The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
May 21, 2014

Suspected Boko Haram Bombing Kills 118 in Nigeria 
--------------------------------------------------


 
At least 118 people have been killed and 45 wounded in a twin bombing in
the Nigerian city of Jos. Suspicion has focused on the Boko Haram, the
militant group behind hundreds of attacks including last month's
kidnapping of nearly 300 schoolgirls. The bombing comes days after
western African nations declared war on the Boko Haram at a summit in
Paris. An adviser to Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan outlined plans
for a multinational force to root out Boko Haram militants.

Reuben Abati: "The heads of state have agreed that each country will
contribute one battalion of troops to the international force set up to
patrol the border areas, in line with the resolution of the Lake Chad
Commission. France, the United States and the United Kingdom will extend
technical assistance to achieve this objective, that the countries will
come together to put in place an effective border management regime, and
that no effort will be spared to stop the proliferation of small arms
and light weapons and the supply of arms and equipment made available to
terrorists."

On Tuesday, activists in the Nigerian capital of Abuja continued a
protest demanding the girls' release.

Oby Ezekwesili, Bring Back Our Girls: "Terrorism is no longer a national
problem. Terrorism is a global problem, and it's got to be taken —
you know, it's a global public bad. So, when you have a global public
good, everybody shares of it; when you have a global public bad,
everybody is affected by it in a nasty way. And so everybody is
connected to a common humanity. So whatever threatens one of us
threatens all of us. And the idea that other nations are helping us to
solve this problem is one that every one of us must welcome."

 

.