Earlier this week, heavily armed men in uniform attacked the villages of Goshe, Attagara, Agapalwa and Aganjara villages in Gwoza district in the northeastern Nigerian state of Borno. These villages border the nation of Cameroon where many sources believe Boko Haram has operational bases. The Nigerian military has mounted a response and moved into the area to try to dislodge the well-armed militants. Unlike in the past, the militants are starting to transform into a regular fighting force with uniforms, all-terrain vehicles and coordinated movement and attacks.
The Boko Haram attackers have also been singling out Christian churches and worshippers; burning homes, churches and gunning down fleeing and praying parishioners. But this did not stop village self-defense units from repelling the Boko Haram attackers in one village, Attagara, have killed more than 11 terrorists and arrested four more to hold for the Nigerian military.
News of these attacks has been slow to reach outside the region because Boko Haram has specifically targeted cellphone towers. The Nigerian government has received multinational assistance in the form of intelligence assets from the United States and Britain as well as a few others. But western powers are wary of sending in ground troops to assist Nigeria. Despite its ineffectiveness against Boko Haram, Nigeria is still the African continent’s largest economy, surpassing South Africa.
