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| Boko Haram Attacks Major Nigerian City in a Sustained Assault | Boko Haram Attacks Major Nigerian City in a Sustained Assault |
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| MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — Maiduguri, the major city in Nigeria’s northeast, came under sustained attack from Boko Haram terrorists on Sunday morning, with officials here calling it the group’s most audacious assault on the city to date. | MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — Maiduguri, the major city in Nigeria’s northeast, came under sustained attack from Boko Haram terrorists on Sunday morning, with officials here calling it the group’s most audacious assault on the city to date. |
| This city of over two million people was attacked beginning late Saturday night from at least two directions by the militants from the Islamist insurgency, which effectively controls the territory surrounding the city. Loud explosions were heard in the center of the city, and small-arms fire and artillery in its suburbs. | This city of over two million people was attacked beginning late Saturday night from at least two directions by the militants from the Islamist insurgency, which effectively controls the territory surrounding the city. Loud explosions were heard in the center of the city, and small-arms fire and artillery in its suburbs. |
| “Certainly this is the most serious attack yet,” said Kashim Shettima, the governor of Borno State, of which Maiduguri is the capital. “We faced a really existential threat.” | “Certainly this is the most serious attack yet,” said Kashim Shettima, the governor of Borno State, of which Maiduguri is the capital. “We faced a really existential threat.” |
| By late Sunday morning, the attack appeared to have been repulsed by the Nigerian military. Officials said bombs dropped on insurgent positions had turned the tide of the battle here, but there were reports that a major military installation in a town to the north, Monguno, had fallen to the insurgents, with over 1,000 soldiers fleeing to the bush in the face of the attack. | By late Sunday morning, the attack appeared to have been repulsed by the Nigerian military. Officials said bombs dropped on insurgent positions had turned the tide of the battle here, but there were reports that a major military installation in a town to the north, Monguno, had fallen to the insurgents, with over 1,000 soldiers fleeing to the bush in the face of the attack. |
| The attack on Maiduguri coincided with a visit by Secretary of State John Kerry to Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos, for meetings with President Goodluck Jonathan and his challenger in the coming presidential election, Muhammadu Buhari, a retired general. Mr. Kerry was expected to focus in part on the Boko Haram threat amid mounting friction between the United States and Nigeria over how best to deal it. | |
| Initial reports suggested that civilian and military casualties here were substantial. Witnesses reported seeing hundreds of residents fleeing the suburbs and rushing toward the city’s center. They also reported seeing some Nigerian troops moving away from the fighting, as in numerous previous engagements with the Islamists. | |
| “There’s a lot of gunshots and explosions,” said a top official at the city’s leading hospital who lives in the suburbs and asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the press and did not want to jeopardize his job. “These boys are trying to come into town.” | “There’s a lot of gunshots and explosions,” said a top official at the city’s leading hospital who lives in the suburbs and asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the press and did not want to jeopardize his job. “These boys are trying to come into town.” |
| Unicef officials working in Borno State said that aid workers, including from the Red Cross, reported that six civilians and 40 insurgents had been killed and that 40 people had been injured in the area near the Maiduguri airport. Casualties in Monguno were likely to be higher, they said. | |
| Maiduguri was placed under curfew. The center of the city was calm late Sunday morning. The streets were empty, with vehicle traffic largely banned. | Maiduguri was placed under curfew. The center of the city was calm late Sunday morning. The streets were empty, with vehicle traffic largely banned. |
| The sustained attack by the Islamists on the center of Nigerian state and military power in this section of the country — the city that was their movement’s birthplace — was one more indication that they are stepping up the pace of their offensive before a critical presidential election next month. | The sustained attack by the Islamists on the center of Nigerian state and military power in this section of the country — the city that was their movement’s birthplace — was one more indication that they are stepping up the pace of their offensive before a critical presidential election next month. |
| The attack came hours after Mr. Jonathan had left Maiduguri after a campaign speech. Just before the president arrived in the city, the militants had attacked Kambari, a village barely three miles from Maiduguri, burning it and killing 15 people. | |
| One of the governor’s security advisers, a retired military intelligence officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of this position, said: “They must have coordinated their attack very well. As they were attacking, they were coming in four different directions.” | One of the governor’s security advisers, a retired military intelligence officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of this position, said: “They must have coordinated their attack very well. As they were attacking, they were coming in four different directions.” |
| A top federal police official, who was in Maiduguri in the wake of a presidential visit and asked not to be identified so that he could speak freely, said: “In the early hours of the day the Boko Haram wanted to come into town. But by the grace of God, we have repelled them.” | A top federal police official, who was in Maiduguri in the wake of a presidential visit and asked not to be identified so that he could speak freely, said: “In the early hours of the day the Boko Haram wanted to come into town. But by the grace of God, we have repelled them.” |
| Hundreds of thousands have been driven from their homes and at least 10,000 killed over the course of the Islamists’ insurgency, now stretching into its sixth year. Brutal assaults on civilians have characterized their bloody insurrection. | Hundreds of thousands have been driven from their homes and at least 10,000 killed over the course of the Islamists’ insurgency, now stretching into its sixth year. Brutal assaults on civilians have characterized their bloody insurrection. |
| Mr. Shettima, the Borno governor and a leading member of the opposition party, All Progressives Congress, expressed exasperation Sunday over the attack by Boko Haram. “It’s so sad,” Mr. Shettima said. “If a genuine effort had been made, this thing could have been stopped a long time ago. It’s a ragtag army.” | Mr. Shettima, the Borno governor and a leading member of the opposition party, All Progressives Congress, expressed exasperation Sunday over the attack by Boko Haram. “It’s so sad,” Mr. Shettima said. “If a genuine effort had been made, this thing could have been stopped a long time ago. It’s a ragtag army.” |
| How the United States plans to help Nigeria regain the initiative against militant group remains unclear. Boko Haram’s abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls last spring provoked outrage in the United States and Europe. But a breakdown in trust between the United States; and Nigeria’s militaries, has hampered cooperation against Boko Haram, as have fears that the provision of heavy weapons to Nigerian forces could lead to human rights abuses. | |
| After a meeting with his British counterpart, earlier this month, Mr. Kerry said that the attacks by Boko Haram constituted war crimes and asserted that the United States was planning a “special initiative” to counter the group. | |
| But Mr. Kerry has not provided details of what that initiative is, when it might be undertaken or how the cooperation between the American and Nigerian militaries might be improved. | |
| President Obama is planning to convene an international meeting on combating violent extremism on Feb. 18 and that could be an opportunity for discussing new ideas, the State Department official said. |