameroon for talks on how to combat the escalating regional threat from Boko Haram Islamists.
Nigeria's presidency said Buhari's talks with Cameroonian President Paul Biya were part of his "ongoing effort to build a more effective regional coalition against Boko Haram".
The Nigerian president has already visited neighbouring Chad and Niger, which have also suffered from attacks by the Islamist fighters.
He is also expected to visit neighbouring Benin on Saturday.
AFP
Related story: Nigeria president Muhammadu Buhari sacks army, navy and air force chiefs
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
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