480 Nigerian soldiers have fled after a fierce battle with Boko Haram and defected to Cameroon? Some soldiers mutinied a few months ago and almost killed their commanding officer? Soldier wives and children staged a demonstration a few weeks back protesting about the working conditions of their soldier husbands/fathers. Can we not see how much disaffection and lack of morale is creeping into the Military? Our troops do NOT have the supplies, ammunition, military intelligence and back-up they desperately need. It is time the Commander-in-Chief, and Military chiefs wake up to their responsibilities before it is too late ~ Bucky 2014 Boko Haram Crisis: Nigerian Troops flee into Cameroon ~ BBC News Some 480 Nigerian soldiers have fled into Cameroon following fierce fighting with Boko Haram militants, Cameroons army has said. Army spokesman Lt Col Didier Badjek said the soldiers had been disarmed and were now being accommodated in schools. Clashes are said to be continuing in the border town of Gamboru Ngala. Boko Haram on Sunday released a video in which it said it had established an Islamic state in the towns and villages it controls in north-eastern Nigeria. The groups five-year insurgency has intensified in recent months despite the deployment of thousands of extra troops to the worst-affected areas. Last week, a group of soldiers refused to follow orders to go and fight Boko Haram, saying the militants were better equipped. Insurgents also seized one of Nigerias two main police training academies, which is near the town of Gwoza, captured earlier this month. The Nigerian soldiers are currently in the Cameroonian town of Maroua, about 80km (50 miles) from the Nigerian border, Lt Col Badjek told the BBC. Thousands of civilians are also said to have fled across the border. In May, some 300 people were killed in an attack on Gamboru Ngala, which left much of the town in ruins. It is near Gwoza, the largest town under control of Boko Haram. In the most recent census, in 2006, it had a population of more than 265,000 people. In the 52-minute video released on Sunday, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said Gwoza was now part of the Islamic state. He did not specify whether his groups now had any links to the Islamic State (IS) group, which has seized much of northern Iraq in recent months, prompting the US to respond with air strikes. There is no evidence for such links but in July, Mr Shekau congratulated IS on its territorial gains. Who are Boko Haram? Founded in 2002 Initially focused on opposing Western education - Boko Haram means Western education is forbidden in the Hausa language Launched military operations in 2009 to create an Islamic state Thousands killed, mostly in north-eastern Nigeria - but also attacks on police and UN headquarters in capital, Abuja Some three million people affected Declared terrorist group by US in 2013 m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-28927898
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 15:41:50 +0000
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