- Washington “follows with interest” Morocco’s openness onto Africa (John Kerry)Posted 11 years ago
- The trial of South African Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius opened in Pretoria on Monday.Posted 11 years ago
- USA welcomes efforts of King Mohammed VI in MaliPosted 11 years ago
- Egypt’s population reaches 94 millionPosted 11 years ago
- Mugabe celebrates his 90thPosted 11 years ago
- Moroccan Monarch to Build a Perinatal Clinic in BamakoPosted 11 years ago
- King Mohammed VI handed a donation of bovine semen for the benefit of Malian breeders.Posted 11 years ago
- Moroccan King’s strategic tour to Africa: Strengthening the will of pan African Solidarity and stimulating the south-south cooperation mechanisms over the continentPosted 12 years ago
- Senior al-Qaida leader killed in AlgeriaPosted 12 years ago
- Libya: The trial of former Prime Minister al-Baghdadi AliPosted 12 years ago
Nigeria calls for US help on ground as Boko Haram storms provincial capital
According to the Wall Street Journal, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has asked the US to send combat troops to fight Islamist insurgents. Boko Haram fighters invaded Gombe city on Saturday and crossed into Chad for the first time on Friday.
“Are they not fighting ISIS? Why can’t they come to Nigeria?” Jonathan asked of US troops in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Friday, in reference to the Islamic State (IS) group active in Syria and Iraq.
The Nigerian president told the US newspaper that he had been asking Washington to send combat soldiers and military advisors since early 2014. He added that Nigeria had intelligence that Boko Haram received “training and funds” from IS.
Hours after Jonathan spoke with American journalists, hundreds of Boko Haram militants stormed the northeastern Nigerian city of Gombe on Saturday morning.
Witnesses told news agencies that fighters firing heavily invaded the capital of Gombe state and threw leaflets calling on residents to boycott upcoming general elections.
“The Boko Haram gunmen are now at the Jeka-da-Fari roundabout in the centre of the city, firing indiscriminately and throwing pamphlets calling on people not to participate in the elections,” resident Ali Dahiru told AFP.
The fighters appealed to residents to boycott the elections which had originally been planned to take place on Saturday before they were postponed until March 28.
Witnesses said the attackers met little resistance at first, but government troops backed up by fighter jets later engaged them.
Attack “repelled”, curfew in place
Boko Haram appeared to be evacuating the city later on Saturday, and a Nigerian government security source told Reuters the attack had been repelled. The local governor has imposed a 24-hour curfew across Gombe state following the violence.
The Islamist group has been blamed for several attack that have targetted Gombe city in the past three years, including a car bombing that left at least 20 people dead last December.
Two weeks ago, two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside a stadium, just minutes after President Jonathan had left the venue where he had given a campaign speech, leaving many injured.
Boko Haram wants to establish an Islamist caliphate in northeastern Nigeria and the group has stepped up its offensive both within Nigeria and against border towns of neighboring countries in recent weeks.
Elections on March 28
The violence has forced the Nigerian authorities to postpone general elections scheduled on Saturday by six weeks. By the new polling date of March 28, “we will be able to take over all the territories that they are holding,” Jonathan told the Wall Street Journal.
