Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Urban fighting in Nigeria

Most of the terrorism and warfare in Nigeria has been in rural areas and small towns — until now.

Boko Haram Attacks Major Nigerian City in a Sustained Assault

Maiduguri, the major city in Nigeria’s northeast, came under sustained attack from Boko Haram terrorists on Sunday morning…

This city of over two million people was attacked beginning late Saturday night from at least two directions by the militants from the Islamist insurgency, which effectively controls the territory surrounding the city. Loud explosions were heard in the center of the city, and small-arms fire and artillery in its suburbs…

By late Sunday morning, the attack appeared to have been repulsed by the Nigerian military. Officials said bombs dropped on insurgent positions had turned the tide of the battle here, but there were reports that a major military installation in a town to the north, Monguno, had fallen to the insurgents…

Initial reports suggested that civilian and military casualties here were substantial. Witnesses reported seeing hundreds of residents fleeing the suburbs and rushing toward the city’s center. They also reported seeing some Nigerian troops moving away from the fighting, as in numerous previous engagements with the Islamists…

The sustained attack by the Islamists on the center of Nigerian state and military power in this section of the country — the city that was their movement’s birthplace — was one more indication that they are stepping up the pace of their offensive before a critical presidential election next month.

The attack came hours after Mr. Jonathan had left Maiduguri after a campaign speech…

Teaching Comparative blog entries are indexed. Use the search box to look for country names or concept labels attached to each entry.