No fewer than 100 people were, weekend, killed in separate attacks in Baga and Izge villages of Kukawa and Gwoza local government areas of Borno State, by Boko Haram insurgents, who also reportedly wounded several others and destroyed property worth millions of Naira.
This came as President Goodluck Jonathan said in Lagos, yesterday, that the security challenges facing the country would have been worse without prayers from religious groups across the country.
It has also emerged that the Federal Government may be under pressure to open fresh negotiations with the terrorist group.
Aside the weekend attacks, investigations by Vanguard showed that the
Boko Haram terrorists had killed over 200 people within the last few
weeks as well as inflicting severe wounds on residents who lost property worth billions of naira in Konduga, Gwoza and Kukawa council areas of Borno State.
Vanguard gathered from reliable sources that the attack in Baga
village bordering the Chad Republic Friday evening, claimed 10 lives,
while the Izge massacre at the Cameroon border with Borno State yesterday morning also left 90 people dead.
On the Baga incident, sources said that the gunmen numbering over 100
invaded the village at about 7pm with sophisticated weapons, including
Improvised Explosive Devices, IED's, and wreaked havoc on innocent
citizens before fleeing without being arrested.
A resident, Mallam Ali Yakubu said the gunmen succeeded in killing
several people after dislodging some security operatives in the area. He
added that the gunmen arrived in Toyota Hilux and several other
vehicles and motorcycles while dressed in military camouflage, chanting
Allahu Akbar (God is great) and shot at anyone on sight before setting
houses ablaze.
"As I am talking to you now, all the dead bodies are still lying
on the streets as we can't get the opportunity of burying them because
of fear that the terrorists were still around in the nearby bushes of
Izge.
"I thank God for sparing my life yesterday, because I thought my
days in this world were over when we started hearing sounds of gunshots
and explosions all over Izge in the night. God really had mercy on me.
We ran into the bush without being hurt by the insurgents, although, I
lost all my belongings,'' he added.
Other witnesses described how the attackers had arrived on Sunday
morning in trucks and motorcycles. They asked the men in the village to
gather, and then they hacked and shot them to death.
The Police Commissioner, Mr. Lawal Tanko confirmed the incidents in a
telephone interview with Vanguard, when contacted yesterday.
Sources told Vanguard that the Nigerian troops who were circumspect
that the Boko Haram insurgents were better equipped than they had
resorted to playing safe to avoid being killed in the war against
terror.
The sources who confided in Vanguard gave example with last week's
killing of nine soldiers in a border village of Izge in Adamawa State.
The source said that the Boko Haram insurgents travelled from the
Sambisa Forest which was over 50 kilometres away from where the troops
were stationed to launch the attack on them.
"They arrived Izge in two Armoured Personnel Carriers, APCs, among other heavy military hardware
without hindrance. Although the Nigerian troops fought gallantly and
killed some of the Boko Haram terrorists, including the 'gunner' in one
of the armoured vehicles but the attackers re-grouped and came back the
second time and killed the troops as well as wounding one of the
officers due to lack of reinforcement.
"Apart from the two APCs, the terrorists came with several other
vehicles which enabled them to escape after inflicting such casualties
on us. They were even able to carry away their dead or wounded
colleagues.
"It is a known fact that the Boko Haram terrorists have their
cells at Sambisa Forest, where they get logistics supply from
helicopters that fly to the forest from time to time."
On Wednesday, the air force began daily aerial bombardments near Izge
of extremist hideouts in the Sambisa Forest along the border with
Cameroon. Soldiers moved in on foot following the bombing and at least
nine troops and several militants were killed in a fierce hours-long
battle, according to hospital and military sources.
After that attack, Ularamu urged the military to deploy more troops,
saying the soldiers are outnumbered and outgunned by militants armed
with anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons as well as armored cars looted
during attacks. Dozens more soldiers were stationed in recent days in
Madagali town, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the scene of
Saturday's attack.
Monday, 17 February 2014
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