Two bombings in Nigeria — each targeting bustling markets — have killed more than 40 people and injured hundreds more in the space of 24 hours. Boko Haram, which is the deadliest terrorist group in the world, is believed to have carried out the attacks.
On Tuesday evening, a blast ripped through a vegetable market in the northeast city of Yola, killing more than 30. It was the third bomb attack on the city this year. Less than a day later, two female suicide bombers — one of whom was just 11 years old — targeted a mobile phone market in the northwestern city of Kano, killing at least 12.
Boko Haram, a militant Islamist group that operates mainly in Nigeria, is the prime suspect in both attacks. According to reporting by the BBC, Boko Haram, which has drew international attention for kidnapping Nigerian schoolgirls last year, forces young girls to become suicide bombers. After the attacks, Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari blamed Boko Haram for the attacks and urged Nigerians not to despair.
“President Buhari reassures Nigerians that his administration is very much determined to wipe out Boko Haram in Nigeria and bring all perpetrators of these heinous crimes against humanity to justice,” said a press release.
The attack on Yola came just days after the Nigerian president visited the city and declared that Boko Haram was close to defeat.
Over 2,000 Nigerians have died in Boko Haram's attacks in Nigeria in 2015 alone. #PrayForTheWorld #PrayForNigeria Wake up
— MarQuis Trill (@6BillionPeople) November 17, 2015
Boko Haram is the deadliest terrorist group in the world, according to The Global Terrorism Index 2015, released on Wednesday. The group narrowly beat out ISIS, which was responsible for 6,073 deaths by terrorism in 2014. Boko Haram was responsible for 6,644 terrorism deaths and increased its activity by over 300 percent.
Together, the two groups are responsible for half of the world’s terrorism deaths. Boko Haram calls itself the ISIS’ “West African Province,” although the exact the relationship between the groups is unclear. It pledged allegiance to ISIS in March, but analysts say that the association is mostly a matter of PR, rather than of practical cooperation or coordination.
Terrorism activity increased 80 percent worldwide in 2014, to the highest level ever recorded. Much of that activity is highly concentrated — 78 percent of terrorism deaths in 2014 occurred in Iraq, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria, with Nigeria experiencing the largest increase in deaths from terrorism. The report also showed that more and more, terrorists are attacking everyday people: deaths of private citizens increased 172 percent.
I wonder why this flag isn't a popular app on Facebook right now. Hmm.. #PrayForNigeria pic.twitter.com/bDUJi6kOg5
— Vernie Mack (@VernieMack) November 18, 2015
Facebook activated its security check feature for users in Yola following the attack. In a Facebook post, Zuckerberg said: “After the Paris attacks last week, we made the decision to use Safety Check for more tragic events like this going forward.”
“Finally, Facebook decides to empathize with us,” Memanut Ibrahim, a Nigerian student told the Guardian.
Others on Twitter, however, have noted that Facebook didn’t activate its flag filter for profile photos for Nigeria as it did for France.