Nearly a week after Nigerian President
Goodluck Jonathan announced the deployment
of thousands of troops to the country’s
war-torn north, officials say they now
hold more than 200 suspected Boko Haram
militants.
Nigerian military forces said Monday they
have captured 120 Boko Haram militants
during the past 24 hours alone, and now
are occupying five former militant bases
and the surrounding areas.
In a statement sent to reporters, Defense
Ministry spokesperson Brigadier General
Chris Olukolade also denied rumors that
people in the three states under emergency
rule - Borno, Adamawa and Yobe - are
fleeing to neighboring countries.
There has been no word from the militants
themselves since the Nigerian offensive
began last Wednesday, and VOA is unable to
independently verify the government's
claims, due to blocked roads and the fact
that phone lines largely are shut down.
Despite what the military says is a rapid
takeover of territories once held by Boko
Haram, security experts say the
insurgency, already nearly four years old,
will not be quelled easily.
Security consultant and retired Nigerian
Army Captain Umar Aliyu said to defeat
Boko Haram, Nigeria’s armed forces need
better intelligence and a plan to help
alleviate poverty. Boko Haram has an
ideology, he said, but their real strength
is masses of impoverished, uneducated
young people with nothing else to do and
few other ways to make money than to take
up arms.
“This situation calls for understanding.
Understanding on the part of everybody.
The army, the civil populace, the
government and also members of the
international community,” he said.
Aliyu also warned that the military needs
to gain the trust of the population in
order to gather intelligence that could
prevent Boko Haram members from going
underground during the offensive.
Both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty
International have previously accused
Nigerian military forces of human rights
abuses, including shooting suspects and
burning down homes, as they tried to stamp
out militant violence.
Human Rights Watch says 3,600 people have
died in the past four years in violence
related to Boko Haram, including hundreds
killed by security forces.
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