June 2014 Borno State attacks

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From 20 to 23 June 2014, a series of attacks occurred in Borno State, Nigeria. 91 women and children were kidnapped in the attacks and more than 70 people were killed.

Contents

Background

Boko Haram is an Islamic terrorist group opposed to what it considers to be the Westernization of Nigeria, which they have stated is the root cause of criminal behaviour in the country. [1] Thousands of people have been killed in attacks perpetrated by the group, and the federal government declared a state of emergency in May 2013 in Borno State in its fight against the insurgency. [2] The resulting crackdown, however, has failed to stabilise the country. [3] [4]

Boko Haram's attacks have intensified in 2014. In February, the group killed more than 100 Christian men in the villages of Doron Baga and Izghe. [3] Also in February, 59 boys were killed in the Federal Government College attack in Yobe State. [5]

By mid-April, Boko Haram had been blamed for nearly 4,000 deaths in 2014. [3] Militants then attacked a school and kidnapped 276 girls, of which 57 escaped, in Chibok. The incident brought international attention on the situation in Nigeria, and Western nations promised to help fight Boko Haram. Negotiations to trade the girls for captured militants took place, but the talks stalled and president Goodluck Jonathan announced the government would not consider a trade. As of June, the girls were still unaccounted for. The Nigerian military says they are aware of where the girls are being held, but are afraid to use force for fear that Boko Haram will kill the girls if attacked. Vigilante groups have formed throughout the North, with modest success in repelling attacks. [6]

Attacks, however, have continued. On 20 May 118 people were killed in a pair of bombings in Jos. The following day, two dozen people were killed in a raid on a village. [7] On 1 June, around 40 people were killed in a bombing in Mubi. [8] On June 2, 2014, in an event that has been called the Gwoza massacre, "No fewer than 300 villagers were reportedly killed in three communities around Gwoza local government area of Borno State". [9]

Kidnappings

Over several days, around the weekend of 21–22 June, suspected Boko Haram militants attacked the village of Kummabza and three others in the Damboa district of Borno State, according to eyewitnesses. [10] The attackers took 60 women and girls, and 31 boys in the attack. Some of the women were married and the children were as young as three. [6] Vigilante leader Aji Khalil said four villagers who tried to escape the attackers were shot. An eyewitness said closer to 30 men had been killed in the attack. [10]

After the attack, elderly villagers walked 15 miles (24 km) to report the attack and seek help. [6] Borno governor Kashim Shettima ordered an official probe, but when the news leaked the national government denied any abductions had taken place. A government spokesperson stated there was "nothing on the ground to prove any act of abduction" and claimed Shettima had determined the missing women had merely moved to another village. [11] A local politician and multiple eyewitnesses, however confirmed the abduction report to Agence France-Presse. [11] An intelligence officer with Nigeria's Department of State Security confirmed to the Associated Press that an attack had taken place on condition of anonymity. However, he reported that the abductions had taken place a week earlier, between 13 and 15 June. [6]

Bombings and shootings

On 21 and 22 June, suspected Boko Haram militants attacked the villages of Chuha A, Chuha B, and Korongilim near Chibok. The attackers were met by military and vigilante resistance. [6] [12] The towns were destroyed and at least 40 villagers were killed in the fighting. [12] Six vigilantes and about twenty-five militants were also killed in the attacks. [6] A government official described the scene: "Corpses of affected people ... littered the three villages." [12]

On 23 June, a bomb explosion at a college in Kano killed 8 people and injured about 20 others. [10] On the night of 28 June, a bomb exploded at a brothel in Bauchi that resulted in 11 deaths and 28 injuries. [13]

Analysis

Analyst Jacob Zenn suggested the new attacks showed that international efforts to launch a counterattack against Boko Haram were stalled. [6] Security analyst Ryan Cumming said the new kidnappings may be an attack to direct attention from the Chibok kidnappings, and to intensify pressure to make a hostage exchange deal. [10]

Aftermath

On 7 July 2014, it was reported that more than 60 of the kidnapped women had escaped from Boko Haram. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borno State</span> State of Nigeria

Borno State is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Yobe to the west for about 421 km, Gombe to the southwest for 93 km, and Adamawa to the south while its eastern border forms part of the national border with Cameroon for about 426 km, its northern border forms part of the national border with Niger, for about 223 km mostly across the Komadougou-Yobe River, and its northeastern border forms all of the national border with Chad for 85 km, being the only Nigerian state to border three foreign countries. It takes its name from the historic emirate of Borno, with the emirate's old capital of Maiduguri serving as the capital city of Borno State. The state was formed in 1976 when the former North-Eastern State was broken up. It originally included the area that is now Yobe State, which became a distinct state in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boko Haram</span> Central-West African jihadist terrorist organization

Boko Haram, officially known as Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād, is an Islamist jihadist organization based in northeastern Nigeria, which is also active in Chad, Niger, northern Cameroon, and Mali. In 2016, the group split, resulting in the emergence of a hostile faction known as the Islamic State's West Africa Province.

Chibok is a Local Government Area of Borno State, Nigeria, located in the southern part of the state. It has its headquarters in the town of Chibok.

Damboa is a Local Government Area of Borno State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Damboa. It has an area of 6,219 km² and had a population of 233,200 at the 2006 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gwoza</span> LGA and town in Borno State, Nigeria

Gwoza is a local government area of Borno State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Gwoza, a border town "about 135 kilometres South-East of Maiduguri." The postal code of the area is 610.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boko Haram insurgency</span> Terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa

The Boko Haram insurgency began in July 2009, when the militant Islamist and jihadist rebel group Boko Haram started an armed rebellion against the government of Nigeria. The conflict is taking place within the context of long-standing issues of religious violence between Nigeria's Muslim and Christian communities, and the insurgents' ultimate aim is to establish an Islamic state in the region.

