2015 Baga massacre
Parts of this article (those related to the extent and casualties of the attack and its aftermath, particularly those dealing with refugees) need to be updated.(February 2015) |
2015 Baga massacre | |
---|---|
Part of petrol bombing, others | |
Deaths | 150–2,000+[1] |
Perpetrators | Boko Haram |
The 2015 Baga massacre was a series of
The attack began on 3 January when Boko Haram overran a military base that was the headquarters of the Multinational Joint Task Force containing troops from Chad, Niger, and Nigeria. The militants then forced thousands of locals from the region and committed mass killings that culminated on the 7th.
Fatalities have been reported to be "heavy" but their extent is unclear. Western media outlets reported that "over 2,000" people are thought to have been killed or "unaccounted for", but local media reported "at least a hundred" fatalities, while the Nigerian Ministry of Defence said that no more than 150 people in total had been killed, including militants.[2][3][4][5] Several government officials denied that the fatalities were as extensive as reported, with some even claiming that the massacre had never taken place or that the Nigerian military had repelled the militants from the region, a claim that was refuted by local officials, survivors, and the international media.[4][6][7]
Baga and at least 16 other towns are thought to have been destroyed as over 35,000 people are reported to have been displaced, with many feared to have drowned while trying to cross Lake Chad and others trapped on islands in the lake.[2][5] The attacks are said to have resulted in Boko Haram extending its control to over 70% of Borno State, while its leader, Abubakar Shekau, claimed responsibility for the massacre in a video statement, saying that they "were not much" and that the group's insurgency "would not stop".[3][8]
Background
Baga, in Borno State, was the location of a
Massacre and attacks
The attacks began on 3 January, when a large number of Boko Haram militants captured the town of Baga and overran the MNJTF headquarters and army base in town.[9]
Attack on MNJTF headquarters
According to Senator Ahmed Zanna, who represents the district of Borno Central, government forces—despite being the joint headquarters, only Nigerian Army forces were stationed there at the time—resisted the militants, who "attacked from all sides", for several hours, but eventually "joined civilians fleeing into the bush".[9][10] They reportedly seized a large number of weapons and vehicles, according to Zanna.
In the days following the assault, the militants forced Baga's residents into the surrounding area villages.
Extent of fatalities
The extent of the killings is as of yet unknown, and reports vary widely.
According to Human Rights Watch:[1]
The exact death toll in Baga and 16 surrounding villages is unknown, with estimates ranging from "dozens" to 2000 or more. "No one stayed back to count bodies", one local resident told Human Rights Watch. "We were all running to get out of town ahead of Boko Haram fighters who have since taken over the area".
Bukar stated that over two thousand people are thought to have been killed.[3] Zanna said that two thousand were "unaccounted for"; other sources said that "dozens" or "over a hundred" had been killed.[4][5] At least 100 were killed in the initial attack on 3 January, according to Baba Abba Hassan, the district head, later adding that "hundreds of corpses still lay on the streets" of the town and that many women and children were among the victims, having been pursued into the bush by the militants.[5][6]
Hassan, however, denied that the attack on 7 January had ever occurred and that the figure of 2,000 deaths was "outrageous".[6] Several government sources allegedly rejected claims of such a high number of fatalities, suggesting that it was considerably lower.[12] However, the Nigerian government has downplayed the extent of, and frequently outright denied the existence of, Boko Haram attacks several times in the past, including a prior massacre in Baga in 2013 where both Boko Haram and the Nigerian military were implicated in the death of over 200 citizens.[13][14][15]
Aftermath and refugee crisis
Satellite imagery taken on 2 and 7 January was released by Amnesty International showing that in Baga, which is "less than two square kilometres in size, approximately 620 structures were damaged or completely destroyed by fire." In Doron Baga, located about 2.5 km away, fishing boats present on the 2nd were no longer visible, and "more than 3,100 structures were damaged or destroyed by fire affecting most of the 4 square kilometre town."[16]
Daniel Eyre, Nigeria researcher for Amnesty International stated: "The attack on Baga and surrounding towns, looks as if it could be Boko Haram's deadliest act in a catalog of increasingly heinous attacks carried out by the group. If reports that the town was largely razed to the ground and that hundreds or even as many as two thousand civilians were killed are true, this marks a disturbing and bloody escalation of Boko Haram's ongoing onslaught against the civilian population."[17][18]
Maina Maaji Lawan, a former governor of Borno state and the current Senator representing the district of Borno North, questioned why the soldiers had reportedly fled the base, saying: "[t]here is definitely something wrong that makes our military abandon their posts each time there is an attack from Boko Haram."[10] This followed a spate of Nigerian troops, numbering in the hundreds, fleeing Boko Haram in battle.[10] According to Lawan, the attack meant that 70% of Borno State would now be under the control of Boko Haram.[3]
Refugee crisis
On 7 January, a government spokesperson stated that 1,636
Response and criticism
A large number of commentators criticised what they saw as insufficient coverage of the massacre in the international
Government security officials initially stated that "base troops had held their positions" and quickly denied that any attack had taken place in Baga.
