The Conflicts In Libya And Mali Are Now Spreading To Nigeria

Nigerian Islamist Militants Return From Mali With Weapons, Skills -- Washington Post

Maiduguri, Nigeria — The Islamist insurgency in northern Nigeria has entered a more violent phase as militants return to the fight with sophisticated weapons and tactics learned on the battlefields of nearby Mali, Nigerian officials and analysts say.

Hundreds of people have died this year in bombings, shootings and clashes with security forces in this vast region of the country, where the militant group Boko Haram seeks to overthrow the government and install an ultraconservative brand of Islam.

The militants, who traveled to northern Mali last year to the fight there, have returned with heavy weapons from Libya, presumably from former Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi’s arsenal. Malian militants also used weapons smuggled in from Libya to seize northern Mali last year.

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My Comment: The failure of the West to secure and/or destroy Libya's weapon stockpiles has turned into a disaster for North African countries .... especially since Al Qaeda and it's affiliates have been able to grab a good chunk of this arsenal. This could have all been avoided. The experts predicted that this was going to happen .... but the Western coalition who participated in the overthrow of Gaddafi choose to ignore it.