Boko Haram Actions in Nigeria Detailed
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: As Boko Haram's leader praises the terror attack in France there is a jaw-dropping view of its most destructive attack yet. The Boko Haram attack happened nearly two weeks ago in the Northern Nigeria town of Baga or Baga and the surrounding villages. But we are only now just starting to get a picture of the devastation. This is a satellite picture from Amnesty International. It was released today, but it was taken on January 2nd. And in it you can see the homes and the businesses and just to make this clearer the photos have actually been processed. So as you look at this, these are the before pictures. And the red areas indicate normal and healthy vegetation. But if you look at the after picture it is quite alarming, look at the difference. That was taken January 7th and you can see the village of Doron Baga was nearly wiped off the map completely. Keep in mind some people did get away in this attack. Others took refuge in their homes. But they were burned to death inside those homes. Local officials are reporting death tolls that ranged from the hundreds to as many as 2,000. And now look at the images side by side. Amnesty International says this resulted in more than 3,700 structures being damaged or destroyed. Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson joins me now live from Northern Nigeria and CNN is the only network live in this area. And our Terrorism Expert Brian Jenkins is back with us as well. So Nic perhaps you could just update us on what exactly is happening and why it's so difficult to get an accurate count of exactly how many people died in this.</s>NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sure, we got 20,000 to 30,000 people were forced to flee in that area. And because they've left there is somebody (inaudible) there who can independently verify OK who died, who was killed are they all have been count because people have scattered over a wide area. But also the fact that the main army military outpost there was overrun, there's many of the soldiers killed. Many of the others fled. So there's no sort of government authority there are to again make that kind of assessment. And it's remote and it's sort of in the one of the heartless too places in the country. I mean, not just a long way away but the roads begin to break down out there as well. So that's (inaudible) to get that information. But we've been talking to soldiers here who are in the fight against Boko Haram, normally you would expect an army come back again and retake that land, but the soldiers we are talking to, morale is low. They say that the weapons they're giving to fight them (inaudible) bodies turned to weapons (ph) and they don't have enough bullets. Boko Haram came into town that day with big anti-aircraft guns, a range of three quarters of a mile. So the soldiers beaten back. They even, they tell us, forced to buy their own uniforms.</s>BANFIELD: So, if I can, I want to just play this interview that was given by the archbishop in the area and he was reacting to what he saw in Paris and what he's seeing at home. Let's have a listen.</s>IGNATIUS KAIGAMA, ARCHBISHOP OF JOS, NIGERIA: I liked it when I saw the huge numbers gathered in Paris and then they lit a stage from different nations on coming together for a common cause. Why can't we share the same sympathy, solidarity, concern?</s>BANFIELD: That is -- It's the kind of thing that so many people ask when they hear about this kind of a potential death toll almost as high as 2,000. Nic what about the galvanizing of that country, especially the government? And can it do anything more to try to stench the flow of the terror that Boko Haram was unleashing?</s>ROBERTSON: Sure. Well, these soldiers we're talking to tell us give them the right weapons and they can do the (inaudible). We saw today was President Goodluck Jonathan going to (inaudible) the towns where many of the people fled that area where his army remembered to stay today. He spent time with the troops and he promised them that they would get what they need, I think for a lot of people here at the moment feel that that is the kind of a hallow promise and they really like to see him make good on that. But that's (inaudible) the difference between success and failure here. It is the army being able to step up and do the job that they should be doing. But without the backing of the government which they really feel they don't have at the moment, they can't actually (inaudible).</s>BANFIELD: Unbelievable. And I apologize for our connections to you Nic, it's been hard to make out everything you said, but I think we get the gist of it. And Brian Jenkins if you can fill in some of the gaps and that is this, what we're hearing from Boko Haram, it eclipses some of the worst terror attacks that we've heard all around the world in terms of shear volume and numbers and the kidnapping of hundreds of girls at a time, the murder of hundreds of people at a time over and over again. Exactly, what is the effect of Boko Haram and its terrorist activity on other terrorist groups and is there much of a connection or a potential for emerging of these murderous forces?</s>BRIAN JENKINS, TERRORISM EXPERT: Well, Boko Haram like a number of the conflicts in the region is primarily a -- has deep local roots as this reflects a divide in Nigeria between a Christian south and a Muslim North. It also reflects the problems that although Nigeria has Africa's largest population and biggest economy. It also has the poorest population. So the money that's coming into the country is not making it down to the people and that fuels this local conflicts. The concern that we have is that while these conflicts begin as local conflicts, they allow groups like Al-Qaeda to get a foothold and to begin to radicalize these groups even more. Boko Haram has itself declared an Islamic caliphate. Boko Haram wants to not only take over Northern Nigeria, but its ambitions transcend the Nigerian borders to encompass some of the territory of the neighboring African countries in recreating what was once a much greater Muslim empire in that part of Africa. And of course the greatest concern is that ultimately that part of Nigeria like Syria, like Iraq, like Afghanistan will become a launching pad for terrorist operations against the West.</s>BANFIELD: It's never good news, but it's good to be certainly in the know. Brian Jenkins, thank you for your insight. And Nic Robertson, great reporting in Northern Nigeria, thank you as well. 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