II. Resources
PERSPECTIVES ON TERRORISM Volume 8, Issue 6 II. Resources Boko Haram Attacks in Nigeria and Neighbouring Countries: A Chronology of Attacks by Ioannis Mantzikos Introduction [1] Boko Haram’s insurgency which pitted neighbour against neighbour, cost more than 4,000 lives, displaced close to half a million people, destroyed hundreds of schools and government buildings and devastated an already ravaged economy in the north-east of Nigeria, one of the country’s poorest regions.Within less than five years (2010 – 2014) the Nigerian Islamist terrorists organization Boko Haram (BH) has evolved into the most lethal of all salafist jihadist organisations. Originally directing its attacks mainly at security forces and government officials, BH’s campaign has expanded to include attacks on Christians, critical Muslim clerics, traditional leaders, suspected collaborators, UN offices, bars and girl schools. Its campaign of terrorism, ranges from targeting students at state (secular) schools to health workers involved in polio vaccination campaigns. In the first half of 2014 BH even surpassed the Islamic State in Iraq in terms of lethality, according to statistics compiled by the Intel Center.[2] On Tuesday, April 15, 2014, Boko Haram attacked a girls’ school in Chibok, Borno state, in northern Nigeria, abducting between 250-300 young girls. Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, released a video on May 5, threatening to sell the girls as “wives” while also expressing his ideological opposition to the idea of educating girls. The abduction of girls and subsequent developments have prompted several nations to send logistical support teamswhile the Nigerian government offered a $300,000 reward for information leading to the girls’ rescue.
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