One can only imagine John Kerry standing among the dead and dying and insisting that Islam has nothing to do with Islam, as chants of allahu akbar are ululating off in the distance. Such idiocy is without historical parallel.
Lest we forget, for years the Obama refused to designate Boko Haram a terrorist group, because they had "legitimate concerns."
Nigeria repels suspected Boko Haram attack on Maiduguri city By Reuters, 25 January 2015 | (thanks to Aron)Nigeria, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Nigeria's military repelled an attack by suspected Boko Haram militants on Borno state capital Maiduguri in the northeast, security sources said on Sunday, a crucial win as the insurgents already control a large territory in the area.
The assault on Maiduguri began just after midnight, killing at least eight people and injuring 27, mostly civilians, sources at two hospitals said. A raid on the town of Monguno, 140 km (80 miles) north, began later in the morning.
The army's inability to quash the Sunni jihadist group is a major headache for President Goodluck Jonathan, who is seeking re-election in February and who visited the state capital on Saturday as part of his campaign. Opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari had been due to arrive on Monday.
The elections are expected to be the most hotly contested since the end of military rule in 1999 with many fearing violence in the aftermath.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in the commercial capital Lagos on Sunday to urge the candidates and their supporters to respect the election outcome, underscoring U.S. concerns that post-poll violence could destabilise the country and undermine the fight against Boko Haram.
The five-year insurgency, which aims to carve out an Islamic state in Africa's most populous country, has seen thousands killed.
At around 9 a.m. (0800 GMT) on Sunday, a Reuters witness in Maiduguri said shelling could be heard and that military helicopters were circling the city, but by the early afternoon calm had returned.
Scores of militants and soldiers were killed in the clash, a military source and a civilian joint task force leader (JTF) said.
"We're still combing the bush for their corpses, we pursued the Boko Haram men until Auno, 12 km outside the city...some fled towards Mainok," said the civilian JTF leader who declined to be named for security reasons.
Nigeria's defence headquarters tweeted on Sunday morning that coordinated land and air operations were being used to repel the attacks and a curfew had been imposed on Maiduguri.
The militants began the attack at the edge of the city in the Njimtilo area and tried to take the airport which services the air force as well as civilians, security sources said. Boko Haram last attempted to take Maiduguri from the same area in December 2013.
Along with much of Borno, the militants control some areas of neighbouring Adamawa and Yobe states, and recently took control of the town and a multi-national army base at Baga by Lake Chad.
The government said 150 people had been killed in that attack but local officials say the figure is far higher and some have put it as high as 2,000.
In Monguno, some 50 km (30 miles) from Baga, security sources said that the military was being overwhelmed by Boko Haram's firepower. Houses in the town were also being set ablaze.
"Boko Haram has more power than us and are shelling the town ... our colleagues are fleeing," a soldier in Maiduguri said after speaking to friends fighting the insurgents in Monguno. (Additional reporting by Ardo Abdullah in Bauchi, additional reporting and writing by Julia Payne in Abuja; Editing by Catherine Evans and Stephen Powell)
Who is supplying Boko Haram's firepower?
Posted by: Texas Tea | 01/25/2015 at 12:06 PM
HE SHOULD HAVE TAKEN AN ARMY WITH HIM AND K
NOCKED OUT BOKO HARAM.
Posted by: DIANE FLOCK | 01/25/2015 at 03:54 PM
Boko Harem is dangerous, their current leader is not stupid, he was educated at a British university.
Obama has had many, many opportunities to do something about them but has rather put pressure on the Nigerian Government to : "Use Restraint and recognise their legitimate grievances", were his words.
He also blocked the sale of attack helicopters from Israel to the Nigerian Gove.
Posted by: roger | 01/25/2015 at 09:49 PM
Please PG ullulating and chants of Alluha Akbar are quite different things. Take more care to be precise.
On the other hand murdering innocent Christians is not a way of expressing legitimate grievances
Posted by: BC | 01/26/2015 at 03:09 AM
Endless news about death every day. Could not understand how the world population are digesting wrong doing of some brain washed people. So much killing in name of Allah! Are we moving towards destruction of our civilisation.
Posted by: tapash ghosh | 01/26/2015 at 06:33 AM
For his refusal to admit the truth about Islam John Kerry is guilty of criminal negligence! No one should expect this morals destitute man to tell the truth. His fabricated Vietnam War experiences and utterly bizarre post-Vietnam War conduct - laced with lies and fabricated events - has more than a suggestion of 'a screw loose', yet Kerry is the U.S. Secretary of State. It explains why he would be so completely gormless as to take to Paris the aging singer, James Taylor, to sing, pathetically, "You've got a friend". My skin just about crawled in embarrassment. No doubt the French were so disgusted they could not even wet themselves laughing.
Posted by: Rob Porter | 01/26/2015 at 01:10 PM
I do not care what they think. If they arekilling us and or our allies, they must be stopped. In order to do this, we will have to violate some of our sensabilities. The only way to eliminate them is to ELIMINATE them, and anyone with them, anyone near them, and not concern ourselves about collateral damage. Look at how they end a conflict. That's whay they kill everyone who won't join them. Once we adopt this stratigey, people will be much more hesitant to engage US forces in combat.
Posted by: rab | 01/27/2015 at 01:40 AM
Obama stopped the transfer of arms from Israel to Nigeria.
Posted by: pschieber | 02/21/2015 at 08:18 AM