Suicide bomber kills 47 boys in Nigeria school massacre

[Valin]

AFP:

Aminu Abubakar

Nov 9 2014

 

Nearly 50 pupils were killed on Monday in a suicide bombing in northeast Nigeria blamed on Islamist group Boko Haram -- one of the deadliest attacks against schools teaching a so-called Western curriculum.

 

The explosion ripped through an all-boys school in Potiskum just as students gathered for morning assembly before classes began, causing panic and chaos.

 

The massacre came just a day after the release of a new Boko Haram video in which the group's leader, Abubakar Shekau, again rejected Nigerian government claims of a ceasefire and peace talks.

 

Students at the Government Comprehensive Senior Science Secondary School were waiting to hear the principal's daily address when the explosion happened at 7:50 am (0650 GMT).

 

Several witnesses described the blast as "thunderous" and the bloody aftermath a scene of abandoned footwear, school books, bags and body parts.

 

(Snip)

[Valin]

Nigeria: Boko Haram Extremely Offensive To Most Moslems

November 14, 2014:

 

The government is criticizing the United States for refusing to sell Nigeria AH-64 helicopter gunships. The U.S. refused because of Nigeria’s dismal track record maintaining and operating such equipment. The Americans also mentioned the tendency of Nigerian troops to kill lots of innocent civilians with such weapons. The U.S. also pointed out that similar weapons are available from other sources. The government was apparently more upset at the Americans openly discussing the corruption and lethal incompetence of the Nigerian military, something many Nigerians agree with but that the government insists does not exist. American military advisors have been urging the Nigerians to do more about the corruption and poor leadership in the military.

 

Another embarrassing trend for the military leadership is the increasing strength and capabilities of the officially recognized pro-government militias in the northeast. Officially called the Civilian JTF (Joint Task Force or CJTF), these volunteers receive little material support from the government. In early 2013 Boko Haram began to notice that in northeastern Borno and Yobe states thousands of Moslem and Christian young men were enthusiastically joining the CJTF to provide security from Boko Haram violence and provide information to the security forces about who Boko Haram members are and where they are living. In response Boko Haram openly declared war on CJTF members and threatened to come to their homes and kill them. Most CJTF members cover their faces while assisting the security forces. While the Boko Haram threat certainly terrified some CJTF men (who generally have no firearms), the leadership publicly defied the Islamic terrorists over the threats. The CJTF often operates with heavily armed police or soldiers nearby (ready to move in arrest Boko Haram suspects the vigilantes identify or fire back if Boko Haram attack). By the end of 2013 the army had begun to use the volunteers to replace troops at checkpoints. There are still some armed soldiers nearby, in case Boko Haram tries to attack the civilians, but this new policy has enabled more checkpoints to be set up and more through searches of vehicles to be conducted. This made it more difficult for Boko Haram to move around, plan and carry out attacks or to resupply the few men they still have in the cities. By the end of 2014 some CJTF groups were launching attacks on Boko Haram, and usually winning (because they knew the area and people better and often were able to launch a surprise attack at night). All this CJTF activity made Boko Haram very mad and ready to kill CJTF members whenever they had the chance. But because the CJTF have better information about their home areas, it’s difficult for Boko Haram to make revenge attacks. Another disturbing development is that in 2014 more CJTF men obtained weapons via the black market or captured from Boko Haram. It was not illegal for CJTF members to have firearms, but legal firearms are expensive and have to be registered. Rural people tend to ignore the rules and frequently use crude locally made one shot weapons for hunting or home defense. The army doesn’t care how the CJTF get weapons or that they have them. In some cases soldiers will unofficially help the CJTF get firearms, often from stuff captured from Boko Haram. This is sometimes done in defiance of their officers, who tend to regard such weapons as their own personal loot and will often take these weapons and sell them on the black market. While most civilians fear the army, they have more trust in and respect for the CJTF, who are usually local men they know. Boko Haram has far fewer admirers in the northeast as even Islamic conservatives up there see Boko Haram as heretical extremists who attack mosques and often kill worshippers. This is considered extremely offensive to most Moslems.

 

Religious and government leaders in the northeast are pleading with the government to send more troops to their area to deal with the growing Boko Haram violence. The government is reluctant to do so because duty in the northeast is unpopular with officers and troops and people in other parts of Nigeria will complain if troops are removed from their area. There is fear that Boko Haram violence will spread and no one wants to be left defenseless. Meanwhile the Boko Haram violence is ruining the economies of the north. Not just the three states (Borno, Yobe and Adamwa) hardest hit but adjacent states as well. Farmers are fleeing their land for the cities and that eliminates a lot of the normal food supply. Factories are shutting down and the government had to suspend development of oil and gas deposits in Lake Chad and operations run by foreign companies are withdrawing key (non-Nigerian) personnel over fear the Boko Haram will seek foreigners to kidnap and hold for ransom.

 

(Snip)

[Valin]

Nigeria: Leading The World In The Wrong Direction

December 2, 2014:

 

More and more of the Boko Haram attacks are against members of pro-government militias in the northeast. This usually means attacks on towns or villages which have a lot of these volunteers. Officially called the Civilian JTF (Joint Task Force or CJTF), these volunteers receive little material support from the government. In early 2013 Boko Haram began to notice that in northeastern Borno and Yobe states thousands of Moslem and Christian young men were enthusiastically joining the CJTF to provide security from Boko Haram violence and provide information to the security forces about who Boko Haram members are and where they are living. That trend continues and now the CJTF and self-defense groups in general have become frequent targets of attacks. Boko Haram openly declared war on CJTF members and threatened to come to their homes and kill them. Most CJTF members cover their faces while assisting the security forces, especially in areas near where they live that contain Boko Haram sympathizers and supporters. While the Boko Haram threat certainly terrified some CJTF men (who generally have no firearms), the leadership publicly defied the Islamic terrorists over the threats.

 

(Snip)

 

Another disturbing development is that in 2014 more CJTF men obtained weapons via the black market or captured from Boko Haram. It was not illegal for CJTF members to have firearms, but legal firearms are expensive and have to be registered. Rural people tend to ignore the rules and frequently use crude locally made one shot weapons for hunting or home defense. The army doesn’t care how the CJTF get weapons or that they have them. In some cases soldiers will unofficially help the CJTF get firearms, often from captured from Boko Haram stuff. This is sometimes done in defiance of their officers, who tend to regard such weapons as their own personal loot and will often take these weapons and sell them on the black market. While most civilians fear the army, they have more trust in and respect for the CJTF, who are usually local men they know. Boko Haram has far fewer admirers in the northeast as even Islamic conservatives up there see Boko Haram as heretical extremists who attack mosques and often kill worshippers. This is considered extremely offensive to most Moslems.

 

(Snip)

 

Nigeria has the dubious distinction of being one of the primary victims of terrorism on the planet (along with Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria). These five countries accounted for 80 percent of all terrorism related deaths in 2013 and even more in 2014. Four Islamic terrorist organizations (ISIL, al Qaeda, Boko Haram and the Taliban) account for nearly 70 percent of all terrorist deaths. Many of the lesser terror groups are also Islamic.

 

(Snip)

[Pepper]

@Valin

 

Waiting for Obama and #hashtag to come flying in

 

 

oh wait, these are just young boys.

[Valin]

@Valin

 

Waiting for Obama and #hashtag to come flying in

 

 

oh wait, these are just young boys.

 

 

 

Not the deadly Hashtags!