Is Nigeria At War?

 

 Opinion: Nigerians Ask, Are We At War? -- Victor Ehikhamenor, Special To CNN 

(CNN) -- The corpse of another man's mother always looks like firewood from afar, so says an African proverb. Until recently, terrorism, war and the accompanying human carnage in far-away countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and many other troubled countries meant just more news of the crazy world out there. Not because of my lack of empathy, but distance can be a ready-made palliative for pain.

Now, that distant and macabre dance of death that once seemed so far away on TV has come upon my country, Nigeria, with a big bang.

Suicide bombing, towns and villages getting blown up, allegations of extra-judicial killings by the police and the military, kidnappings, terrorist attacks on government establishments -- total confusion and a lack of solutions to the violence is no longer just news, but a terrifying daily reality show.

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My Comment: The author sums it up perfectly .... .... Suicide bombing, towns and villages getting blown up, allegations of extra-judicial killings by the police and the military, kidnappings, terrorist attacks on government establishments -- total confusion and a lack of solutions to the violence is no longer just news, but a terrifying daily reality show.

Coupled this with what is happening on the ground .... I have to say yes .... it certainly looks like war.  

Update: Nigeria: A President Gets His War -- Aisha Umar Yusuf, allAfrica.com

More Religious Sectarian Violence In Nigeria

Nigeria Violence: Raids On Christian Villages Near Jos -- BBC

Armed gangs attacked Christian villages in northern Nigeria on Saturday, sparking a day of violence in which 37 people died, the military says.

Dozens of men launched attacks on the villages near the city of Jos in the early hours of Saturday.

A military task force deployed and got the situation under control after hours of heavy fighting, officials said.

Muslim herdsmen were blamed for the raids, but their community leaders denied any wrongdoing.

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More News On Yesterday's Religious Sectarian Violence In Nigeria

37 Killed in Nigeria Raids -- Wall Street Journal/AP
37 killed in Nigerian raids -- News24
Nigeria: Gunmen Raid Villages, Kill 30 in Jos -- allAfrica.com
Gunmen attack central Nigerian villages: officials -- AFP
23 Killed, 50 Injured In Fresh Plateau Violence -- Leadership.ng

Nigeria's Sectarian Violence Is Getting Out Of Control

Is Nigeria The Next Front In The War On Terror? -- Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Foreign Policy

The country's sectarian violence is getting out of control.

Violence between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria is drawing the country ever closer to a religious war. The instigator of this conflict is Boko Haram, an Islamist movement whose very name means "Western education is forbidden." If the Nigerian government can't stop this conflict from spiraling out of control, expect the United States to step in -- albeit with a relatively light hand -- to tip the scales against Boko Haram.

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My Comment: This can go either way. The worse case scenario is a repeat of Sudan's long civil war (Muslim in the north, Christians in the south) that has claimed millions in lives and a break-up of the country. Can the same thing happen in Nigeria .... it certainly appears to be heading that way.

Nigeria's Ethnic And Religious Violence Continues

Nigeria Market Bombing Kills At Least 56 -- The Telegraph

Cattle thieves raided a market in northern Nigeria, killing at least 56 people and burning down a market in an area beset by terror attacks from al-Qaeda-linked militants.

Gunmen firing into crowds of herders stormed the cattle sale in Potiskum in Yobe state, but were pushed back and forced to flee, witnesses said.

Three people were killed and one of the suspected thieves was burned alive by the cattle herders in retaliation.

The men then returned later in the evening, setting fire to the market and buildings that surround it, and then firing indiscriminately as people fled their burning homes, killing dozens more.

Read more ....

More News On Today's Violence In Northern Nigeria

Gunmen fire on Nigeria cattle market, 60 killed -- Reuters
Gunmen kill 34 at northeast Nigeria cattle market -- AP
Nigeria market attack kills dozens -- The Guardian
Nigeria Market Attack Kills 60, Police Suspect Islamists -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Nigeria's Potiskum cattle market raid 'kills dozens' -- BBC
Dozens killed by attackers in Nigeria -- Al Jazeera