As Nigerians began to breathe air of relief from daily
killings, members of the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram on Friday
raided villages in northeast Nigeria on the border with Cameroon with
many people feared dead.
According to AFP, the attack was a reprisal for a Chadian offensive against the sect’s hideouts.
It was reported that several heavily armed extremist on Wednesday
raided more than a dozen villages in the Kala-Balge district of Borno
state, shooting, cutting residents to death and burning houses.
The attacks reportedly led to hundreds of residents flee across the border into Cameroon, prompting Chad, which is among the regional coalition against the terrorist group to respond by bombarding the sect’s positions.
A resident from Anguduram village, who gave his name as Adum Walfannea, a Shuwa Arab told AFP that the Islamist militants targeted mainly Shuwa tribesmen, who are from the same ethnic group as a large number of the Chadian troops.
According to Kurso Khala, who fled from one of the worst-affected villages of Mudu, revealed that the militants overwhelmed a local market and blocked all but one entrance.
“They would ask if a person is Kanuri or Shuwa before asking him to go. Once a person was identified as Shuwa he would be shot in the back as soon as he stepped out of the market entrance to leave,” said Khala by telephone from Fotokol, across the border from the Nigerian town of Gamboru in the far north of Cameroon.
Walfannea and Imar Koshnana, from Musiye village, both said the death toll from the attacks could be high but there was no official confirmation of numbers.
Details were slow to emerge because the terrorists have destroyed telecom masts since the insurgency began in 2009.
The sect members reportedly suffered huge loss following an attack from Chadian ground and aerial offensive against its enclaves in the Kala-Balge district which started on February 17 after troops seized the strategic town of Dikwa.
Residents confirmed that the terrorist suffered heavy casualties in the Chadian attacks, which were close to the sect’s stronghold- Sambisa Forest, where they have hidden for a long time.
Umar Sanda, a resident from the herding village of Gonori near Gamboru, said troops repelled Boko Haram members after they stole about 400 cattle and killed four residents in a pre-dawn raid on Tuesday.
“For more than two hours we kept hearing sounds of gunfire and explosions. The Chadian troops killed scores of the Boko Haram gunmen and recovered our cattle,” he said.
Meanwhile, the raids accompanied the successes recorded by Nigerian troops in recapturing several towns from the Boko Haram extremist.
Recall that yesterday February 27, Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan who lauded the military operations against the sect expressed optimism that the troops would keep the momentum and reclaim many more captured towns and villages from them.
Also, the recent attack might have altered the mood of the people of Adamawa State as they were reported to be celebrating Nigerian troops victory over the Islamist militants on Friday February 27.
The attacks reportedly led to hundreds of residents flee across the border into Cameroon, prompting Chad, which is among the regional coalition against the terrorist group to respond by bombarding the sect’s positions.
A resident from Anguduram village, who gave his name as Adum Walfannea, a Shuwa Arab told AFP that the Islamist militants targeted mainly Shuwa tribesmen, who are from the same ethnic group as a large number of the Chadian troops.
According to Kurso Khala, who fled from one of the worst-affected villages of Mudu, revealed that the militants overwhelmed a local market and blocked all but one entrance.
“They would ask if a person is Kanuri or Shuwa before asking him to go. Once a person was identified as Shuwa he would be shot in the back as soon as he stepped out of the market entrance to leave,” said Khala by telephone from Fotokol, across the border from the Nigerian town of Gamboru in the far north of Cameroon.
Walfannea and Imar Koshnana, from Musiye village, both said the death toll from the attacks could be high but there was no official confirmation of numbers.
Details were slow to emerge because the terrorists have destroyed telecom masts since the insurgency began in 2009.
The sect members reportedly suffered huge loss following an attack from Chadian ground and aerial offensive against its enclaves in the Kala-Balge district which started on February 17 after troops seized the strategic town of Dikwa.
Residents confirmed that the terrorist suffered heavy casualties in the Chadian attacks, which were close to the sect’s stronghold- Sambisa Forest, where they have hidden for a long time.
Umar Sanda, a resident from the herding village of Gonori near Gamboru, said troops repelled Boko Haram members after they stole about 400 cattle and killed four residents in a pre-dawn raid on Tuesday.
“For more than two hours we kept hearing sounds of gunfire and explosions. The Chadian troops killed scores of the Boko Haram gunmen and recovered our cattle,” he said.
Meanwhile, the raids accompanied the successes recorded by Nigerian troops in recapturing several towns from the Boko Haram extremist.
Recall that yesterday February 27, Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan who lauded the military operations against the sect expressed optimism that the troops would keep the momentum and reclaim many more captured towns and villages from them.
Also, the recent attack might have altered the mood of the people of Adamawa State as they were reported to be celebrating Nigerian troops victory over the Islamist militants on Friday February 27.
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