{{Nigeria’s military is losing control of swathes of the largely Muslim northeast to radical Islamist insurgents who are killing civilians almost daily, and the run-up to elections next year risks aggravating the violence further. }}
Islamist sect Boko Haram has killed thousands since it launched an uprising in 2009 in a bid to carve out an Islamic state in the West African country of 170 million people, divided roughly equally between Christians and Muslims.
More than 150 civilians have died in Boko Haram attacks in the last four days, adding to the 300 killed last month, according to Reuters figures and security sources, one of the worst periods in the northeast since the sect intensified its insurgency three years ago.
A security source, who asked not to be named, said 2,100 people were killed in Boko Haram violence in the last six months.
Nigeria – Africa’s biggest oil producer and second largest economy – is a year away from a presidential election and already the two main political parties are trading blame over the escalating Boko Haram conflict.
President Goodluck Jonathan, who is expected to run for re-election in next February’s vote, declared a state of emergency in three northeastern states last May and launched a military surge into the zone. It has failed to stem the bloodshed.
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