Islamist militants continue attacks in Nigeria

(Vatican Radio) Suspected Islamist militants have killed at least 85 people in north-eastern Nigeria over the weekend. Twin bomb blasts in the city of Maiduguri killed at least 46 people on Saturday evening while, around 50 km (30 miles) away, dozens of gunmen were razing a farming village, shooting dead another 39.

The attacks are putting pressure on Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, whose intensified military push to end the Islamic sect Boko Haram's four-and-a-half-year-old insurgency has been running for almost a year.

While the bloodshed has not diminished, the army had at least had some success in confining it to remote rural areas in recent months, so that the attack on a densely populated market area in Maiduguri will be seen as a setback.

Boko Haram, which has killed thousands in its fight for an
Islamic state in northern Nigeria and become the biggest threat
to security in Africa's top oil producer, is increasingly
targeting the civilian population.

The attack on the village of Mainok on Saturday evening is
typical of recent raids by Boko Haram as its fighters continue
to target anyone they view as supporting the government's effort
to end its insurgency.

Listen to Christopher Wells’ report: