Boko Haram kidnapped 10,000 boys, forced them to become child soldiers
By Mark Ellis, Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service
NIGERIA (ANS - August 25, 2016)
-- The world was horrified when the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram
kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in 2014. But less
coverage has been given to the kidnapping of more than 10,000 boys over
the last three years by the terror group and their brutal coercion
tactics, forcing children to wage jihad.
The allegations are contained in a stunning investigative report by Drew Hinshaw and Joe Parkinson in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
Shortly
after the Chibok schoolgirls were seized, Boko Haram attacked six
villages in the nearby mountains and rounded up children there, with
little media coverage beyond the Nigerian press.
A
few months later, the group captured the town of Damasak, and took 300
students, mostly boys, age 7 to 17. The militants imprisoned them in a
school, witnesses told the WSJ. Their parents were held in separate rooms. For months, the children were forced to learn the Quran.
Eventually, Boko Haram ditched the parents and fled with the children.
In
the forest outside Maiduguri, Boko Haram ran one of their boot camps
for boys. Children as young as 5-years-old learned to handle assault
rifles and practice marching. Their weapon instructor was only 15
himself.
“I
was terrified if I didn’t do it, they would kill me,” the teen
instructor told the WSJ. He was kidnapped by the radical group in 2014
but later escaped.
“What
is happening here in northeastern Nigeria is part of a disturbing rise
in child jihadism. Young boys and at times girls are being indoctrinated
into violent fundamentalism and used as fighters, suicide bombers and
spies,” the WSJ noted.
Al
Qaeda’s branches in Yemen, Somalia and Mali are also using child
soldiers. Islamic State (ISIS) has used children in combat, suicide
bombings and in execution videos in Iraq and Syria.
The WSJ
interviewed 16 young Nigerians who escaped the snare of Boko Haram,
along with other witnesses, soldiers, researchers, officials and
diplomats in Nigeria and Cameroon, who all paint a deeply disturbing
portrait.
The
boys were sent into battle, often unarmed, frequently numbed by drugs.
Many of the boys were beaten and some died of starvation or thirst.
Photo
captions: 1) Latest Boko Haram video of some of the missing Chibok
schoolgirls. 2) Trained for war. 3) Boy soldiers rescued by Chad’s army.
4) Mark Ellis.
About the writer: Mark Ellis is Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net), and also the founder of www.GodReports.com,
a website that shares testimonies and videos from the church around the
world to build interest and involvement in world missions. Mark is also
co-host with ANS founder, Dan Wooding, of "Windows on the World," a
weekly TV show broadcast on the Holy Spirit Broadcasting Network (http://hsbn.tv),
that features the top stories of the week on the ASSIST News Service.
(Note: Dan Wooding was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents).
** You may republish this or any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net).
Please also tell your friends that they can receive a complimentary
subscription to our news service by going to the above website and
signing up there.
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO (ANS – August 25, 2016)
-- The first time I remember hearing the name Kierkegaard was in high
school. A fellow student tossed out his name, trying to sound informed. I
slightly remember that I found the name odd. The student said something
to the effect that Kierkegaard was one the greatest philosophers of all
time and was the father of existentialism. I probably just scratched my
head.
Kierkegaard: A Single Life
(Zondervan, 2016) by Stephen Backhouse. The former Archbishop of
Canterbury, Rowan Williams, writes concerning the book, “Stephen
Backhouse has given us a wonderfully lively and sympathetic portrait of
one of the greatest minds of the nineteenth century, sparing us nothing
of Kierkegaard’s abrasive, contrarian personality, but also illuminating
the extraordinary courage and spiritual depth of the man. We have
waited a long time for such an accessible introduction, growing out of
deep study of the abundant original sources and bringing them alive with
a light and sure touch.”
Kierkegaard's
message will pull us away from complacency and help us understand anew
what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Kierkegaard shows us that this
is a task for a lifetime; we never 'arrive' short of death, but we can
go ever deeper in faith, hope and love."
And
low-and-behold (but not surprising) Hollywood is getting in on the
Kierkegaard craze. In 2017, director Laurtis Munch-Peteren is completing
a new movie based on Kierkegaard’s novel, Seducer’s Diary [1], a book of love, seduction and, as one critic said, “painful ironies.”
About
the writer: Brian Nixon is a writer, musician, and minister. He's a
graduate of California State University, Stanislaus (BA) and is a Fellow
at Oxford Graduate School (D.Phil.). To learn more, click here: 
WILLS POINT, TX (ANS – August 25, 2016)
-- Legend held that Laksh's homeland had been cursed for generations.
Long ago, it is said, kings used it as a place to dispose of dead bodies
and other refuse, and now spirits roamed the land, tormenting the
people. When one of the spirits attacked Laksh's wife, however, he knew
she wasn't suffering because of dead kings. This was the work of jealous
neighbors.
Still
worried, Laksh allowed Daivya to come over one more time, but while the
witch doctor was in the middle of his rituals, Laksh saw Pastor
Chanchal coming. Laksh told Daivya to leave the room and let the pastor
take charge of Udgita's situation, but Daivya wasn't quick to give up
his role.
“Nothing will happen to you because I will be praying to the Lord here,” Pastor Chanchal assured him.
What
more effective way to share God’s love than through His own Word? Put
literature into the hands of missionaries like Chanchal, and see how God
changes people like Daivya, Laksh and Udgita again and again.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (ANS - August 25, 2016)
-- Drawn by the stories of riches to be made in the north, Juan and his
brother Alvaro responded to the dream burning in many immigrants’
hearts and made their way to the United States.
But on April 5, 1990, they made a successful crossing and decided they would catch a freight train headed to Los Angeles.
The
train started to move, but they were able to jump on. “The officer was
yelling at us to get off.” Other immigrants on the train shouted
expletives at the officer as the train picked up speed and they headed
north.
About the writer: Mark Ellis is Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service (
Morning Star News (
One
of the detained Christians, Tamraz, is the son of Assyrian pastor
Victor Bet Tamraz, who was arrested along with other Christians at his
home on Dec. 26, 2014 at a Christmas celebration. The elder Tamraz was
informally charged with conducting evangelism, conducting illegal
house-church activities and printing and distributing Bibles. He was
released on bail on March 1, 2015 without ever being formally charged in
court.
As
with the five arrested on Friday, the 11 are being held incommunicado
at an undisclosed location, and their status is unknown. They were last
seen being driven away in vans from the scene of the arrests, according
to the HRANA.
About
the Writer: Michael Ireland is a volunteer internet journalist serving
as Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, as well as an
Ordained Minister who has served with ASSIST Ministries and written for
ASSIST News Service since its beginning in 1989. He has reported for ANS
from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China, and Russia. To
help Michael cover his expenses in bringing news of the Persecuted
Church, log-on to: 
