Residents fled Marte before Boko Haram’s invasion – Military

The Defence authorities says most residents of Marte in Borno State fled the border town before the
the Boko Haram recaptured the community on Friday.
There have been media reports that the insurgents struck and recaptured Marte, which was liberated from the insurgents by troops in February this year.
However, the military stated that the reported presence of insurgents in Marte should not be misinterpreted to mean a resurgence of terrorists activities in the area.
The military stated in some tweets on its official twitter handle on Saturday that there was no deployment static forces in Marte.
It was stated that the focus of the military was intensified patrol alongside the ongoing offensive against insurgent strongholds in the mountains and the Sambisa Forest.
The military added that several indigenes of area, who fled the town initially, were in Internally Displaced Persons camps in Maiduguri and other places.
The Defence Headquarters said it would take urgent steps to address the reported presence of the insurgents in the area.
It said, “There has not been any static deployment of troops in Marte for quite some times in line with the need to emphasise more aggressive patrol of many threatened isolated communities while the assault on the forests and mountain hideouts of terrorists is ongoing.
“Only occasional patrols and surveillance have been undertaken towards the area as the bulk of troops are engaged in the operation to clear the terrorists from all identified enclaves in the forest
“Besides, Marte had been deserted by citizens, most of whom had fled to other towns while others are in IDP camps located in Maiduguri and other places.
“It is understandable that those terrorists, escaping from the offensive operations in Sambisa and other enclaves, are looking for place of respite.
“They must have found the Marte deserted and decided to harbour there.
“Now that their presence is reported, the issue will definitely be addressed in a very short while.
“There is really no cause for alarm in the way some reports are presenting this situation as if it is a meaningful resurgence of terrorists. This will only fool the terrorists and their sympathisers into false celebration
“There will certainly be no respite for terrorists anywhere in Nigeria. Wait and see.”