Boko Haram’s war against education was horrifyingly illustrated last April when the Islamic militant group kidnapped nearly 300 girls from their secondary school in Chibok.
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Almost three weeks after Boko Haram’s (belatedly) notorious massacre at Baga, Nigeria, which escalated their five-year insurgency to new levels of boldness and brutality, the Nigerian military has finally announced a massive counter-offensive against the militants’ northern strongholds. This new push by the nation’s beleaguered military will involve support and coordination with forces from neighboring Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. This cooperation is a welcome development, given widespread acknowledgement that the Nigerian military lacks the skills and resources to address Boko Haram on their own. Yet it raises serious questions as to why, despite all the global platitudes about the transnational threat of Nigeria’s foes and recognition of the state’s troubles confronting them, we’re only seeing regional support materialize now.
With news of the Charlie Hebdo attacks dominating international headlines, the news of Boko Haram’s latest assault might not have even penetrated your news feed. The attack reportedly resulted in the deaths of 2,000 people, and the refugees who survived the massacre tell horrific stories about the atrocities waged on their town. Now, Amnesty International has released satellite images that depict the bleak aftermath of the violence. The before and after photos reveal, with startling sharpness, how Boko Haram wrecked the neighboring towns of Baga and Doron Baga, destroying or damaging over 3,700 structures in the area over the course of four short days. Doron Baga, Amnesty International researchers said, was almost entirely demolished.