Boko Haram's use of female suicide bombers
Report from local news media, disturbing trend.
Quote:
.Shoot me if you want, a female suicide bomber dares police
.Holding a Bible and pretending to be a worshipper, another detonated a bomb
.With a hug the third bomber blows up a soldier
.From a wheelchair the third throws a bomb at her target
The policemen who were stationed at the Eid prayer ground near North-West University in Kofar-Nasarawa in the ancient city of Kano were astonished when a teenage girl, clad in a brown hijab, walked confidently and hurriedly towards them where they were stationed in order to monitor the activities in the environment.
Apparently unsuspecting that danger was approaching them, the policemen handled her presence with levity. When she got too close for comfort, the policemen queried her. But rather than stop, she kept moving towards them. Speaking to Sunday Trust on their encounter with the young lady, who later became a suicide bomber, one of the policemen said when the girl refused to stop, they activated their guns.
“At first, we thought she wanted to come and give us a report about a security breach around the place, but when she moved quickly towards us, we all activated our guns. Yet, she didn’t stop,” the policeman said. “When we asked her to stop, she refused. She rather told us in Hausa that if we wanted to kill her we should.”
The policeman said it was while the conversation was going on that a loud bang tore through the air, such that they all had to dive to take cover.
“We took cover, but we all sustained injuries. We went down flat because we were afraid that her colleagues may be nearby,” he said.
http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/sunday/...uicide-bombers
Boko Haram gathers new recruits in Cameroon
I knew this was going to happen.
1. Cameroon is even more badly governed than Nigeria & Northern Cameroon is worse off than Northern Nigeria.
2. There's no real difference with Northern Cameroon, Northeast Nigeria or parts of the middle of Thad - they are all Kanuri, colonial borders don't mean much.
Quote:
Yaounde - The Nigerian Islamist movement Boko Haram has recruited and trained hundreds of young Cameroonians to carry out attacks in their own country, according to the police and civilians.
As the militant group seeks to gain a foothold in the poor, rural north of Cameroon, experts warn that violence may spread beyond border areas to other parts of the central African country.
"Boko Haram has recruited many young people" from Cameroon's Far North region, a police officer from the area told AFP on condition of anonymity
http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Bo...eroon-20140808
When I say that colonial era boundaries are simply not viable long-term, this is what I mean. In other parts of Africa, these borders are being eliminated by trade, not conflict.
Paradoxically, decades of Western aid have led to less, not more capable African governments - and one of the goals of aid (as I hear) is to produce more capable African governments.
Paul Biya is old, tired and probably unwilling to fight a long-drawn out battle with Boko Haram. I hear Cameroonian Army strength is only about 20,000. True, the French will pitch in, but for how long - and what political solutions will be considered?
I don't know what a viable long-term political & economic solution to the crisis in the Sahel will look like. However, I'm not sure anyone else does either.