*Setback for 11th hour liberation efforts

*Boko Haram seizes the border town again

Boko Haram militants killed 11 people in an attack on Gamboru in northeast Nigeria as hundreds of Islamists flooded the town following the withdrawal of Chadian troops, witnesses said Thursday.

Three residents of Fotokol, a town in Cameroon but effectively attached to Gamboru, said the rebel onslaught began on Wednesday and there were indications that Boko Haram intended to occupy Gamboru again.

“Boko Haram gunmen returned on motorcycles to Gamboru yesterday (Wednesday)… and shot dead eight people,” said Mudi Dankaka in an account supported by others.

Three more people were killed on Thursday, he added.

Chad was last month credited with flushing the Islamists out of Gamboru after massing forces at Cameroonian bases on the border.

The offensive was part of a joint operation with Nigeria aimed at crushing the six-year Boko Haram uprising.

About 2,500 Chadian troops withdrew from Nigerian territory last week, with indications they would be redeployed for fresh offensives elsewhere, military sources in northern Cameroon told AFP.

Chadian troops last month escorted residents of Gamboru back into the town from Fotokol across the 300-metre (yard) bridge that forms the border.

One resident described Gamboru as “a ghost town strewn with burnt vehicles, destroyed buildings and emptied homes”.

The latest Gamboru attack will dent claims from Nigeria of a decisive victory over the Islamists ahead of March 28 elections, especially if Boko Haram proves capable of occupying the town.

‎”Boko Haram are back in Gamboru,” said Fotokol resident Umar Ari.

Ari, and others, noted that Nigerian forces had not been spotted in the area, leaving Gamboru with no security presence since the Chadian withdrawal.

*AFP