... 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...
gunnies killed dozens of people in four villages in northeast Nigeria
... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border...
, slitting some residents' throats and opening fire on others, one resident and the police said on Tuesday.
The atrocities near Monguno in the northeastern state of Borno took the corpse count since Muhammau Buhari became president in late May to more than 625, according to an AFP count.
Buhari on Monday further signaled his intent to crush the six-year Islamist uprising by sacking the entire military high command that oversaw the Islamists' rise in strength last year.
The latest raids happened late last Friday but details have only just emerged because of poor to non-existent phone networks in the remote area.
On Monday, a jacket wallah went
kaboom!in the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, a day after the first suicide kaboom in northern Cameroon
...a long, narrow country that fills the space between Nigeria and Chad on the northeast, CAR to the southeast. Prior to incursions by Boko Haram nothing ever happened there...
that killed at least 11.
In another sign of the rebels' threat to regional security, a suicide bomber disguised as a woman in a full-face veil went
kaboom!in Chad's capital, N'Djamena, on Saturday, killing 15.
Sheriff Kulo, from Kilwa, said holy warrior fighters stormed his village late on Friday night, killing residents before stealing food and cattle then burning down homes.
"In Kilwa alone, they killed seven people, including the village head and left one seriously injured with a fracture on his leg," he added.
"They then proceeded to Gwollam, Misala and Magaram, where they did the same thing. In all they killed 43," he told AFP from Maiduguri, where he fled to raise the alarm.
"They opened fire on residents and in some cases they used knives to slaughter their victims."
There was no independent corroboration of his toll but the Borno state police commissioner, Aderemi Padokun, said: "From what we heard, the gunnies raided these villages.
"They rubbed out their victims and in some cases slit their throats. They also carted away foodstuffs and livestock.
"We don't have details of the actual number of people killed in the attack but I can confirm it happened."
Boko Haram mounted a similar raid on a nearby village in the Monguno area on July 1, killing 48 people.
Buhari's removal of the military top brass he inherited from his predecessor,
Goodluck Jonathan... 14th President of Nigeria. He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He is a lover of nifty hats, which makes him easily recognizable unless someone else in the room is wearing a neat chapeau...
, was expected but he indicated that his new team must deliver. The replacement officials, including a new chief of army staff and national security adviser both from Borno which has been worst affected by the violence, were chosen "on merit", he told them.
Retired army colonel Hassan Stan-Labo told Nigeria's Channels television he welcomed the changes at the top and called on Buhari to now overhaul military logistics and communications.
Lagos-based political analyst Jide Ogunlesi said the appointments indicated Buhari -- a former army general and military ruler -- "can pick a good team that can deliver". But he warned against politicizing the military in the way some alleged the former high command was during Jonathan's administration.
"Critics will be silenced when they see these officers perform," he told AFP. "I think their appointment will give a fillip and a stronger bite to the fight against terrorism and all forms of banditry."
Nigeria's military has been traditionally dominated by officers from the mainly Moslem north and Jonathan was accused of ignoring the insurgency because he was from the Christian-majority south. Some saw regional bias in the appointments with Buhari also a Moslem from the north, while others said the high command should be given time to be effective in their new positions.
Boko Haram's upsurge in attacks on civilians comes after a four-nation coalition of Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon pushed out the
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
backing is expected to deploy by the end of the month.