... 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...launched attacks in and around the fishing town of Baga last month, the United Nations
...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society...
refugee agency said on Tuesday.
"An estimated 6,000 refugees have fled Nigeria's restive Borno state since December 26, when festivities erupted between Nigerian forces and non-state gangs in Baga town, near the Chadian border," the UNHCR said in a statement.
"According to testimonies gathered by our teams, refugees are fleeing in fear of their lives after threats of retaliation and intimidation following bully boy attacks."
The attacks have been blamed on the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling
Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
West Africa Province faction of Boko Haram, which has repeatedly targeted the military in recent months.
Last week, the U.N. said there had since been a "massive displacement" of more than 30,000 people from Baga and the surrounding area to the Borno state capital, Maiduguri.
That had increased pressure on already overstretched aid agencies providing humanitarian assistance in the city.
Another 9,000 Nigerians sought refuge in 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...
following a separate attack against troops in Rann, but the authorities there refused to take them, the UNHCR said last week.
The attacks come as Nigeria prepares to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in less than a month. Violence and so many displaced people is expected to make voting problematic.
The conflict between Boko Haram and the Nigerian army has claimed more than 27,000 lives since 2009 and more than 1.7 million people are still unable to return to their homes.
Edward Kallon, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria, has said the "increasingly frequent" attacks were "having a devastating impact on... civilians."