Suspected Boko Haram guerillas attacked a town in northeastern Nigeria, killing at least 125 people. Scores of gunmen came into the town from all directions – they sprayed automatic gunfire, trapped people in buildings they set on fire, and in some cases even slit their victims’ throats. Officials warn the final death toll will be much higher.
Meanwhile, Nigerian police are offering a US$300,000 reward for information that leads to the more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram last month. The girls are now believed to have been dispersed into smaller groups – some in a heavily forested area with hidden, abandoned military bunkers, others possibly already taken out of the country to be sold as threatened in a bizarre, ranting video from Boko Haram’s leader. At least two of the girls reportedly are dead of snakebites.
Anger is growing against President Goodluck Jonathan perceived inability to do anything about Boko Haram. There are daily protests in the capital Abuja, and criticism from abroad. But he’s now welcoming the American offer to send military advisors and hostage negotiators to help the search.