Fire for Fire

The Nigerian military says it has killed
14 Boko Haram militants and arrested 20
others. The military says three soldiers
died in the fighting Sunday and another is
missing.
It was only last Tuesday that Nigerian
President Goodluck Jonathan ordered the
immediate deployment of thousands of
soldiers to the north to fight Boko Haram,
a militant group that has been blamed for
thousands of deaths in the past four
years. But as of Sunday, the military
says 24 Boko Haram members have been
killed and another 85 captured in the
offensive.
VOA could not independently verify the
military claims because roads to affected
areas are blocked and communications
networks are sporadic at best. Some
analysts fear the military, which
international rights groups have accused
of extra-judicial killings and other
abuses, could alienate the people by
killing civilians along with suspected
militants.
A VOA reporter in Maiduguri, the epicenter
of the insurrection, says many locals are
suffering through a 24-hour curfew and
largely lack the ability to communicate
with the outside world. But he says many
residents believe the offensive could
ultimately bring peace to the region, as
long as the soldiers treat residents with
care.
Ismail, a schoolteacher in Maiduguri, said
“The state of emergency to some large
extent (is) a welcome development. But
the only fear is how the security
operatives will engage themselves in this
operation with the rules of engagement in
the back of their minds so that we will
have minimal collateral damage, unlike the
previous times.”
The northern offensive was ordered after
an escalation of Boko Haram-related
violence recent months. Officials say
Boko Haram, which claims to want to impose
Islamic law and secure the release of its
imprisoned members, now has heavy
artillery, like anti-tank guns and machine
guns mounted on trucks.