Warplanes, Troops in NE Nigeria; Mobile Phones Cut

ABC News ^ | May 16, 2013 | JON GAMBRELL and HARUNA UMAR

[Pan_Yan]

Mobile phone service was cut off Thursday in areas of northeast Nigeria as jet fighters streaked through the sky and more soldiers were deployed to fight Islamic extremists waging a brutal insurgency.

Witnesses saw low-flying Nigerian jet fighters over Yola, the capital of Adamawa state, which President Goodluck Jonathan placed under emergency rule on Tuesday along with Borno and Yobe states. However, soldiers have met "no resistance" yet from extremists who have taken over villages and small towns in this region approaching the Sahara Desert, a military spokesman said.

...

Mobile phones have become the only real communication device in Nigeria for both voice calls and the Internet, as the state-run telephone company collapsed years ago. By cutting off service at towers, the military could stop extremists from receiving warnings or intelligence ahead of their operations. Authorities said they had no information about the service cutoff or refused to comment.

[Pan_Yan]

Short version: In case anyone wondered if Africa's largest oil producer was involved in a full fledged (religious) civil war here's your answer. President Goodluck Johnathan has placed the three largest Muslim areas under military rule and deployed major forces to the area. There were around 90 dead a few weeks ago when a village got torched during a gun battle between the government and Boko Haram, which is translated "western education is a sin."

For the record the US has military advisors training the Nigerian Army.

[rfp1234]

0bambi getting ready to wag the dog in 3...2...1...

[cherry]

you have to wonder which side the boy is on.....usually he protects his muzzie friends...of course, it’ll be with American boys blood...

[Inyo-Mono]

A quick read of the headline made me think this was in Nebraska and the revolution had started.

[BobL]

“For the record the US has military advisors training the Nigerian Army.”

Sounds like we’re supporting the right people, FOR ONCE.

[RetiredArmy]

Muzzie murdering thugs have murdered thousands of Christians in Nigeria and not a word, not a word from the Marxist press on it.

[Pan_Yan]

” Sounds like we’re supporting the right people, FOR ONCE.”

Two geopolitical natural instincts at work. First, maintain the status quo. Second, don’t tick off all the big businesses making money off Nigerian oil.

[BBell]

Bob Beckel, a born again Christian, brought this up on The Five awhile back how he was disgusted that the media would not report on the slaughter of Christians in Nigeria and other African countries. He also been calling for a ban on allowing Muslim students to enter the country for some time. He may be a Lib but he is a Christian.