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Six civillians killed by Boko Haram in Niger: Army
 [Al Ahram] At least six non-combatants were killed and seven injured in an attack by Boko Haram... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... Islamist fighters in Niger on Thursday evening, according to the country's army. Four of the victims were burned alive and two were rubbed out during the attack near the south eastern garrison town of Bosso, close to the border with Nigeria, according to an army statement broadcast on state TV and radio Friday. Cross-border raids by the Nigeria-based Boko Haram group are not uncommon. In November Boko Haram killed 18 people and injured 11 others during a raid in the village of Wogom, close to Bosso. The army said that the fighters struck the village of Yebi at around 10:50 pm (2150 GMT) on Thursday, setting fire to the local market, 10 houses and killing several cattle before fleeing back to Nigeria along with two stolen cars. "Search operations are ongoing in the area to neutralise these terrorists," said the army statement. Since February 2015, Niger has been plagued by Boko Haram attacks in its south east region. In April, two non-combatants were killed in a suicide kaboom near the town of Diffa, the regional capital. On March 30, six Nigerien soldiers were killed in an ambush by Boko Haram fighters, also in the Diffa region which borders north east Nigeria, the cradle of the Islamist insurgency. The violence has forced more than 240,000 people in the region to flee their homes. Boko Haram's insurgency has left at least 20,000 people dead and made more than 2.6 million homeless in neighbouring Nigeria.  'Second Rescued Chibok Girl' not among the 219 Seized[AnNahar] A campaign group on Friday said an kidnapped schoolgirl rescued from Boko Haram was a student in Chibok but was not among the 219 seized more than two years ago. Nigeria's military announced late Thursday that Serah Luka was among 97 women and kiddies rescued earlier that day in the Damboa area of the northeastern state of Borno.
A senior military source maintained it was "beyond reasonable doubt" that the schoolgirl was one of them. But BringBackOurGirls front man Sesugh Akume said background checks with a community leader in Chibok had established that although Serah was a student at the same school, she was in a different class. "She was an SSS1 learner at (Government Girls Secondary School) Chibok, who was kidnapped by the murderous Moslems in her home in Madagali (in neighboring Adamawa state)," he added. SSS1 is the first year of the final three years of secondary school in the Nigerian system. The 219 girls held were in the final year, SSS3. News of the rescue came just hours after the first student to be found, Amina Ali, met President Muhammadu Buhari in the capital, Abuja. Boko Haram has kidnapped thousands of women and young girls. Posted by: Fred 2016-05-21 |
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