New Boko Haram raids in Nigeria. Yahoo/AFP

Soldiers secure the scene at a political rally in Nigeria. Yahoo/AFP

Hundreds of Boko Haram fighters poured into two towns in Nigeria getting into a brutal battle with Nigerian security forces. Yahoo/AFP. Boko Haram attacked the Borno State capitol Maiduguri, and the city of Mongunu. Many people fled the city of Mongunu and attempted to find safety in Maiduguri only to find that the city was also being attacked. Mongunu has a military base and has been attacked many times in the past. The fighting in both towns was intense. Nigeria deployed fighter jets in the battle and heavily armed troops. Amnesty International believes that if Boko Haram is not stopped in Maiduguri then hundreds of thousands of civilians could be at risk. 

My Comment:

More bad news from Nigeria. It sounds like Nigeria is losing their war against Boko Haram. Their military is just not good enough to counter the terror group. It seems that Boko Haram was stopped in this raid but what about the next one? Boko Haram are religiously motivated and they have the momentum. Nigerian troops are not and they are of poor quality. 

Of course there isn't anyone outside of Africa that actually wants to do something about Boko Haram. ISIS is getting all the international attention and nobody in the North America or Europe want to get involved at an African war. Even though Boko Haram is completely incompatible with western values. The name literally means western education is a sin. If they are able to establish a Caliphate like ISIS has then expect it to be horrible. They treat women as slaves and children as soldiers. They are evil and they need to be defeated. But nobody is willing to do anything about them. 

I like to think that ISIS and Boko Haram are symptoms of the same disease. It needs to be fought wherever it is found. Beating ISIS in Iraq and Syria is not going to stop radical Islam if Boko Haram is allowed to reign in Nigeria. Something needs to be done but nothing will be done, by the west at least, until it is totally out of control. The only good news is that other African nations are joining the fight against Boko Haram.