Boko Haram affected areas

The United Nations voiced alarm on Wednesday at the uprooting of more than 30,000 Nigerians forced to flee the protracted war against Islamist insurgents in the country's northeast.

Nigerian soldiers raided the offices of the countryХs Daily Trust newspaper and arrested two of its journalists following an article about the militaryХs fight against Islamist militants in the northeast, the newspaper said on Sunday. Й An uptick in attacks by Islamist militants in recent months has made security a key campaign issue ahead of the Feb. 16 presidential election in which Muhammadu Buhari will seek a second term.

Troops and air strikes have killed more than 280 Boko Haram militants since the Niger government started an operation against the group last week, the defence ministry said.

Fighters from the IS-affiliated Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) overran the posts in Borno state on Tuesday Й The Boko Haram faction has in recent months intensified attacks on military targets in Borno and Yobe states, raiding bases and killing dozens of troops.

Boko Haram fighters attacked two villages on outskirts of Maiduguri as well as a camp for internally displaced people.

Deadly clashes between government troops and Shiite Muslims have raised fears that another conflict is about to get out of hand in Nigeria. Civil society is calling on the central government not to repeat past mistakes.

The United Nations welcomed on Friday as an Тimportant milestoneУ the release in Nigeria of 833 children by the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF); a group formed in 2013 to protect communities and support the countryХs security forces against Boko Haram extremists.

For nearly three years the Nigerian government has stuck to its claim that it has Фtechnically defeatedХ Boko Haram. Recently though, the terror group demonstrated its renewed audacity with strikes at hard (military) targets.

Conflict and climate change have plunged the Lake Chad region into one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. An international conference in Berlin aims to raise more support for the millions of people in need of aid.

Boko Haram, the Nigerian jihadist group infamous for its bombings and abductions, is undergoing something of a makeover. A key faction that has the backing of so-called Islamic State has renounced its old blood-soaked ways and is trying instead to win hearts and minds in a new strategic twist to a nine-year insurgency that has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions.