Boko Haram seizes Nigerian army base

[BDforever]

Scores of troops killed in raid by fighters using military vehicles in Baga after about 40 young males were kidnapped.


Boko Haram fighters have overrun an army base in the remote northeast Nigerian town of Baga, killing scores of soldiers in the attack, security sources have said.

Baga is known for hosting the headquarters of a multinational force comprising troops from Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon, although only Nigerian troops are actually stationed there.

Troops eventually fled the remote station on the semi-desert shores of Lake Chad after it was attacked on Saturday by Boko Haram fighters using military vehicles, two sources said.

Earlier on Friday, suspected members of the armed group raided the northeast village of Malari, kindapping about 40 boys and young men.

The fighters came to the remote village of Malari and urged people to come out and listen to a sermon, farmer Bulama Malam told reporters on Saturday.

"After telling us that they wanted to preach to us, they began to select young men aged between 12 and 25,'' Malam said. "I was lucky to escape because they only selected very young and able-bodied men."

He spoke in Maiduguri, the capital of northeast Borno state, to which he escaped on foot.

Nigeria''s longstanding conflict with Boko Haram has killed over 10,000 people this year, according to a count by the Council on Foreign Relations in November.

Neighbouring countries threatened

It is the gravest threat to Nigeria, Africa's biggest economy, and a headache for President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of an election on Feb. 14 where he is being challenged by opposition leader Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler seen as tough on security.

After beginning their fight for an Islamic state five years ago in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, the group has radiated outwards into porous border areas, threatening Nigeria's neighbours around the Lake Chad Basin.

In northern Cameroon, at least 15 people died in an attack by suspected Boko Haram militants on a bus, officials said on Saturday.

Cameroon's army has been trying to dislodge the fighters from its Far North region with the help of air strikes.

Nigerian Interior Minister Hassoumi Massaoudou said late last month that his country was ready to negotiate with Boko Haram, but did not even know who in the group to talk to.

Baga came into the international spotlight early in 2013, when dozens of people, mostly civilians, were killed in fighting between the multinational force and Boko Haram. Many were burned alive in their thatched houses.

source: Boko Haram seizes Nigerian army base - Africa - Al Jazeera English

 

[Audio]

I smell oil fields will be looking for new owners soon!

But in all seriousness, a banana republic with banana military.

 

[psynic]

RIP the soldiers, I also heard the assholes picked up women and children.

But seriously, what do the Nigerians feed their military? They seem to be totally incompetent.

 

[Winchester]

RIP to the soldiers
For a country of that size and that many resources Nigeria has a pretty shitty army !

 

[Militant Atheist]

I had always thought that Nigeria had a decent military, apparently I couldn't be more wrong.

 

[As is - where is]

Interesting. The Nigerian armed forces should be focused on counter-insurgency. They should get more advanced weapons like for example a new service rifle (I heard that they're still using a locally produced version of the AK-47) and more attack helicopters armed with rockets and air-to-surface missiles. Also some bomber aircrafts would be good I guess. After all Boko Haram has basically no air-to-air capabilities. Armored personnel carriers will definitely help as well. I heard they are producing one locally so maybe they should just enter that into mass production.

 

[Rafi]

Nigeria used to have one of the best black African military's - but years of corruption have destroyed it, like all the other institutions in that country.

There are reports that the senior officers have embezzled the funds for ammo and even food, so the average Nigerian soldier has only a few magazine worth of bullets, and is down to one meal a day.

 

[Falcon29]

This is what happens when you massive corruption in your country.

 

[third eye]

This is another nation hurtling towards an internal disaster.

 

[Echo_419]

Nigeria used to have one of the best black African military's - but years of corruption have destroyed it, like all the other institutions in that country.

There are reports that the senior officers have embezzled the funds for ammo and even food, so the average Nigerian soldier has only a few magazine worth of bullets, and is down to one meal a day.

Sad this is another country found down
& can you post the link for the Bold part

 

[third eye]

Sad this is another country found down
& can you post the link for the Bold part

I dont think there would be definitive a link to the part in bold.

However, Nigeria did & still does hold the best military in Africa possibly after Egypt & SA.

Its a pity internal issues are bringing it down.

 

[Irfan Hanif]

Nigerian Army is letting this issue too late to solve. More time to them means more killings of innocent peoples.

 

[Bouncer]

Corruption, ethnic and sectarian divides are what's hampering Nigeria's efforts against militancy.

 

[Hindustani78]

News from The Associated Press

Scores of soldiers and civilians were killed, while others drowned in Lake Chad, Nigerians taking refuge in a Chadian village said in cell phone calls Sunday night. They said insurgents fired rocket-propelled grenades and automatic assault rifles and hurled explosives.

"They came in their hundreds driving several Hilux patrol vehicles, trucks and some were on motorcycles and immediately began to throw explosives and bombs," fisherman Audu Labbo told The Associated Press.

A senior security officer in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, confirmed that the military base at Baga is under the control of the insurgents. He said the multinational force fled because it received no reinforcements despite holding out for several hours. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to give information to reporters.

There are fears the extremists could use Baga as a base to attack Maiduguri, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) to the southwest.

Labbo said the insurgents' bombs and grenades set aflame several buildings that burned to the ground - businesses, government offices, homes and part of the military base.

Boko Haram has been regionalizing the conflict with recent attacks on Chadian villages and a military base.

Thousands of people have died and some 1.6 million have been driven from their homes in the 5-year-old Islamic extremist uprising.



Was that African union multinational force ?

 

[Hindustani78]

https://www.hindustantimes.com/worl...raid-report/story-VIfyfilDghz5eZcvYe8J7J.html
30 Nigerian soldiers killed in Boko Haram raid: Report

Boko Haram has intensified attacks on military targets in recent months.
world Updated: Sep 01, 2018 19:52 IST

Agence France-Presse
Kano (Nigeria)

In a statement late Friday the Nigerian military confirmed troops fought Boko Haram “insurgents...on rampage to loot the community and extort money from villagers”.(AFP File Photo)


At least 30 Nigerian soldiers died in combat with Boko Haram jihadists who overran a military base in the northeast near the border with Niger, two military sources told AFP on Saturday.

Scores of jihadists in trucks stormed the base at Zari village in northern Borno state late Thursday and briefly seized it after a fierce battle, they said.

“They came in large numbers in trucks and carrying heavy weapons and engaged soldiers in a battle that lasted for an hour,” a military officer said.

“We lost at least 30 men,” the officer said, adding that the attack took place at around 4:00 pm.

“They overwhelmed the troops who were forced to temporarily withdraw before reinforcements arrived,” said the officer who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak.

Boko Haram has intensified attacks on military targets in recent months.

The attacks appear to undermine repeated claims by the military that Boko Haram had been defeated.

The militants took weapons and military equipment before they were pushed out of the base by troops with aerial support, said a second military source who gave a similar death toll.

The militants were pursued and bombarded by a fighter jet, said the military sources.

“The terrorists also suffered heavy casualty from the bombardment”, one of the military officers said.

Zari is located 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the town of Damasak on the border with Niger.

The jihadists are thought to have attacked the base from the nearby Garunda village, where 17 troops were killed and 14 injured in an attack on another military base last month, the sources said.

In a statement late Friday the Nigerian military confirmed troops fought Boko Haram “insurgents...on rampage to loot the community and extort money from villagers”.

Army silent on casualties

“Troops...have successfully routed Boko Haram insurgents in an encounter that ensued yesterday evening at Zari village,” the military said in the statement.

It did not speak of military casualties and the raid on the base but maintained “several Boko Haram fighters and weapons” were destroyed in the fight.

The Nigerian army has on several occasions disputed reports on losses to Boko Haram and has in some cases played them down.

On July 14 Boko Haram militants overran a military base in Jilli village, in neighbouring Yobe state when dozens of troops were said to be been killed, wounded or missing.

The army at the time conceded the base was attacked but said troops remobilised and succeeded in repelling the attackers.

In a short statement on Wednesday, IS-affiliated Boko Haram jihadists claimed to have killed “several” Nigerian troops in mortar strikes on a military base in the town of Arge in the Lake Chad area.

AFP could not independently verify the claim.

The Boko Haram insurgency which is in its ninth year has left 20,000 people dead and displaced 2.6 million.

Soldiers and civilians have also been targeted in separate attacks in neighbouring Chad and Niger.