Islamist militant group Boko Haram has reportedly kidnapped dozens from a remote Nigerian town. Witnesses told reporters the group kidnapped about 100 or so boys and men.
The assumption is the boys will be conscripted — forced to fight for Boko Haram, which Al Jazeera likens to the brutal tactics of Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. (Video via Time)
Boko Haram is often called one of Africa's biggest threats. The group has been involved in various terrorist attacks within the past year. Since 2009, the group has been fighting for an Islamist state.
Conventional wisdom was that Nigeria was too strong to be overrun with a group like Boko Haram. But a Sky News analyst says this latest incident might prove otherwise. Corruption at the highest levels, he says, means remote villages don't get the resources they need for protection.
"The incredible weakness in the face of a growing threat from Boko Haram of the Nigerian Armed Forces."
This is how South Africa's Daily Maverick characterizes the group's motivation: "Unhappy with the pervasive and corrosive influence of western culture, it has long sought to establish an Islamic state ... governed by its strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law."
It was just a few months ago that a video surfaced showing about 100 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram as possible bargaining chips to free imprisoned militants. (Video via Euronews)
The incident gained international attention with the "Bring Back Our Girls" campaign. Three Nigerian states have been under a state of emergency ever since.
More than 200 schoolgirls are still missing today. Boko Haram has said in the past it wants to sell the girls.
Boko Haram has killed more than 2,000 people since the beginning of this year, according to Human Rights Watch.
