No fewer than 100,000 people from Damasak town in Borno State fled to the neighbouring Niger Republic on Wednesday following multiple attacks by Boko Haram fighters.
Government sources said at least 10 people were killed yesterday, many wounded and thousands of others wandering in the bush.
It was also learnt that hundreds of houses of the civilian population, their shops and government buildings including police divisional headquarters have been burnt to ashes by the invaders.
Yesterday’s attack on Damasak, headquarters of Mobbar LGA made it the sixth time in the last two weeks; and in the last four days, Nigerian ground troops supported by the air component have been battling for the control of the agrarian community.
There was no official statement from the military on the status of the town, which had hitherto survived nearly 11 years of intermittent onslaught by terrorists.
But credible sources said the terrorists finally hoisted their flags on Wednesday, and were still in the town at the time of filing this report.
Damasak, situated 188 kilometres from Maiduguri, is a strategic town in the northern part of Borno, bordering Niger Republic and other LGAs in the shores of Lake Chad.
The latest incursion was carried out less than 24 hours after a similar one on Tuesday.
During Tuesday’s attack, the terrorists were reportedly repelled by the troops but not after they inflicted serious damage on the town.
There was another attack on Saturday, April 10, during which 6 people including two women, a man and three soldiers were reportedly killed.
Witnesses said a fighter jet had also mistakenly dropped a bomb on a naming ceremony gathering, which led to the death of the newborn baby, its parents and some guests. Authorities have not yet confirmed this.
Some locals, security sources and government officials said during yesterday’s siege after they were chased away on Tuesday, the terrorists, firing from all directions of the town, forced distressed families to flee and also took the troops by surprise.
The fighters, who are loyal to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), reportedly drove in gun trucks in the afternoon while others rode in threes on motorcycles wielding Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs).
Completely confused, some of the residents headed for relatively safer villages in Nigeria and others crossed over to neighbouring towns in Niger Republic and adjoining villages.
Women, some of them pregnant and others carrying babies on their backs, with smaller children trailing them were reportedly the worst affected as they left their homes completely unprepared and trekked many kilometres in search of safety.
It was learnt that as the victims flee, the Nigerian troops redeployed to take charge in Damasak engaged the invading terrorists to no avail.
