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Hundreds flee after Boko Haram militant raid in northeast Nigeria
KANO, Nigeria, Nov 11, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Hundreds of villagers fled their
homes in Nigeria’s northeast late on Saturday after an attack by Islamist
militants from the Boko Haram group, militia officials and witnesses said.
No casualties were reported but the raid highlighted fragile security in
Nigeria’s northeast, where the army is still battling to end a conflict that
erupted in 2009.
Militants arrived in trucks in Jimmi, 5 km (3 miles) from Maiduguri city,
and opened fire, setting homes ablaze and also attacking an informal refugee
camp.
“Boko Haram terrorists this evening attacked Jimmi village,” militia leader
in Maiduguri Musa Ari said. “They burnt homes in Jimmi and tents in the
camp.”
Military authorities scrambled reinforcements and fighter jets to repel the
attack, said militia leader Ibrahim Liman. Panicked villagers from the area
fled to nearby Maiduguri, capital of Borno state which along with
neighbouring Yobe state has been at the centre of the jihadist insurgency.
“We left our village to escape Boko Haram who attacked our neighbours in
Jimmi,” said Bale-Shuwa village resident Suleiman Balarabe.
He said villagers saw military jets flying overhead towards Jimmi.
“The sounds of guns coming from Jimmi terrified us and made us leave our
homes because we were afraid they were going to attack our neighbourhood,”
said Sanda Gini, a resident of Jiddari-Polo area on the outskirts of
Maiduguri.
In April, scores of Boko Haram fighters launched a gun and suicide attack
on Jiddari-Polo when they advanced on Giwa barracks where hundreds of their
militant comrades are being detained.
Insurgents fired automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades at troops
before they were repelled with aerial support.
Despite government insistence Boko Haram jihadists are near defeat, in
recent months the militant group has carried out major attacks on military
targets, killing dozens.
Boko Haram’s nine-year conflict has killed an estimated 27,000 people and
displaced two million, creating a humanitarian crisis and spilling into
Nigeria’s northern neighbours.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1825 hrs