Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan appealed for more US help in fighting Boko Haram, as the Muslim extremists struck again on Saturday and called for a boycott of upcoming general elections.
The head of state for the first time claimed direct links between the Sunni radicals who have been waging a six-year insurgency in Nigeria and the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.
He told the Wall Street Journal in an interview: “Are they [the US] not fighting ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham]? Why can’t they come to Nigeria?”
Photo: Reuters
“They are our friends. If Nigeria has a problem, then I expect the US to come and assist us,” he added.
However, Pentagon spokesman US Rear Admiral John Kirby said there are no plans to send US troops to Nigeria to fight the group formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
“I can tell you that there are no plans as I speak here to send unilaterally, to send or to add US troops into Nigeria. There are no US troops operating in Nigeria,” he told reporters.
Kirby said the US is in the early phases of helping establish a multinational task force of African nations to help Nigeria defeat Boko Haram.
Jonathan’s comments were published as hundreds of Muslim fighters invaded the northeastern city of Gombe, firing heavy guns and throwing leaflets calling for locals to shun the elections.
The attack saw residents flee and the authorities impose a 24-hour lock-down in the city, which Boko Haram has repeatedly targeted.
Nigeria’s defense headquarters said it had repelled the attack.
“The terrorists attack on Gombe has been repelled. Troops are in pursuit,” it said on Twitter.
Boko Haram has opened up two new fronts in its campaign to create a hardline Muslim state in northeast Nigeria, pushing into neighboring Niger last week and, for the first time on Friday, into Chad.
It has also increased the frequency and intensity of its attacks on northern Cameroon. The increasing regional threat has led to the deployment of troops from all three neighboring countries, reflecting security fears.
Jonathan and his government have long sought to portray the insurgency as being fueled by outside forces and he has previously called Boko Haram “al-Qaeda in west Africa.”
Critics have interpreted Jonathan’s attempt to blame foreigners for the violence that has left more than 13,000 people dead and displaced more than 1 million since 2009 as a diversion from national failings.
Boko Haram has generally not been thought to have any direct operational links with overseas Muslim extremists, although some fighters might have received training from al-Qaeda-linked militants in north Africa.
However, Jonathan told the US newspaper that Nigeria had intelligence reports that Boko Haram was receiving “training and funds” from Islamic State militants.
The US has provided surveillance and intelligence specialists, as well as aerial drones, to help in the high-profile hunt for hundreds of schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in April last year.
However, bilateral ties have since been fraught over Washington’s refusal to provide military hardware because of concerns about human rights abuses in the Nigerian army.
The latest attack in Gombe, south of Boko Haram’s center of operations, coincided with the original date for presidential elections, at which Jonathan is seeking a second four-year term.
The vote was postponed on Saturday last week after the electoral commission was advised that regional forces needed more time to tackle the insurgents and would not be able to provide security on polling day.
However, the six-week deadline to effectively secure and stabilize the northeast and allow hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the violence to vote has been seen as unrealistic.
Jonathan on Friday maintained that postponing the elections until March 28 would give the security agencies time to “clean up” the three states worst hit by the insurgency for voting to take place.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
Myanmar’s junta chief met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time since seizing power, state media reported yesterday, the highest-level meeting with a key ally for the internationally sanctioned military leader. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, overthrowing Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy and plunging the nation into civil war. In the four years since, his armed forces have battled dozens of ethnic armed groups and rebel militias — some with close links to China — opposed to its rule. The conflict has seen Min Aung Hlaing draw condemnation from rights groups and pursued by the
RSS