Boko Haram tests Buhari's will with fresh Maiduguri assault

Boko Haram tests Buhari's will with fresh Maiduguri assault

Saturday, May 30, 2015 1:23 pm


Boko Haram fighters: still showing some potency

Boko Haram fighters: still showing some potency

Nigerian troops and civilian vigilantes have pushed back an attack by Boko Haram insurgents on the outskirts of Borno state capital Maiduguri in the early hours of Saturday.

The attack occurred barely a day after the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari, who swore to crush the ‘godless and mjndless’ Islamist militant group and move the command centre of defence to the Borno state capital.

Gunshots from high-calibre weapons could be heard between about 1 a.m. and 2:20 a.m. (1200-0120 GMT) from the southwestern part of the city.

Residents said Boko Haram militants fired rocket propelled grenades into homes and killed seven persons.

Maiduguri resident Mari Madu said he counted at least 40 thunderous blasts that began around 1 a.m. before he lost count.

“Each time they fired into the town, we saw bright sparkling flashes which moved with great speed … One of the blasts shook my roof so badly that I thought it must have landed on my house,” he said.

Several homes were destroyed in Maiduguri’s Dala-Lawanti suburb, about 20 kilometers west of the city center, he said.

A vigilance member Abbas Gava said at least seven people were killed and more injured when one grenade exploded into a house divided into apartments.

An intelligence officer confirmed the toll and said Boko Haram was firing rocket-propelled grenades. The officer, who insisted on anonymity because he is not supposed to give information to journalists, said soldiers fired heavy assault rifles in response.

Gava was in a group of civilian fighters who patrolled until dawn to ensure the Islamic extremists did not get through barriers including sandbags and trenches.

A military source said the shooting took place around the Damboa road after the small settlement of Mule on the edge of the city of two million.

The attack follows twin bomb blasts in a Borno town early on Friday, during which no fewer than six people died and over 30 people injured.

*source: wire reports


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