Evil of ISIS and Boko Haram must be confronted, US administration told

Militant Islamist fighters hold the flag of Islamic State (IS) while taking part in a military parade along the streets of northern Raqqa province in June 2014Reuters

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) is calling for the US administration to boldly confront the evil deeds of the Islamic State (ISIS) and Boko Haram and put a stop to their killing sprees.

Matthew Clark, the Associate Counsel for Government Affairs and Media Advocacy at the ACLJ said that both ISIS and Boko Haram's "barbaric tactics" are simply evil, and that if nothing is done about it, the persecution of innocents will continue and might hit closer to home next time around.

"For years we've allowed groups like Boko Haram to ravage and kill in the name of Islam. It's time the Obama Administration and the State Department's bureaucrats recognise and address this growing problem, call it what it is, and defeat it," he said.

"Until we do, the slaughter of innocent civilians will continue, not just in Africa and the Middle East but at our own doorsteps."

Clark is demanding that the US government take action after Boko Haram reportedly massacred around 2,500 people in the neighboring towns Baga and Doron Baga last week, and razed at least 3,700 buildings to the ground, according to media reports.

The group began their attack by firing indiscriminately in Baga, even killing a woman who was in the middle of giving birth to a baby boy, according to one eye witness who spoke to Amnesty International.

Survivors told Amnesty that they saw corpses of men, women, and children as they fled from the scene of terror.

Ibrahim Gambo, a 25-year-old truck driver managed to survive but he still does not know the fate of his wife and daughter. He narrated how he saw victims with gunshot wounds in the head, as well as people who had their legs bound and hands tied behind their backs as he was running for his life.

The death toll for Boko Haram is horrendous. According to World Bulletin, Boko Haram killed over 9,000 civilians in 2014 alone, but the group is particularly targeting Christians.

Clark likened "the same evil" actions of Boko Haram in Nigeria to that of ISIS on Iraq and Syria, Hamas jihadists on Israel, and al Qaeda on America 14 years ago.

ISIS continues to shock the world with the scale of its brutality, including recent public medieval-style executions.
The group reportedly threw two gay men from a tall building in Nineveh, Syria, stoned a woman to death for adultery, and crucified two apparent criminals before shooting them. ISIS carried out the executions in accordance with their strict interpretation of the Sharia law, which is Islam's moral code and religious law.

"The evil of radical Islamic jihad must be confronted in all its forms, and it must be recognised for what it is every time it strikes in every corner of the globe," said Clark.