CHINA TOPIX

03/29/2024 01:32:36 am

Make CT Your Homepage

Boko Haram Group 'Must Be Stopped' - UK Politicians, Military Leaders

Boko Haram militants

(Photo : Joe Penney/Reuters) Boko Haram militants continue to grow in number as they recruit more members from villages they have seized.

Greater effort is needed in order to combat Boko Haram, the terrorist group responsible for the abduction of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls, a letter by UK politicians and former military stated.

The Independent newspaper, which published the letter, stated that Boko Haram, which has taken Chibok pupils, are now being supported by the Islamic State militants.

Like Us on Facebook

According to Sir David Richards, a former Army General, and Lord Ashdown, a former Liberal Democrat leader, who are among those who signed the letter, there is a need for a global inquisition regarding the financial support received by the terrorists and an increased military support for the Nigerian troops who are battling them.

The letter stated that the nations worldwide, which have been "too slow" to respond during the schoolgirls' abduction, must join in the efforts to combat the Boko Haram.

In addition, the letter also said ISIS and the Boko Haram are a threat to the United Kingdom's national security, since both are part of a larger network of international terrorists.

Included in the letter's signatories were former secretary of defense, Bob Ainsworth and former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind, who said the violence brought about by the terrorist group is only a "portion of the chaos that is about to come if the extremists are able to acquire an African caliphate in the western part of the continent."

The  kidnapping of the pupils has acquired international attention after United States' first lady Michelle Obama and celebrities, including Angelina Jolie, initiated a social media campaign for the retrieval of the schoolgirls by posting photographs of themselves holding a sign saying #BringBackOurGirls.

Meanwhile, the 17-year-old Malala Yousafzai, who is the youngest to have won the Nobel Peace Prize, visited some of the schoolgirls who escaped the Boko Haram in July.

On Saturday, 27 hostages believed to be taken by the rebel group were released in Cameroon.

Real Time Analytics