Chad, Niger troops attack Boko Haram
N’DJAMENA, Chad – Soldiers from Chad and Niger launched the largest international push to defeat Nigeria’s Islamic extremists whose war has spilled over into neighboring countries, officials and witnesses said Monday. Chad’s president has warned that the leader of Boko Haram must surrender or be killed.
At least 200 vehicles full of soldiers were spotted by residents crossing from Niger into Nigeria. Loud detonations were soon heard, signaling heavy combat with Boko Haram, said Adam Boukarna, a resident of the border town of Bosso, Niger.
The push marks a sharp escalation by African nations against Boko Haram nearly six years after the group began its insurrection. At an African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Jan. 31, African leaders agreed to send 7,500 troops to fight Boko Haram. Later, neighboring countries agreed to increase the force to 8,750. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has said he supports the AU’s move.
The new offensive includes troops from Niger for the first time, in addition to Chadian forces that were already carrying out missions in Nigeria, Chadian Brig. Gen. Zakaria Ngobongue said Monday. He described extremism as a “cancer” in the region that could not be defeated by any one country alone.
OU frat shuttered after racist chant
NORMAN, Okla. – The president of the University of Oklahoma severed the school’s ties with a national fraternity on Monday and ordered that its on-campus house be shuttered after several members took part in a racist chant caught on video.
President David Boren said he was sickened and couldn’t eat or sleep after learning about the video Sunday afternoon. The video, which was posted online, shows several people on a bus participating in a chant that included a racial slur, referenced lynching and indicated black students would never be admitted to OU’s chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
The Oklahoma football team decided to protest rather than practice Monday. At the team’s indoor practice facility, coach Bob Stoops led the way as players, joined by athletic director Joe Castiglione, walked arm-in-arm, wearing black. Meanwhile, a top high school recruit withdrew his commitment the university after seeing the video.
Boren attended a pre-dawn rally organized by students and lambasted the fraternity members as “disgraceful” and called their behavior “reprehensible.” He said the university was looking into a range of punishment, including expulsion.
Solar plane airborne on world trip
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – With its wings stretched wide to catch the sun’s energy, a Swiss-made solar-powered aircraft took off from Abu Dhabi just after daybreak Monday in a historic first attempt to fly around the world without a drop of fossil fuel.
Solar Impulse founder André Borschberg was at the controls of the single-seat aircraft when it lumbered into the air at the Al Bateen Executive Airport. Borschberg will trade off piloting with Solar Impulse co-founder Bertrand Piccard during layovers on a 21,700-mile journey.
Some legs of the trip, such as over the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, will mean five days and five nights of flying solo. Both pilots have been training hard for this journey, which will span 25 flight days over five months before this Spruce Goose of renewable energy returns to Abu Dhabi in late July or August.
“It is also exciting because you know, you simulate, you calculate, you imagine, but there is nothing like testing and doing it in real,” Borschberg said just hours before takeoff. “I am sure we are all confident, and hopefully we will be able to see each other here in five months.”
Associated Press
