The Sunday Mail
The Nigerian army has killed more than 80 Boko Haram militants in clashes in the north of the country, local media reported Saturday.
The extremist group has been making advances in the northeastern Borno State, capturing the city of Bama as well as towns and villages near the state capital Maiduguri.
The Vanguard newspaper quoted the army as saying that the clashes erupted some 35 kilometres from Maiduguri after Boko Haram launched an attack on the town of Konduga. Boko Haram, which means “Western education is sinful,” is reported to have killed more than 3,000 people in Nigeria’s north this year alone.
When it first launched attacks in 2009, the insurgents mainly targeted Christians, saying they wanted to establish an Islamic state.
Since mid-2013, Boko Haram has focused its attacks on government security forces as well as on civilians of both Christian and Muslim faith in their homes, markets, hospitals and schools — SAPA.
