10/24/2014
LAGOS – A ceasefire accord for Nigeria was looking fragile Thursday after it emerged that Boko Haram fighters abducted 60 more women and girls a day after the Nigerian Army announced that a ceasefire deal had been reached with the Islamist terror group.
That accord was supposed to have provided for the “imminent” release of some 200 schoolgirls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram six months ago in a raid on their school, according to Nigerian military and government officials.
But on Saturday, the group staged raids on two remote locations in northern Nigeria’s Adamawa state. Some 40 women were kidnapped in Waga Mangoro and 20 others were abducted in Garta by armed men who arrived on motorcycles.
Before they received news of the Adamawa raids, Nigerian officials were upbeat on prospects for securing the release of the previous group of hostages.
On Tuesday, Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Aminu Wali said the first group of kidnapped girls would be set free “in the very near future,” as the terms of a cease-fire accord worked out last week were implemented.
By Thursday, that appeared a vain hope. “The insurgents arrived and started killing the men and boys, while going from house to house and abducting women and girls,” Garta resident Kuva Azira told Efe by phone.
“Before I could escape, I think more than 20 women were abducted,” he said. Another resident, Kwada Tizhe, said the terrorists took 40 women and girls from Waga Mangoro.
The government’s spokesman in Adamawa, Phineas Elisha, told journalists they have not yet been able to confirm the number of missing women and girls, because both towns are under the control of Boko Haram.
“Right now, we cannot confirm the exact number ... but we are very concerned about the situation,” he said.
At least five people were killed and twelve were injured by the explosion of a bomb at a bus station Wednesday night in the Nigerian city of Azare, one of the hardest hits by the violence of Boko Haram.
In addition, Nigerian lawmakers approved on Wednesday President Goodluck Jonathan’s request to allocate $1 billion for the purchase of military equipment to fight Boko Haram, the “Premium Times” newspaper reported.
If the latest incident is confirmed, it would not the first time the Nigerian military has announced a ceasefire with the terrorist group that has proved not to be true.
On three separate occasions, the military also announced the death of the terrorist group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, who earlier this month appeared in a video to prove that he was still alive.
According to the Nigerian government, Boko Haram has killed over 3,000 people since the beginning of this year in its campaign to impose Islamic Sharia law in the poverty-stricken Muslim-majority north of the country and to reject Western values.
source
LAGOS – A ceasefire accord for Nigeria was looking fragile Thursday after it emerged that Boko Haram fighters abducted 60 more women and girls a day after the Nigerian Army announced that a ceasefire deal had been reached with the Islamist terror group.That accord was supposed to have provided for the “imminent” release of some 200 schoolgirls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram six months ago in a raid on their school, according to Nigerian military and government officials.
But on Saturday, the group staged raids on two remote locations in northern Nigeria’s Adamawa state. Some 40 women were kidnapped in Waga Mangoro and 20 others were abducted in Garta by armed men who arrived on motorcycles.
Before they received news of the Adamawa raids, Nigerian officials were upbeat on prospects for securing the release of the previous group of hostages.
On Tuesday, Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Aminu Wali said the first group of kidnapped girls would be set free “in the very near future,” as the terms of a cease-fire accord worked out last week were implemented.
By Thursday, that appeared a vain hope. “The insurgents arrived and started killing the men and boys, while going from house to house and abducting women and girls,” Garta resident Kuva Azira told Efe by phone.
“Before I could escape, I think more than 20 women were abducted,” he said. Another resident, Kwada Tizhe, said the terrorists took 40 women and girls from Waga Mangoro.
The government’s spokesman in Adamawa, Phineas Elisha, told journalists they have not yet been able to confirm the number of missing women and girls, because both towns are under the control of Boko Haram.
“Right now, we cannot confirm the exact number ... but we are very concerned about the situation,” he said.
At least five people were killed and twelve were injured by the explosion of a bomb at a bus station Wednesday night in the Nigerian city of Azare, one of the hardest hits by the violence of Boko Haram.
In addition, Nigerian lawmakers approved on Wednesday President Goodluck Jonathan’s request to allocate $1 billion for the purchase of military equipment to fight Boko Haram, the “Premium Times” newspaper reported.
If the latest incident is confirmed, it would not the first time the Nigerian military has announced a ceasefire with the terrorist group that has proved not to be true.
On three separate occasions, the military also announced the death of the terrorist group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, who earlier this month appeared in a video to prove that he was still alive.
According to the Nigerian government, Boko Haram has killed over 3,000 people since the beginning of this year in its campaign to impose Islamic Sharia law in the poverty-stricken Muslim-majority north of the country and to reject Western values.
source
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