Nigeria’s army said Friday it
had killed 74 suspected Boko Haram fighters in a
raid in northeastern Borno state, as gunmen from
the Islamist group battled security forces in a
neighbouring area. The army, which is battling to crush a four-year
Islamist uprising in Nigeria, said it deployed bombs
and ground troops to destroy insurgent camps in
Borno on Thursday. Army spokesman Mohammed Dole said that “74
suspected militants” were killed in the assault
outside the Borno capital Maiduguri, where Boko
Haram was founded more than a decade ago. The operation followed an assault Monday on Boko
Haram camps in another part of Borno, which the
military said left 37 Islamists dead. In a separate outbreak of violence, suspected
Islamist fighters stormed the city of Damaturu in
coordinated raids on Thursday, burning at least
four police buildings, said a senior police officer
who requested anonymity. The officer said there were casualties from the
attack, which will be seen as a setback in the
campaign to end the insurgency. The military had claimed an offensive launched
more than four months ago had put Boko Haram
on the defensive and left it incapable of attacking
major urban centres like Damaturu. Figures released earlier this year said the conflict
had cost more than 3,600 lives, including killings
by the security forces. The current toll is certainly
much higher. Damaturu is the capital of Yobe state, another area
repeatedly targeted by Boko Haram in an
insurgency aimed at creating an Islamic state in
Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north. “They invaded the city in large numbers in vehicles
and on foot from different directions,” the officer
said. They then opened fire “on police facilities with guns
and explosives and engaged soldiers and
policemen in a fierce gunfire exchange that
continued deep into the night,” he added. The officer said the insurgents torched the area
police command and at least three other police
facilities. “There are indeed casualties, including a number of
the insurgents, but it is difficult to say how many
they are”, he said. A resident, Haruna Sadi, said the attacks started
around 5:00 pm (1600 GMT) and continued late
into the night, forcing residents to stay indoors. “We didn’t sleep last night due to fright and the
deafening gun sounds and explosions coming
from all over the city,” Sadi said. “Everybody is still indoors because of a radio
announcement of a 24-hour curfew by the
military,” he added. Boko Haram, thought to be a fragmented group,
with a murky leadership structure, has attacked
churches, mosques, the security forces and schools
across northern and central Nigeria, Africa’s most
populous country and top oil producer. The Islamists have killed hundreds of people across
the northeast since late June, including scores of
students. Last month, President Goodluck Jonathan ordered
the country’s top military leaders to redouble their
efforts following a spate of brutal attacks on
civilians. Jonathan imposed a state of emergency across the
northeast in mid-May when the offensive was
launched. The phone network was switched off in the region
when the emergency measures were declared.
Mobile service remains down in Borno, making the
military’s accounts of fighting difficult to check with
local leaders and residents. www.vanguardngr.com/2013/10/army-kills-74-boko-haram-fighters-borno/

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