Bapok Haram mass murder entire town

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http://www.independent.ie/world-news...-30255169.html

Updated 08 May 2014 01:37 AM
Islamic militants who prompted global outrage over the kidnapping of more than 270 schoolgirls have opened fire on a busy marketplace, killing hundreds in a new spasm of violence in Nigeria's north-east.

The attack escalates Nigeria's growing crisis from a campaign of bombings, massacres and abductions being waged by the Boko Haram terrorist network in its campaign to impose an Islamic state on Africa's most populous nation.

As many as 300 people were killed in the assault late on Monday on the town of Gamboru Ngala on Nigeria's border with Cameroon. The extremists opened fire on a marketplace bustling with shoppers taking advantage of the cooler night-time temperatures in the semi-desert region, then rampaged through the town for 12 hours, setting houses ablaze and shooting those who tried to escape.

The attack and hundreds of casualties were confirmed by Borno state information commissioner Mohammed Bulama.

Nigerian federal senator Ahmed Zannah blamed fighters of the Boko Haram terrorist network that has claimed responsibility for the April 15 kidnapping of 276 teenage girls from their boarding school in Chibok, in north-eastern Borno state. The insurgents threatened to sell the young women into slavery in a video.

Outrage over the missing girls and the government's failure to rescue them brought angry Nigerian protesters into the streets this week in an embarrassment for the government of President Goodluck Jonathan, who had hoped to showcase the country's emergence as Africa's largest economy as it hosted the Africa meeting of the World Economic Forum, the continent's version of Davos.

Offers of international assistance have poured in, with the US announcing on Tuesday it was sending personnel and equipment to help Nigerian security forces in their search for the girls in the vast Sambisa Forest. Mr Jonathan confirmed that he has accepted the American assistance, which the Pentagon said will help with communications, logistics and intelligence planning, but will not include any military operations.

Britain and China have also announced that Nigeria has accepted their offers of help, and France said it was sending in a "specialised team" to help with search and rescue of the girls.

French foreign minister Laurent Fabius said: "In the face of such an appalling act, France, like other democratic nations, must react.

"This crime will not go unpunished."

Mr Fabius gave no details, except to say the team was being drawn from forces already in the region. France has soldiers in Niger, Cameroon and Mali, where it is fighting Islamic insurgents, as well as in Central African Republic.

The kidnapping has ignited a viral social media campaign under the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls that has brought renewed attention to Boko Haram's campaign of violence. Yesterday, US first lady Michelle Obama joined in, tweeting, "Our prayers are with the missing Nigerian girls and their families. It's time to #BringBackOurGirls."


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