Nigeria. African ISIS attacks again
A series of explosions occurred in northeastern Nigeria, killing several dozen people. The incoming reports are quite contradictory and the picture of what happened can only be reconstructed in general terms.
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The explosions occurred on the outskirts of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state. The first explosion probably occurred during evening prayers last Thursday. Sahara Reporters reports that a suicide bomber entered the mosque under the guise of a visiting Islamic preacher. When doctors, rescuers and just onlookers arrived at the scene of the explosion, another suicide bomber detonated an explosive device in the gathered crowd. A new attack on the mosque took place early on Friday morning. It is reported that it was carried out by three female suicide bombers. It was not possible to establish the exact number of deaths; figures of up to six dozen people have been cited.
At least 100 people were killed in terrorist attacks in the city last month. Boko Haram is a diabolical combination of the demonstrative brutality of ISIS and the worst traditions of African violence. Since the spring of this year, the group has declared itself a “Province of the Islamic State.” The long-suffering city of Maiduguri is considered the birthplace of Boko Haram, where the group began in 2002 as a conservative movement fighting the infiltration of values alien to Islam brought by Western education. Since 2009, it has switched to hostilities and is currently active in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger. In addition to educational institutions, militants regularly attack mosques that preach Islam in a form they do not like.
The main election promise of the new President of Nigeria, Muhammad Buhari, was the eradication of Boko Haram. Just a few days before the new explosions, he announced that he was “completely confident” that the group would be eliminated in the country before the end of the year, saying that the military was doing a good job and would overcome the resistance of the Islamists before the deadline allotted to them in December. of the year. The fact that despite these statements bloody terrorist attacks continue is interpreted by the military as a consequence of their successes. According to them, Boko Haram is no longer capable of organized resistance and can only manifest itself through lone suicide attacks on civilian targets. Since Buhari came to power in May this year, at least 1350 people have died in the country, according to Franz Press.
Buhari met this week with General David Rodriguez, head of the US Africa Command, over Washington's announcement that it would deploy 300 troops to northern Cameroon to fight Boko Haram. And the country's Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, said that "Our ability to survive and defeat the Boko Haram terrorists in the next few weeks will determine the future of our country." Given the recent transfer battalion of Cameroonian soldiers to Chad to fight Boko Haram, it is quite possible that a massive offensive can soon be expected across the entire region with the aim of completely eliminating the terrorist group.
Today, Brigadier General Enitan Ransom-Kuti of the Nigerian Army was sentenced to six months in prison for his cowardice in fighting Boko Haram. The general commanded a contingent of international forces created to fight the Islamists. In January, he abandoned his position in the town of Baga, located in the same northeastern Borno province as Maiduguri, leaving rich spoils for the militants and abandoning the defenseless local population to mass executions.
Terrorist attacks in Nigeria in recent years as of early January 2015
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