Boko Haram gunmen killed dozens of
soldiers and massacred civilians in a weekend
attack on an island on Lake Chad,
after 21 people were shot dead in northeastern Nigeria.
The region has been relentlessly
targeted by Boko Haram throughout the jihadist group’s six-year uprising, but
there has been a lull in violence in recent weeks.
A coalition of troops from Chad,
Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria has claimed major victories over the rebels since
February, reportedly flushing the militants out of areas they previously
controlled.
But the latest unrest highlighted
the continuing and grave threat posed by Boko Haram, an extremist group which
has killed at least 15,000 people and forced 1.5 million from their homes.
– Island attack –
Islamist fighters travelling in
motorised canoes stormed the island of Karamga on Lake Chad before sunrise on
Saturday.
Troops from Niger stationed on the
island “were caught off guard” and suffered heavy losses, said Umar Yerima, a
fisherman who witnessed the raid but managed to escape.
Niger’s military has confirmed the
attack but defence officials were not immediately available to provide a death
toll.
A security source in Chad who
requested anonymity said Niger lost 48 soldiers and another 36 were missing.
Another source, an official from
southeastern Niger’s Diffa region, said the toll was much higher at 80 dead and
some 30 missing.
Yerima told AFP the Islamic State
group-allied militants “turned their guns” onto civilians after overpowering
the troops.
“Some sought to escape by plunging
into the lake but gunmen stood on the shore shooting them…
“They would aim their gun from the
edge of the lake and shoot any head that emerged from the water, shouting
‘Allahu akbar’ (God is greatest),” he added.
“They burnt the entire village and
went on a shooting spree. Many residents were burnt alive in their homes.”
Yerima said he managed to stay out
of sight by hiding in the long grass that lines the water’s edge.
The gunmen remained on a rampage
until about roughly midday (1100 GMT), withdrawing when a military jet started
bombarding the area, according to Yerima, who estimated the civilian death toll
was “huge” but could not provide specifics.
The security source in Chad said an
aerial bombardment on the island was carried out by Chadian helicopter gunships
based in Diffa.
– ‘Returnees’ killed –
Suspected Islamists disguised as
soldiers on Friday intercepted a group of people trying to return to their
homes to collect abandoned food supplies in northeastern Nigeria’s Yobe state.
“The men, 21 of them, were stopped
at Bultaram (village) by gunmen we believe are Boko Haram who shot them dead,”
said Baba Nuhu, an official with the Gujba local government in Yobe state.
Nuhu and Haruna Maram, the brother
of one of the victims, spoke to AFP from Yobe’s capital Damaturu, where many
Gujba residents have sought refuge from the violence.
“My brother and 20 others wanted to
bring back their grains to augment their lean food supplies,” Maram said.
“Unfortunately, they were killed by (the) same Boko Haram we ran away from.”
Gujba is one of a handful of
districts in Yobe that Boko Haram captured during its sweeping offensive last
year.
It was also the scene of a gruesome
massacre at an agricultural college in 2013 that targeted students sleeping
their dormitories.
– Warning –
Following the purported victories
secured in the joint offensive, Nigeria’s military and outgoing President
Goodluck Jonathan have encouraged those displaced by the uprising to return
home.
But community leaders in the
embattled region have warned civilians are still at risk, especially those
returning to remote areas like Gujba where the military’s deployment has
typically been thin.
Many experts agree that Boko Haram
is likely to transition from capturing and holding territory — a tactic seen
from mid-2014 — and revert to a pattern of hit-and-run attacks.
Analysts say boastings from regional
armies should be treated with caution, as the Islamists are far from defeated
and can easily regroup, especially if there is a let-up in the military
pressure.
Nigeria’s president-elect Muhammadu
Buhari, an ex-army general, takes office on May 29. He has vowed to fight Boko
Haram more effectively than Jonathan.
Dozens of soldiers, civilians killed in fresh Boko Haram violence
Reviewed by Unknown
on
Monday, April 27, 2015
Rating:
No comments: