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                 Nigerian Troops Move North as Attacks Continue

   by Heather Murdock

   As Nigerian armed forces move into three northern states that are under
   emergency rule, the army says Boko Haram militants have attacked a town
   outside the emergency area.
   '' At a press conference Friday in the Nigerian capital, Major General
   Mobolaji Koleoso, chief of civil military affairs, said he won't talk
   about what's been called a "massive" movement of troops to the north to
   crush a nearly four-year-old insurgency.

   ''But outside of the emergency rule zone - in Katsina State - he said
   there was an attack on a town called Daura on Thursday night.  He
   blamed Boko Haram, the Islamist militant group that behind attacks on
   churches, schools, police stations, military bases, and other targets,
   leaving thousands dead.

   "Government and public institutions have been targeted with arson and
   of course they are just trying to cause mayhem, to disrupt the peaceful
   lives of the people of Daura," he said.  "I mean, make them feel a
   sense of insecurity and make them to feel that they have come to town
   and they can take charge of their lives."

   He said two Boko Haram militants were killed in fighting while three
   others died in a car accident as they fled. He said soldiers recovered
   improvised explosive devices, golf cars, ammunition and 10 AK-47s.

   Koleoso compared the attack to one in the northern town of Bama where
   dozens were killed on May 7 and referred to photographs taped to a
   board behind him.  They appeared to be of dead bodies in camouflage
   military uniforms. Boko Haram militants are increasingly wearing
   camouflage, tricking the public into thinking they are government
   soldiers, he said.
   "For the unsuspecting populace, these insurgents would have been
   misconstrued as soldiers of the Nigerian Army," Koleoso said. "No
   doubt, the Nigerian army has often been erroneously accused of heinous
   crimes on innocent citizens whereas the Boko Haram insurgents have been
   the perpetrators of the dastardly acts."

   ''Human Rights Watch says 3,600 people have been killed in Boko
   Haram-related violence, including hundreds killed by security forces.
   Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International also [1]accuse Nigerian
   security forces of escalating the violence by shooting suspects rather
   than arresting them, burning homes and locking suspects up for a long
   period of time without trials.

   On Tuesday, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan ordered emergency rule
   and the immediate deployment of troops to three states that have been
   barraged by Boko Haram violence.  The U.S. State Department called on
   Nigerian forces to keep human rights in mind as they go after the
   militants.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [2]http://www.voanews.com/content/nigerian-troops-move-noth-as-attacks-
   continue/1663100.html

References

   1. http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/05/01/nigeria-massive-destruction-deaths-military-raid
   2. http://www.voanews.com/content/nigerian-troops-move-noth-as-attacks-continue/1663100.html