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Nigeria: Boko Haram Islamists storm college, kill students
Hundreds have been killed since Boko Haram launched its Islamist uprising in 2009, turning itself from a clerical movement opposed to Western culture into an armed militia with growing links to al-Qaeda’s West African wing. President Jonathan declared a state of emergency in three northeastern states in May, including Yobe, and ordered a military offensive to crush Boko Haram’s insurgency.
There was an initial lull in the violence as Islamists fled bases in cities, forests and mountains. Then the militants began revenge attacks on schools, security forces and civilians believed to be helping them. “When I declared a state of emergency things calmed down. Now they are looking for soft targets, If the drum is changing, we must change steps,” Mr Jonathan said in a speech in the capital Abuja.
“The people they killed they don’t even know them. This is the creation of the devil – No Boko Haram or any group can frustrate this country, I assure Nigerians that we will do what is required to protect them,” he added.
In July, suspected Boko Haram militants killed 27 students and a teacher at a school in Potiskum, a town about 50 kms from the site of Sunday’s attack.
Several people have died in assaults over the past few weeks. The Boko Haram insurgency is also putting pressure on the economy of Africa’s most populous nation. Nigeria’s security spending has risen to more than 1 trillion naira (US$6.7 billion), approximately 20 percent of the federal budget.
