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Nigeria declares 'massive' military campaign on borders | Nigeria declares 'massive' military campaign on borders |
(about 4 hours later) | |
Nigeria has sent a "massive deployment of men and resources" to combat Islamist militants in three north-eastern states. | |
A statement said the drive was aimed at "asserting the nation's territorial integrity" and "enhancing security". | A statement said the drive was aimed at "asserting the nation's territorial integrity" and "enhancing security". |
On Tuesday President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states after a series of deadly attacks by militants. | |
Fighters from the Boko Haram group are blamed for most of the violence. | Fighters from the Boko Haram group are blamed for most of the violence. |
The group, which has its roots in north-eastern Nigeria, is linked to bloodshed in which some 2,000 people have died since 2010. | The group, which has its roots in north-eastern Nigeria, is linked to bloodshed in which some 2,000 people have died since 2010. |
Boko Haram has seized control of parts of the north-east over the past three years, and much of the violence has been confined to that region. | |
However, the group did bomb Nigeria's capital Abuja in 2011 and 2012. | |
The militants have forged closer links with al-Qaeda-linked militants in the Sahara region and have access to increasingly sophisticated weaponry. They are believed to move back and forth across frontiers, particularly the Cameroon border, say analysts. | |
Nigeria, a multi-ethnic nation of more than 160 million people, is also affected by conflicts over land, religion and oil. | |
'Big trouble' | 'Big trouble' |
Wednesday's Ministry of Defence statement said the army, police and other security agencies had begun operations to "rid the nation's border territories of terrorist bases and activities". | Wednesday's Ministry of Defence statement said the army, police and other security agencies had begun operations to "rid the nation's border territories of terrorist bases and activities". |
The declared aim that it will assert the nation's territorial integrity comes a day after the president said the state no longer controlled the entire territory of Nigeria, a somewhat embarrassing admission, says the BBC's Will Ross in Lagos. | |
The operation will focus on enhancing security of governmental structures after the president said attacks on government buildings and killings of officials and other civilians amounted to a declaration of war. | The operation will focus on enhancing security of governmental structures after the president said attacks on government buildings and killings of officials and other civilians amounted to a declaration of war. |
Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe are three of the poorest states, far removed from the southern oilfields that feed government coffers. | |
"We've had a lot of problems [of] border crime, and criss-crossing of the border by the insurgents, and there's also evidence that some of the insurgents really are non-Nigerians," presidential spokesman Doyin Okupe told the BBC. | |
"As long as the terrorists can go in and out unchallenged, then we're in big trouble." | |
Residents and reporters in the north-east said there had already been an influx of extra troops and military hardware. | |
"I have never seen soldiers on the move quite like this before," said Ahmed Mari, who lives in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state. | |
"A lot of fighting equipment has been deployed to Maiduguri," Hajja Maimuna, whose house is close to Maiduguri's Air Force base, told Nigeria's Daily Trust website. | "A lot of fighting equipment has been deployed to Maiduguri," Hajja Maimuna, whose house is close to Maiduguri's Air Force base, told Nigeria's Daily Trust website. |
"We are really terrified... Even though the state governor has not been removed, which is good, the truth is that Maiduguri is now a garrison town, full of angry soldiers who are ready to kill at the slightest provocation." | |
Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is forbidden" in the local Hausa language, is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state in the north. | Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is forbidden" in the local Hausa language, is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state in the north. |
Although they often attack Christians and government targets, they have also killed many Muslim civilians. | |