Boko Haram resists military offensive in Nigeria

The mass abduction of more than 200
schoolgirls, and Boko Haram’s
resistance to a military offensive, have
increased political pressure on
Nigeria's government. President
Goodluck Jonathan is facing public
opposition. In a bid to fight back against a military
offensive, suspected Boko Haram
gunmen in the Gwoza local
government district in Borno state,
entered villages and fired on
residents, razing homes, churches and
mosques, witnesses and a local
lawmaker said on Thursday. The
attack took place around 60 miles (100
kilometers) southeast of the local
capital Maiduguri.
Hundreds of people are suspected to
have been killed in the attack, which
took place earlier in the week. The
Associated Press news agency reported
at least 200 people had died, although
some community leaders put the death
toll at between 400 and 500. There is
not yet independent verification
because of the lack of communication
in the remote area. Roads out of the
region are extremely dangerous and
phone connections are poor to
nonexistent.
The militants arrived in Toyota Hilux
pickup trucks - a common vehicle for
the military - and told civilians they
were soldiers there to protect the local
population. Local residents had
requested military help. The same
tactic was used by Boko Haram to
kidnap more than 200 schoolgirls from
the town of Chibok on April 15.
The gunmen reportedly gathered
people in the center of the villages and
fired on them. As people attempted to
flee, militants on motorcycles waited
outside the villages and attacked them.
Mohammed Ali Ndume, a senator
representing Borno and whose
hometown is Gwoza, confirmed the
attack to the AP. Peter Biye, who
represents Gwoza in Nigeria's lower
chamber of parliament the House of
Representatives, said that the militants
still had control of the area.
"The killings are massive but nobody
can give a toll for now because nobody
has been able to go to that place
because the insurgents are still there.
They have taken over the whole area,"
he told the AFP news agency. "There
are bodies littered over the whole area
and people have fled."
Boko Haram militants have been
taking over villages in northeastern
Nigeria as the group fights back
against the year-long military
campaign to defeat them. If
confirmed, Monday's attacks would be
the deadliest since more than 300
people were killed on May 5 when
militant fighters raided the nearby
town of Gamboru Ngala.
Thousands of people have been killed
in Boko Haram's five-year insurgency,
and more than 2,000 just this year
alone. An estimated 750,000 Nigerians
have been forced to flee their homes
due to the violence.
Since the schoolgirls' abduction by
Boko Haram militants in April,
Nigeria's government has been widely
criticized for its failure to locate and
rescue them.
Earlier this week, police banned
protests because they were said to be
a threat to national security. Protests
have since resumed across the
country.