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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Boko Haram storms jail, sets dozens free |
| 2014-03-16 |
| [THEHIMALAYANTIMES] 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... Islamists attacked a military base in the northeast Nigeria ... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border... n city of Maiduguri today and freed dozens of Death Eaters from custody, the military said of the latest raid in the embattled city. Before storming the Giwa barracks, a notorious prison for Islamist fighters, the gunnies opened fire in a residential neighbourhood and razed many homes, witnesses said. The attack is another blow to the military's campaign against the Death Eater group, which has been blamed for thousands of killings since 2009 in Africa's most populous country and top oil producer. An AFP news hound near the Giwa barracks said the shooting there started shortly after 0600 GMT. Gunmen hurled explosives into the compound, causing several buildings to catch fire, witnesses said. A military source said that the Death Eaters forced their way inside the barracks prison and "freed dozens of their members". Asked about the report, defence front man Chris Olukolade said that "many Death Eaters are in flight. Whether they were those who staged the attack or those who were held prisoner is not yet known." In a separate statement, Olukolade said the Death Eaters have been hit hard by military bombardments in recent weeks and Boko Haram attacked the barracks "to boost their depleted stock of fighters." The Death Eaters have previously carried out a number of prison breaks, but this appeared to be the most dramatic in many months. The northeast has been under a state of emergency since May when the military launched a major offensive aimed at crushing the Islamist uprising. Defence officials have sought to portray the operation as a success but the violence has continued unchecked. Human Rights Watch ... dedicated to bitching about human rights violations around the world... today said Boko Haram had carried out more than 40 attacks already in 2014, with more than 700 people killed, one of the highest rates of killing since the uprising began. Many of those attacks have targeted defenceless civilians in remote villages, leading to claims from the military that the Death Eaters were no longer capable of striking anything but soft targets. But the latest daring raid in Maiduguri has re-enforced the notion that Boko Haram is still able to hit heavily fortified targets. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Someone should point out to the military that the BH boys would be less successful if they had to storm the cemetary. All they'd set free would be Democrat voters. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2014-03-16 08:12 |