Deadly Blasts Hit Mosques in Nigeria

The expanded United States forces will “remain in Cameroon until their support is no longer needed”, Obama wrote, making clear that the enhanced USA presence is essentially permanent.

Cameroon, Chad, and Niger have also been targeted by militants. “The Nigerian army and indeed the military as the symbol of our nationhood is being challenged”. Attacks have only intensified in the region since Buhari came to power in May.

Boko Haram wants to enforce an Islamic state with its extreme interpretation of Islamic law across Nigeria – Africa’s biggest oil producer with a population of about 170 million split nearly equally between Christians and Muslims.

“This is the fulfilment of that pledge and we are very happy about it. The United States’ move is quite commendable”.

PETER PHAM: Well, Nigeria has the largest military in terms of personnel in the region, but, since 1999, when the military ceded power back to civilian rule, in an effort to avoid future military coups, the Nigerian military was starved of resources. Certainly something is rotten with our state of mind and state of the nation in the way we have been reacting to the killings of about 200 innocent Nigerians in the last two weeks in Maiduguri.

The Defence chief emphasised the Nigerian military’s commitment to end the Boko Haram insurgency, adding that scrutiny and interrogation of females rescued from the insurgents’ enclaves in various areas have not yielded much. Fouda said the vehicles could “fight against mines” and are a few of the best the country has ever received.

“According to the Army Chief, the situation on ground is also crucial for the country”. The issue could be a sensitive one, as the Nigerian military has-been under intense pressure to save the girls and crack down on the terrorist group, which has committed dozens of atrocities in the northern part of the country.

The President claimed not to have seen the Amnesty worldwide report from June 2015, “Nigeria: Stars on their shoulders: Blood on their hands”, in which the human-rights group documented abuses, torture and unlawful killings by the Nigerian armed forces and urged the government to prosecute a group of officers and senior commanders.

One of the attackers set off the first blast when he entered the mosque, they said.

The scene of the latest suicide attack was just a few kilometers away from the mosques that were bombed on Thursday night. The Obama administration must stick to these terms.