Boko Haram Captures Military Base in Northern Nigeria

The Islamist group Boko Haram has captured an army military base in the city of Baga in northeastern Nigeria. Reuters reported on Sunday, January 14, citing two Nigerian security sources, that Boko Haram members attacked the base near Lake Chad on Saturday in military vehicles. Local residents also told AFP that several people were killed in the attack, hundreds of homes and shops around the base were set on fire, and soldiers fled the location after a brief resistance. Local officials and the army have refrained from providing any information. According to Reuters, a multinational task force consisting of soldiers from Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon was supposed to be stationed at this base to combat Boko Haram attacks, but in practice, only Nigerian forces were present there. Earlier in 2013, dozens of local residents were killed in clashes between the army and Boko Haram in Baga, and over two thousand homes were destroyed. This group, which opposes modern education and seeks to establish an Islamic government in northern Nigeria, has expanded its attacks from northeastern Nigeria into the borders of neighboring countries around Lake Chad. Reports indicate that over 10,000 people have been killed in Boko Haram attacks and related conflicts so far. Last month, Nigeria's interior minister announced the government's readiness to negotiate with Boko Haram but stated that they did not know who to talk to within the group. Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls in Nigeria last year, with some escaping, but the fate of over 200 remains unknown. Last week, the group also abducted 40 boys and young men from a village in northern Nigeria. In this context, members of Boko Haram have kidnapped at least 185 women and children in Nigeria, and Muslim jihadists have killed 'over five thousand people' in one month. A 'agreement' between the Nigerian government and Boko Haram regarding a ceasefire and the release of girls has been reported.