Maiduguri -Boko Haram have seized a strategic town in
Nigeria's far northeast, prompting denials from the
military, as experts said the government risked losing
control and the region was "on the brink" of takeover.
Residents in Bama and a local lawmaker said some 400
troops, some of them without weapons or boots, fled after
a military jet mistakenly bombarded the town's barracks
during intense fighting.
Nigeria's military countered that it had pushed back the
militants, who in recent weeks have moved from
indiscriminate and retaliatory hit-and-run attacks to
seizing strategic territory in Borno state.
Last week, militant fighters, blamed for killing thousands
since 2009, overran the border town of Gamboru Ngala
and previously seized Gwoza and declared it part of an
Islamic caliphate.
Some analysts have predicted that by seizing territory,
Boko Haram is seeking to encircle the state capital,
Maiduguri, 70 kilometres (45 miles) away to make it the
centre of a hardline Islamic state.
"Nigeria is losing control of large parts of the northeast
region," said Andrew Noakes, of the Nigeria Security
Network of experts in a report that warned of potential
knock-on effects.
"If Borno falls to Boko Haram, parts of (neighbouring)
Yobe and Adamawa (states) can be expected to follow.
Parts of Cameroon along the border area would also
probably be overrun.
"Unless swift action is taken, Nigeria could be facing a
rapid takeover of a large area of its territory reminiscent of
ISIS's lightning advances in Iraq.
"Such a takeover would likely be accompanied by a major
humanitarian crisis, involving the movement of possibly
tens or even hundreds of thousands of internally displaced
persons."
- Aerial bombardment -
In Bama, Nigeria's military seemed to have the upper hand
when Boko Haram fighters launched a pre-dawn raid on
Monday, with troops deployed to the town before an
apparent bid to recapture Gwoza.
But local resident Yasir Zarami said that changed when
the military jet bombarded its own troops in an account
back by Borno senator Ahmed Zanna in an interview on
BBC radio's Hausa language service.
"The jet could not distinguish between soldiers and Boko
Haram and bombarded the military barracks which was at
the time under the control of soldiers," he told AFP.
"The aerial bombing destroyed the military barracks and
forced soldiers to flee towards Maiduguri along with
thousands of civilians."
University of Maiduguri student, Aliyu Dawud said he saw
troops arriving in the city.
"Some of them had no boots, some had only vests on them
while others had no guns. From their looks they were on
the run for their lives."
"Bama is now in the hands of Boko Haram because not a
single soldier remains there," added another Bama
resident, Umar Dahiru.