Updated: March 7, 2021
Suspected Boko Haram militants on Sunday killed more than 44 army officers, including a senior commander, in an attack on a military base in north-eastern Nigeria, multiple media outlets reported on Wednesday. Many other soldiers remained missing by Wednesday night.
Why it matters: In recent months, Boko Haram and its splinter faction known as Islamic State West Africa Province have stepped up deadly attacks on military and civilian targets in northeast Nigeria, ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections starting in February.
[read_more id="2" more="Read full article" less="Read less"]
The militants, who have killed tens of thousands of civilians since they declared war on Nigeria in 2009, overran a military base in Maitele, Borno state near the border with Niger.
They were reportedly driving in a convoy of gun-mounted trucks when they killed the officers and left many others missing.
The attackers reportedly also seized military equipment, and killed at least nine other civilians and dozens others in another attack on Tuesday in the village of Mammanti also in Borno state.
- What they are saying about President Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan
- Biden hails passage of his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan as “most progressive bill” ever passed
- U.S. Senate just passed Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. Here is what it includes
- U.S. Senate passes President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill
- Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala leads WTO to a green revolution: Trade and environmental sustainability go hand in hand
As in many past attacks and bloodshed, the Nigerian army did not officially acknowledged bor denied the reports.
[/read_more]
