By Jeremy Reynalds, Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service (jeremyreynalds@gmail.com)
NIGERIA (ANS. AUG. 4, 2015)
The radical Islamist group Boko Haram has intensified its suicide
bombing attacks in northern Nigeria and Cameroon in recent weeks.
According to a story by World
Watch Monitor (WWM), on July 31, a large bomb exploded in the market in
Maiduguri, north-eastern Nigeria - the traditional heartland of Boko
Haram violence. At least six people died, and 11 were injured.
On July 25, 20 people were
killed when a 12-year-old girl blew herself up in a crowded bar in
Maroua, northern Cameroon. Seventy-nine others were injured.
However, on Aug. 2, the
Nigerian military said it had rescued 178 people - including 101
children and 67 women - taken captive by Boko Haram in the northern
Nigerian state of Borno.
Nigeria President Muhammadu
Buhari visited Cameroon on July 29-30 in an attempt to boost the
regional cooperation against the Islamist group. It is the first time
for several years that a Nigerian President has visited Nigeria's
eastern neighbor.
WWM said friction between the
two countries, relating to a land dispute, has arguably aided Boko
Haram in its attempt to spread its influence across the eastern Nigerian
border.
Cameroon has for a long time
been one of the weak links in the fight against Boko Haram, with its
northern regions becoming a safe haven for militants.
But now, WWM reported,
things appear to be changing. At least Buhari has made some
headline-grabbing moves to curb the Islamists' insurgency, which has
claimed 17,000 lives since 2009, according to Amnesty International.
As northern Cameroon has
become another battleground for Boko Haram militants, there is a
genuine need for the two leaders to restore their relations, joining
together to fight against a common enemy.
Buhari has also made recent trips to Niger, Chad and Benin. Between
them, Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Benin have deployed 8,700 soldiers to
fight against Boko Haram.
Buhari's latest visit - to Cameroon - further enhances the region's
chances of fighting the terrorist group. Nigeria's presidential
spokesman told the BBC the newfound collaboration between West
African nations will enable soldiers to pursue Boko Haram across borders.
“All
the countries agreed this operation will not recognise international
boundaries - wherever terrorists are they will be chased to these
locations and they will be fought until they are finished,” WWM reported
Garba Shehu said.
The regional force, which has its headquarters in N'Djamena, Chad's capital, is due to be fully operational next month.
The name of its commander,
General Iliya Abbah, was revealed during Buhari's visit to Cameroon.
Abbah was previously in charge of operations in Nigeria's troubled
southern region of Niger Delta.
Church overwhelmed
The upsurge in Boko Haram's attacks in northern Cameroon has caused widespread panic and distrust among the population.
“We live in great fear,” a local source, who did not wish to be named, told WWM.
“The recent attacks in Maroua
have changed our way of living. It's now extremely rare to find a crowd
of people. Access to public services and some places are subject to
security checks by heavily armed security forces, with metal detectors.”
The renewed attacks have also seriously affected churches, Rev.
Samuel Heteck, President of the Protestant Churches' Council in Northern
Cameroon, told WWM.
“We have observed a lack of
concentration among some worshipers during recent services as their ears
remain attentive to any movement outside,” he said. “The level of
attendance has also fallen in various churches. All our summer programs,
such as youth camps, spiritual retreats and evening film-projections
have now been cancelled.”
The attacks have also revived
fears of more abductions of foreign nationals. All Westerners have been
advised to leave the region immediately.
A number of kidnappings
targeting foreigners, including a Canadian nun and two priests, have
been carried out by Boko Haram in recent months.
WWM said Boko Haram has been able to operate relatively freely in
the far north of Cameroon because the region is a vast semi-desert area
composed of three provinces (Adamawa, North and Far North) and bordering
Nigeria, Chad and the Central African Republic.
“Westerners had started to
return to that region, thanks to the apparent normality witnessed from
January to the end of June,” WWM reported Heteck said. “But this new
wave of departures will lead several planned projects to be aborted.”
The construction of a
secondary school in Maroua, along with church efforts for the
re-settlement of IDPs and refugees, are among other projects which will
be affected, Heteck said.
For months, Cameroon's
churches have been trying to contain the influx of 60,000 Nigerian
refugees and thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs), who have
found refuge in northern Cameroon. But churches have now become
overwhelmed, as World Watch Monitor reported in September last year.
Enhanced security
WWM reported that a curfew
was introduced on July 26, prohibiting any personal or business
meetings after 6pm. Places of worship have also been subject to
increased security surveillance by police and armed forces equipped with
metal detectors.
Itinerant Quranic schools
have been banned throughout the region, while an operation aimed at
rounding up street children has been launched by the authorities, who
want to prevent the use of children as potential suicide-bombers.
According to local media, a young boy was arrested on July 27 by police in possession of a bag containing explosives.
Cameroon's authorities have
also followed Chad and Niger in banning the burqa, after suicide attacks
were carried out by women wearing the Islamic gown.
On July 31, MPs in Chad voted
back the death penalty for acts of terrorism, six months after it was
abolished, though human rights activists fear it may be used to curb
civil rights.
For more information visit www.worldwatchmonitor.org
Photo captions: 1) Boko Haram killers. 2) Devastation after another Boko Haram attack.
About the writer: Jeremy
Reynalds is Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, a
freelance writer and also the founder and CEO of Joy Junction, New
Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter, www.joyjunction.org. He
has a master's degree in communication from the University of New
Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in
Los Angeles. His newest book is "From Destitute to Ph.D." Additional
details on "From Destitute to Ph.D." are available at www.myhomelessjourney.com. Reynalds lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with his wife, Elma. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds at jeremyreynalds@gmail.com.
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