Boko Haram: At Least 70 Bodies in Mass Grave, More Empty Promises

Chadian soldiers drive in the recently retaken town of Damasak, Nigeria

From BBC Africa

Chadian and Nigerien troops liberated Damasak, which is near the border with Niger, on Saturday.

A mass grave containing at least 70 bodies has been found in the Nigerian town recently retaken from Boko Haram, soldiers from Niger and Chad say.

They say they found it in Damasak, a town in north-eastern Nigeria they entered on Saturday, ending months of control by the militant Islamists.

Earlier, Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan predicted Boko Haram would lose all territory within a month.

"They are getting weaker and weaker by the day," he told the BBC on Friday.

President Goodluck Jonathan: "I'm very hopeful that it will not take us more than a month to recover the old territories".

Two things to say here:

1. Why in the world would anybody believe anything that comes out of his mouth. I've been writing about him for a year and I haven't found one truthful statement in that time. If there is any truth in the man's head, it is totally disconnected from his mouth.

2. If he actually means it, it means a massive assault in which the hundreds of Chibok girls and other kidnapped girls would almost certainly suffer some casualties. It appears Jonathon believes enough time has passed that the welfare of the girls is no longer an issue. Not that it ever was an issue for Jonathon.

Damasak is a trading town in Borno state near Niger's border and is about 200km (125 miles) from state's main city of Maiduguri.

It was overrun by the militants, who began their insurgency in 2009 to create an Islamic state, at the end of last year.

The victims found in the mass grave in Damasak, many with their throats slit and some decapitated, may have been killed some time ago, reports suggest.

Chadian army Col Azem Bermandoa Agouna told the AFP news agency that he had visited the grave and seen "about 100 bodies spread under a bridge just outside the town".

Together with the Nigerian army, forces from Chad, Niger and Cameroon are involved in an offensive against the Islamist insurgents who began taking over territory about a year ago - after being pushed out of their base in Maiduguri.

Nigeria is preparing to hold presidential elections on 28 March after security concerns led to a postponement of the original date in mid-February.

'Under-rated external influence'

President Jonathan's government has been heavily criticised for its failure to end the six-year insurgency in the north-east.

He admitted that the government has been surprised by the group's progress.

Wanted poster for Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau in Maiduguri, Nigeria

Boko Haram at a glance:

Founded in 2002, initially focused on opposing Western-style education - 
      Boko Haram means, "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language
Launched military operations in 2009 to create an Islamic state
Thousands killed, mostly in north-eastern Nigeria - has also attacked police and 
      UN headquarters in capital, Abuja
Abducted hundreds, including at least 200 schoolgirls
Controls several north-eastern towns
Launched attacks on neighbouring states