Rebel group giving nightmares to Nigeria
25 April 2013 6:19 AM IST
Boko Haram, a Nigerian rebel group which battled the military over the weekend and left 185 people dead, has become a major challenge for the security forces, pushing the army chief to ask soldiers to be alert and confront the guerrillas who use ‘unconventional weapons and tactics’.
At least 185 people were confirmed dead in the weekend crossfire between the military and Boko Haram sect in Baga, a fishing community located in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno State.
Army chief Lt.Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika described Boko Haram’s activities as unconventional and asked army personnel to be at alert in order to confront the new trend in warfare that has been unleashed on the country. Gen. Ihejirika’s concerns came Tuesday, a day when the police in the northern state of Plateau said it had discovered a large cache of arms and home-made explosives which were to be used to blow up targets in Jos, the capital. Some of these explosives have been used in suicide bombing in other parts of the country. Plateau state’s police commissioner Chris Olakpe said the arms were discovered during a search by the police, and expressed worry that large cache of arms have found their way into the hands of young people within the state.
As part of the efforts to face the Boko Haram threats, Gen. Ihejirika said the army is determined to reinforce the existing Quick Response Group.
It has also now been proved that most of the rebels use the country’s porous borders to enter, make strikes, cause havoc and get out without being arrested.
Gen. Ihejirika admitted these rebels ‘employ all forms of unconventional weapons and tactics in urban and rural areas, capitalising on the porosity of our borders’.
‘From the creeks in the Niger delta to the Sahel savannah region in the northeast and northwest, there is no clear line between you and the adversary,’ he added.
At least 185 people were confirmed dead in the weekend crossfire between the military and Boko Haram sect in Baga, a fishing community located in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno State.
Army chief Lt.Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika described Boko Haram’s activities as unconventional and asked army personnel to be at alert in order to confront the new trend in warfare that has been unleashed on the country. Gen. Ihejirika’s concerns came Tuesday, a day when the police in the northern state of Plateau said it had discovered a large cache of arms and home-made explosives which were to be used to blow up targets in Jos, the capital. Some of these explosives have been used in suicide bombing in other parts of the country. Plateau state’s police commissioner Chris Olakpe said the arms were discovered during a search by the police, and expressed worry that large cache of arms have found their way into the hands of young people within the state.
As part of the efforts to face the Boko Haram threats, Gen. Ihejirika said the army is determined to reinforce the existing Quick Response Group.
It has also now been proved that most of the rebels use the country’s porous borders to enter, make strikes, cause havoc and get out without being arrested.
Gen. Ihejirika admitted these rebels ‘employ all forms of unconventional weapons and tactics in urban and rural areas, capitalising on the porosity of our borders’.
‘From the creeks in the Niger delta to the Sahel savannah region in the northeast and northwest, there is no clear line between you and the adversary,’ he added.
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