UPDATE: 30 killed in Nigeria (Gombe) motor park explosion

[jchima]

Over 30 people were said to have been killed in an explosion that rocked the popular Gombe Line Transport Services Limited in Gombe State on Friday morning.

Police and eyewitnesses said the explosion occurred around 9.30am leaving several people dead and scores of others injured.

Source: UPDATE 30 killed in Gombe motor park explosion - eReporter

 

[waltky]

Even the anti-Boko Haram vigilantes havin' it tough...

Nigerian Vigilantes Pay Price for Fighting Boko Haram
December 01, 2014 — Boko Haram’s siege on the border town of Damasak in Borno state last week was similar to many of the attacks the insurgent group has carried out in its five-year violent campaign for control of Nigeria’s northeast.

Mamadou Guide, an official with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in neighboring Niger, said after the attack villagers fled across the border to Niger, where they sought refuge in the Diffa region, which has seen a large influx of Nigerian refugees. The U.N. said 50 people were killed, some of whom drowned while trying to flee across a river. But Damasak wasn’t targeted randomly and the goal wasn’t just to use the town as a base or steal weapons, as Boko Haram has done in the past.

Revenge attack

Rather, people with knowledge of the attack suggest it was a revenge strike against the town’s young men who have been joining anti-Boko Haram vigilante groups. Armed with clubs, machetes and good luck charms, vigilantes have joined with Nigeria’s military to help provide local security in small, isolated towns like Damasak. A resident in Borno state’s capital, Maiduguri, who asked not to be named, said the vigilantes have been having some success against Boko Haram. “Many people decided to be youth vigilantes to cover their areas, their surrounding areas from minor attacks by Boko Haram. When I said minor attack, I mean, three or four groups of Boko Haram can go either with their guns or knives to kill or abduct young men or women,” the resident said. “So in such [a] situation, the youth vigilante group attacks maybe 10, 20 or 15 in their groups, guarding their surroundings, so whenever they see them, they can go up to them and capture them and kill them," the resident continued.

Vigilante barricade the road following an explosion at a market in Maiduguri, Nigeria, Dec. 1, 2014, with twin blasts exploding at a crowded market in Maiduguri and explosions and gunshots erupting in Damaturu.

But these vigilantes don’t have the weaponry or the numbers to fight off a full-scale attack by the group, the resident said. When Boko Haram comes in force - riding in pickup trucks and armed with heavy weapons, as they did in Damasak - the vigilantes find themselves outgunned.

Fearful of vigilantes
Still, Boko Haram is afraid of these vigilante groups, the resident said. The local men know some of the insurgents personally and would be able to identify them to security forces. For Boko Haram to operate freely, “they must be sure they overcome those vigilante groups,” the resident said. Bawa Abdullahi Wase, a security analyst and associate at the Nigeria-based Network for Justice, said Boko Haram’s targeting of Damasak shows the group recognizes the vigilante forces may be one of the biggest threats it faces. Local vigilantes are fighting to protect their families and homes, and to earn a living, Wase said.
Monday's attack on a university in Damaturu, the capital of neighboring Yobe state, shows Boko Haram is targeting young people who could join the vigilante movement, he said. “They want to disperse the youth. They don’t want the concentrations of the youth, so that they don’t allow them any reason to generate thoughtfulness of counterinsurgency,” Wase said. “They don’t want the youth to also be stable, to have the idea of what next to do to [defend] themselves, their parents and their places.” Nigeria's military has gained and lost ground against the insurgents in the northeast. But Wase said youth are always around, making vigilante groups an enduring force against Boko Haram.

Nigerian Vigilantes Pay Price for Fighting Boko Haram

 

[waltky]

US gives Nigeria 24 mine resistant vehicles to help fight Boko Haram...

US donates 24 mine resistant vehicles to Nigeria to combat Boko Haram
Thursday 7th January, 2016 - The United States on Thursday donated 24 mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles to Nigeria's military, to help in the fight against the Boko Haram terror group. The mine-resistant, armor-protected vehicles are valued at $11 million. They were handed over to the military authorities at the Nigerian army 9th brigade parade ground, Ikeja army cantonment in Lagos.

At a brief ceremony in Lagos, the US government said the donation was part of its commitment to assist Nigeria in its war against insurgency. "For many years the Nigerian armed forces has been a strong partner of the United States," said Patrick Doyle, a Colonel and the US Defence Attache to Nigeria. "We have asked for your support in many endeavours, in particular throughout West Africa and you have responded. "I believe United States government security cooperation commitment is second to none. We have provided extensive training programmes, logistical supports, and equipment to the Nigerian armed forces and we will continue to do so."

The US statement read: "The US is pleased to donate 24 mine-resistant, armor-protected (MRAP) vehicles valued at $11 million to Nigeria's military authorities. "The equipment donation represents part of the continuing US commitment to Nigeria and its neighbours to counter Boko Haram's senseless acts of terror and promote regional security." The armored vehicles arrived on New Year's Day. They are part of the US government's Excess Defence Articles Programme, designed to transfer excess US military equipment to partner nations. Eight more of the vehicles are expected to arrive soon from the US.

Around 30 people were killed between Monday and Wednesday in Borno state, as Boko Haram gunmen wearing soldiers' uniforms and female suicide bombers unleashed separate attacks on Izghe, a village 123 km southwest of Maiduguri, the state capital, witnesses said. Buba Ummate, a survivor, said: "They came in military uniforms and ... just started firing there. At least 18 people were killed in the Monday attack." Ummate said the following day, three female suicide bombers sneaked into Izghe and detonated bombs hidden under their garments, killing seven people and destroying three houses. A male suicide bomber also blew himself up, killing four other people. The United States also provides advisers, intelligence, training and logistical support to the Nigerian military fighting Boko Haram as well as humanitarian aid and victim support services to some of the 2.5 million people driven from their homes by the insurgency.

In October, the US sent 300 troops to northern Cameroon to help coordinate the fight against the militants, and last month it provided Cameroon with combat vehicles, power generators and other "tactical war equipment." Boko Haram has become the most deadly terrorist group in the world, killing nearly 6,500 people in 2014, according to reports. The group killed several thousand more in 2015 with attacks in Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger. Those countries, along with Benin, have formed a joint task force to battle Boko Haram. The terror group says it is fighting to establish a strict Islamic state in northern Nigeria.

US donates 24 mine resistant vehicles to Nigeria to combat Boko Haram