The location of the attack in remote northeastern Borno State, much of which is occupied by Boko Haram, as well as "the routine nature of Nigeria's violence may have diminished" perceptions of the massacre's newsworthiness.[21] Experts have noted that media has been suppressed in Borno State, where witnesses with information frequently lack contacts with the media, and statements by the military are unreliable.[22] The Nigerian press was also seen as not adequately covering the attacks in Baga. One expert stated: "Local media caught on to the story only after the BBC's coverage. This is because there's been ongoing violence in the past year and people are increasingly desensitised."[22]
Many newspapers did not initially report on the massacre at all, and those that did, in many cases, either referred to the prior first attack on 3 January and gave figures far more limited than those circulating elsewhere, or gave outright denials of one sort or another. One newspaper's headline stated that the "BBC lied" in reporting that the second attack of 7 January had taken place.[23][7]
Goodluck Jonathan
Many commentators criticised the international media for a perceived lack of coverage of the massacre, especially in comparison with that received by the
Goodlook, or Goodluck or whatever his name is or badluck I don’t know ... He is quick to release statement about the killing in Paris; but don’t (sic) say anything about the killings in his own country. That’s an irresponsible leadership.[28]
On 14 January, Goodluck, along with Chief of the Defence Staff Badeh,
Political consequences
The issue of the Boko Haram insurgency and the inability of the government to fight the group were closely tied with the
In contrast, the opposition
See also
- 2013 Baga massacre
- List of massacres in Nigeria
- List of terrorist incidents, 2015
References
- ^ a b Mausi Segun, Dispatches: What Really Happened in Baga, Nigeria?, Human Rights Watch, 14 January 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Boko Haram destroys at least 16 villages in NE Nigeria: officials". Business Insider. Agence France-Presse. 8 January 2015. Archived from the original on 1 April 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ^ BBC World News. BBC. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f Smith, Alexander (8 January 2015). "Boko Haram Torches Nigerian Town of Baga; 2,000 Missing: Senator". NBC News. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Boko Haram kills dozens in fresh raids in Nigerian town". Reuters. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ^ a b c Olanrewaju, Timothy (9 January 2015). "One week after Boko Haram attack, corpses litter Baga". The Sun. Nigeria. Archived from the original on 10 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- ^ a b c d e "Boko Haram suffers heavy defeat in surprise attack on military base". News Express. 5 January 2015. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- ^ "Boko Haram claims Baga massacre and threatens Nigeria's neighbours". The Guardian. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
- ^ a b c Smith, Alexander (8 January 2015). "Boko Haram Militants in Nigeria Storm Key Base in Baga". NBC News. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ^ Long War Journal. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ^ Hinshaw, Drew; Akingbule, Gbenga (9 January 2015). "Boko Haram Rampages, Slaughters in Northeast Nigeria". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
- ^ Hayden, Sally (8 January 2015). "Gruesome Reports Emerge of New Boko Haram Massacre in Northern Nigeria". Vice News. Archived from the original on 8 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
However, an NGO researcher in Nigeria told VICE News that she had heard from various sources – including one inside the Ministry of Defence – that the number of new fatalities in Baga could be considerably lower, though she couldn't independently confirm those claims.
- ^ "Boko Haram seizes strategic Nigerian town :Boko Haram seizes strategic Nigerian town Army denies takeover even as thousands of people are reported fleeing northern Nigerian town amid Boko Haram attack". Al Jazeera. 2 September 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
Boko Haram have seized a strategic town in Nigeria's far northeast, prompting denials from the military... [which] countered that it had pushed back the militants, who in recent weeks have moved from indiscriminate and retaliatory hit-and-run attacks to seizing strategic territory in Borno state.
- ^ "Nigeria gov't denies new Boko Haram mass kidnap". CBS News. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
Witnesses say Islamic extremists have abducted 60 more girls and women and 31 boys from villages in northeast Nigeria. Security forces denied the kidnappings.
- ^ Bello, Usman A. (17 September 2014). "Police Deny Boko Haram Attack in Kogi". Daily Trust. AllAfrica. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
The police in Kogi State yesterday refuted reports of an attack on a military vehicle by suspected Boko Haram members in the state.
- ^ Amnesty International. Nigeria: Satellite Images Show Horrific Scale of Boko Haram Attack On Baga. allAfrica.com, 15 January 2015
- ^ Amnesty International, Nigeria: Massacre Possibly Deadliest in Boko Haram’s history Archived 13 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine, 9 January 2015.
- ^ Monica Mark, Boko Haram's 'deadliest massacre': 2,000 feared dead in Nigeria, The Guardian, 10 January 2015.
- ^ a b "Boko Haram displaces 1,636 in Baga". News Express. 7 January 2015. Archived from the original on 5 June 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- ^ Adigun, Bashir (6 January 2015). "Nigerian Defense Chief: Military Base in Hands of Extremists". ABC News. Associated Press. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- ^ Matt Schiavenza, Nigeria's Horror in Paris's Shadow, 11 January 2015.
- ^ a b c Eliza Anyangwe, Boko Haram attacks: why isn't Nigerian civil society protesting terrorism? m The Guardian, 14 January 2015.
- ^ "BBC Lied, no Fresh Boko Haram Attack on Baga". News Express. Anadolu Agency. 8 January 2015. Archived from the original on 5 February 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
- ^ Shearlaw, Maeve (12 January 2015). "Why did the world ignore Boko Haram's Baga attacks?". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
- ^ Caroline Bankoff, Why Isn't There Better Coverage of Boko Haram’s Huge Attack in Nigeria?, New York, 14 January 2015.
- ^ Bloomberg LP. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
- ^ Oyediran, Moses (9 January 2014). "Jonathan attacks APC". Daily Times Nigeria. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
- ^ Hassan, Adebayo (14 January 2015). "South African Politician, Malema, Attacks Jonathan, Says President "Irresponsible" Over Silence on Baga". Sahara Reporters. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
- ^ "Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan visits Boko Haram stronghold". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 15 January 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
- ^ members of the World Economic Forum of Young Global Leaders (16 January 2015). "2,000 dead and nothing said: leaders ask Nigeria's president to end silence". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
- ^ a b "The Observer view on Nigeria's potentially explosive election". 4 February 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.