Boko Haram seized another military base over the weekend and killed dozens in nearby villages, adding to concerns that the Nigerian terrorist group is winning its battle against the country’s military.
The Islamist insurgency has transformed from a group of rebels wielding bows and arrows to one that has now acquired rocket launchers and even tanks at army outposts in northern Nigeria, such as the regional command center it captured on Saturday in Baga. Boko Haram currently occupies territory the size of Belgium, forcing about 1.5 million people to flee.
Nigeria cancelled a U.S. training program for its military last month after disputes about aid. Experts say the loss of assistance could hamper efforts to defeat the group.
Nigeria’s army has struggled to contain the Islamist threat, the Wall Street Journal reports:
In recent months, the group has captured military bases, commandeering rocket launchers, armored personnel carriers, and even tanks. Nigeria’s military has repeatedly fled, with soldiers complaining about insufficient ammunition and body armor. Soldiers have mutinied, and wives of soldiers have publicly protested their husbands’ deployment.
For years, Boko Haram has menaced Baga, the garrison town on the Lake Chad waterfront. The town has also been near the center of controversy over how the Nigerian military has conducted its counterinsurgency campaign.
In April 2013, a small group of Boko Haram fighters ambushed soldiers on Baga’s outskirts. The army responded by setting much of the town on fire, in a blaze that killed about 200 people, said New York-based Human Rights Watch, citing witness testimony. The rights group published satellite photos of Baga that showed the area scorched in a pattern the group said was consistent with arson. Nigeria’s military said the fire was caused by rocket-propelled grenades Boko Haram fired.
The United States has now been relegated to providing surveillance support:
But outside the command center, Boko Haram was tearing through the countryside. As U.S. drones circled overhead, looking for the missing schoolgirls, Boko Haram set its sights on entire cities, chasing soldiers from garrison towns.
The result was a horrific year: Of the roughly 16,000 people who have died in the Boko Haram conflict since 2011, more than two-thirds—11,245 individuals—died in 2014, according to New York’s Council on Foreign Relations, which tallies news reports.