Timeline of the Boko Haram insurgency is the chronology of the Boko Haram insurgency, an ongoing armed conflict between Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram and the Nigerian government. Boko Haram have carried out many attacks against the military, police and civilians since 2009, mostly in Nigeria. The low-intensity conflict is centred on Borno State. It peaked in the mid 2010s, when Boko Haram extended their insurgency into Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

The Konduga massacre took place in Konduga, Borno State, Nigeria on 11 February 2014. The massacre was conducted by Boko Haram Islamists against Christian villagers. At least 62 people were killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping</span> Kidnapping of female students in Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria

On the night of 14–15 April 2014, 276 mostly Christian female students aged from 16 to 18 were kidnapped by the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram from the Government Girls Secondary School at the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria. Prior to the raid, the school had been closed for four weeks due to deteriorating security conditions, but the girls were in attendance in order to take final exams in physics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sambisa Forest</span> Forest in Borno State

The Sambisa Forest is a forest in Borno State, northeast Nigeria. It is in the southwestern part of Chad Basin National Park, about 60km southeast of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. It has an area of 518 km².

On the night of 5-6 May 2014, Boko Haram militants attacked the twin towns of Gamboru and Ngala in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria. About 310 residents were killed in the 12-hour massacre, and the town was largely destroyed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Mubi bombing</span>

On the evening of 1 June 2014, an improvised explosive device was set off at a football field in Mubi, Adamawa State, Nigeria. At least 40 people were killed in the attack, according to eyewitnesses. Nineteen others were injured. The perpetrators of the attack were not clear, although media reports generally blamed Boko Haram.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gwoza massacre</span>

The Gwoza massacre was a terrorist event that occurred on 2 June, 2014 in the Gwoza local government district, Borno State near the Nigerian-Camerounian border.

Shehu Mustapha Idrissa Timta was a Nigerian traditional leader who served as the 3rd Emir of Gwoza from October 1981 until his death in May 2014. He was killed in an attack by Boko Haram terrorists on May 30, 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">June 2014 Kaduna and Abuja attacks</span>

Between 23 and 25 June 2014, a series of attacks occurred in central Nigeria. On 23–24 June, gunmen attacked a number of villages in Kaduna State, killing around 150 people. The attack was blamed on Fulani tribesmen. On 25 June 2014, a bomb exploded at the Emab Plaza in the national capital of Abuja, killing at least 21 people. In response to the bombing, the Nigerian military raided two militants camps on 26 June, killing more than 100 people.

The following lists events from 2014 in Nigeria.

The 2015 Baga massacre was a series of mass killings carried out by the Boko Haram terrorist group in the north-eastern Nigerian town of Baga and its environs, in the state of Borno, between 3 January and 7 January 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 West African offensive</span> Coalition offensive against Boko Haram

Starting in late January 2015, a coalition of West African troops launched an offensive against the Boko Haram insurgents in Nigeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chibok ambush</span> Attack by Boko Haram on Nigerian Army

The Chibok ambush was an attack of Boko Haram insurgents against a Nigerian Army convoy in the night from 13 to 14 May 2014, as the latter was searching for schoolgirls who had been kidnapped by the Islamist rebels. Even though the Nigerian Army forces managed to extricate themselves from the ambush, the attack seriously affected the morale of the involved soldiers who felt that their leadership was carelessly sacrificing them in the war against the insurgents. As result, elements of the Nigerian Army's 7th Division subsequently mutinied at Maiduguri and almost killed their own commander, "humiliat[ing] the Nigerian military".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kidnapping in Nigeria</span> National organized crime challenge

Kidnapping is a major problem in Nigeria in the early 21st century. Kidnapping by bandits and insurgents is among the biggest organised or gang crime in Nigeria and is a national security challenge.

References

  1. ↑ McElroy, Damien (6 July 2013). "Extremist attack in Nigeria kills 42 at boarding school". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  2. ↑ "Nigeria school attack claims 42 lives". The Australian . Agence France-Presse. 6 July 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 Dorell, Oren (21 April 2014). "Terrorists kidnap more than 200 Nigerian girls". USA Today . Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  4. ↑ Aronson, Samuel (28 April 2014). "AQIM and Boko Haram Threats to Western Interests in the Africa's Sahel". Combating Terrorism Center Sentinel (CTC), West Point. Archived from the original on 13 May 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  5. ↑ "Boko Haram kills 59 children at Nigerian boarding school". The Guardian . 25 February 2014. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Witnesses: Extremists abduct 91 more people in Nigeria in deadly weekend attacks on villages". Fox News Channel. Associated Press. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  7. ↑ "Nigeria violence: 'Boko Haram' kill 27 in village attacks". BBC News. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  8. ↑ Bayo Oladeji; Mohammed Ismail (3 June 2014). "Mubi Attack: Prayers Saved Me From Perishing In Bomb Attack – Survivor". Leadership. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  9. ↑ Abdullah, Umar (5 June 2014). "Gwoza Under Siege - Boko Haram Kills 300, Wipes Out Three Villages" . Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Suspected Boko Haram Militants Kidnap Dozens in Nigeria". Voice of America. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  11. 1 2 "Nigeria denies latest mass abduction claims". Yahoo! News. Agence France-Presse. 25 June 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  12. 1 2 3 "Boko Haram kills 40 in Chibok villages". Nigerian Tribune. 23 June 2014. Archived from the original on 28 June 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  13. ↑ "Blast in northeast Nigeria kills 11: police". Daily Times . Reuters. 29 June 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  14. ↑ Stephanie Burnett (7 July 2014). "Report: More Than 60 Nigeria Girls Escape Boko Haram 'Captors'". TIME . Retrieved 7 July 2014.

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