Nigerian army 'destroys' (militant Islamist group) Boko Haram camps in north-east

[Turborama]

Source: BBC

The Nigerian army says it has destroyed a number of well-equipped camps used by the militant Islamist group, Boko Haram, in the north-east of Nigeria.

Senior officer Chris Olukolade revealed the extensive nature of the camps, which he said were used to co-ordinate attacks on nearby local communities.

The BBC has not been able to independently verify the army's claim.

Some 2,000 soldiers were deployed to the region last week, in the biggest campaign to date against Boko Haram.

On 14 May, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan gave security control to the military after declaring a state of emergency in the three north-eastern states where Boko Haram have been most active - Borno, Yobe and Adamawa.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22662476

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Video report at the link.

[Javaman]

1. Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movement_for_the_Emancipation_of_the_Niger_Delta

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is one of the largest militant groups in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The organization claims to expose exploitation and oppression of the people of the Niger Delta and devastation of the natural environment by public-private partnerships between the Federal Government of Nigeria and corporations involved in the production of oil in the Niger Delta. The Economist has described the organization as one that "portrays itself as political organisation that wants a greater share of Nigeria’s oil revenues to go to the impoverished region that sits atop the oil. In fact, it is more of an umbrella organisation for several armed groups, which it sometimes pays in cash or guns to launch attacks."[1] MEND has been linked to attacks on petroleum operations in Nigeria as part of the Conflict in the Niger Delta, engaging in actions including sabotage, theft, property destruction, guerrilla warfare, and kidnapping.[2]
MEND's stated goals are to localize control of Nigeria's oil and to secure reparations from the federal government for pollution caused by the oil industry. In an interview with one of the group's leaders, who used the alias Major-General Godswill Tamuno, the BBC reported that MEND was fighting for "total control" of the Niger Delta's oil wealth, saying local people had not gained from the riches under the ground and the region's creeks and swamps."[3]
In a January 2006 email, MEND warned the oil industry, "It must be clear that the Nigerian government cannot protect your workers or assets. Leave our land while you can or die in it.... Our aim is to totally destroy the capacity of the Nigerian government to export oil."[4] Additionally MEND has called upon President Olusegun Obasanjo to free two jailed Ijaw leaders — Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, who is jailed and charged with treason, and Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, a former governor of Bayelsa State convicted of corruption. Obasanjo's successor, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua authorised the release of Dokubo-Asari and Alamieyeseigha in 2007.[5]

[Posteritatis]

2. That's an entirely different group from Boko Haram. (nt)

[Turborama]

3. Yes. And on the other side of Nigeria.

Boko Haram's sphere of influence is in the north east.