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               Nigeria Responds to Upsurge in Boko Haram Violence

   by Anne Look

   Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has declared a state of emergency
   in three northern Nigerian states and ordered the immediate deployment
   of more troops, in response to a surge of violence the president says
   poses a "very serious threat" to Nigeria's territorial integrity.
   Radical Islamist sect, Boko Haram, has been expanding and intensifying
   its more than three-year-old insurgency, while other criminal and
   ethnic militias increasingly target security forces.
   Boko Haram made its name with drive-by shootings and suicide bombings
   in northern Nigerian cities, and the capital Abuja. Targets were
   security installations, markets, churches and even the U.N.
   headquarters in Abuja in August 2011.
   Recent, high-profile raids against military and police in the far
   northeastern border towns of Baga and Bama, however, highlight what
   experts say are key shifts in the group's tactics and capabilities.
   Thriving terrorism
   ''Spokesman for the Joint Military Task Force [JTF] in Borno state, Lt.
   Col. Sagir Musa said, "There is literally a resurgence of terrorist
   activities in Borno State, mostly in the rural areas. We have observed
   the resurgence and where it is coming from and necessary measures are
   on to stop it and soon it will be stopped."
   But there is concern that Boko Haram is gaining the upper hand.
   Analysts, human rights activists and northern residents say reported
   abuses against civilians and Boko Haram detainees by the Nigerian
   security forces have undercut cooperation and potentially fed
   recruitment into the sect.
   Reuters news agency reports that parts of Borno state have fallen under
   de-facto Boko Haram control.
   Residents of Maiduguri, like one retired soldier, said the militants
   have a local advantage.
   "It's a common knowledge. People have been saying that they are living
   within the forest ahead of area on the way to Monguno," he said. "Some
   people are saying that a large percentage of them are living within
   Bama forest. Some are saying they are in Zambiza and in Damboa having
   military trainings. To my mind, unless [there is] a serious concerted
   effort, and unless a very, very protracted intelligence gathering is
   embarked upon, we could say that the Boko Haram is winning the war."
   Shifting strategy
   ''Nigeria analyst for the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation, Jacob
   Zenn, said he has seen recent Boko Haram propaganda videos, not all of
   them made public, that indicate their freedom of movement.
   "It's amazing how they can just drive around and train in desert areas
   of northeastern Nigeria freely for a group that's supposedly being
   hotly pursued," he said.
   Zenn said the shift to more rural targets appears strategic.
   "It seems that Boko Haram has come under pressure in some of the major
   cities like Maiduguri, and is actually realizing that it is preferable
   for Boko Haram to operate in the rural areas where the government
   doesn't have too many forces. And there it can establish havens. It can
   train. It can keep hostages," said Zenn.
   Boko Haram only recently has entered the kidnapping business, something
   analysts say is further evidence of links forged with al Qaida's North
   Africa franchise, which along with two other militant Islamist groups,
   held northern Mali for 10 months before a French-led military
   intervention in January.
   Boko Haram's first major grab was a French family of seven from
   northern Cameroon in February. The family was released two months
   later, though the full terms of their release were not made public.
   Rampant kidnappings
   Boko Haram says it is now kidnapping local women and children in
   retaliation for the wives and children of their members who are being
   held by government and security officials.
   Sect leader Abubakar Shekau made the threat in the sect's most recent
   video, released May 13, which shows footage of a dozen unidentified
   women and children that he claims are hostages.
   Shekau said they will kidnap more. He said if they can't see their
   women and children, then no one will be allowed to enjoy his family. He
   said God allows them to consider all those they capture as slaves. And,
   he told security forces, If you think you can rescue them, then "we
   challenge you to try."
   Boko Haram continues to upgrade its weaponry and expand its
   capabilities.
   The JTF said the Boko Haram raid in Bama on May 7 that killed 55 people
   - most of them police and security forces - was a brutal, multi-pronged
   attack by 200 militants who stormed the town with anti-aircraft guns
   mounted on vehicles.
   Experts say Boko Haram likely is obtaining weapons, ammunition and
   explosives from black-market channels flowing through the Sahel region,
   as well as seizing them from the Nigerian security forces.
   VOA obtained a Boko Haram propaganda video filmed after a March 3 raid
   against a military barracks in the northeastern town of Monguno.
   In the video, a masked militant surrounded by fighters shows off an
   extensive display of what he says are arms and thousands of rounds of
   ammunition seized from the Monguno barracks. The camera pans over
   neatly laid out rows of heavy machine guns, rifles, RPGs and magazines,
   which the speaker calls the "bounty of God."
   An independent arms control expert examined the video and told VOA that
   the weapons shown are consistent with those known to be in the Nigerian
   military arsenal.
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   aram-violence/1661394.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/nigeria-responds-to-upsurge-in-boko-haram-violence/1661394.html