Several Soldiers, Civilians Killed in Fresh Boko Haram attacks

firstclassnewsline.net

Firstclass newsline has learnt that the Boko Haram sects has killed
several soldiers and massacred civilians in a weekend attack on an
island on Lake Chad, after 21 people were shot dead in Yobe State.
Northeastern Nigeria has been relentlessly targeted by Boko Haram
throughout the jihadist group's six-year uprising, but there has been
a lull in violence in recent weeks.
A coalition of troops from Chad, Cameroun, Niger and Nigeria has
recorded major victories over the rebels since February,
reportedlyflushing the militants out of areas they previously
controlled.
But the latest unrest highlights the continuing and grave threat posed
by Boko Haram, an extremist group, which has killed at least 15,000
people and forced 1.5 million from their homes.
Islamist fighters travelling in motorised canoes stormed the island of
Karamga on Lake Chad before sunrise on Saturday.
Troops from Niger stationed on the island "were caught off guard" and
suffered heavy losses, said Umar Yerima, a fisherman who witnessed the
raid but managedto escape.
Niger's military has confirmed the attack but defence officials were
not immediately available to provide a death toll.
A security source in Chad said Niger lost 48 soldiers and another 36
were missing.
Another source, an official from southeastern Niger's Diffa region,
said the toll was much higher at 80 dead and some 30 missing.
Yerima told AFP the Islamic State group-allied militants "turned their
guns" onto civilians after overpowering the troops.
"Some sought to escape by plunging into the lake but gunmen stood on
the shore shooting them...
"They would aim their gun from the edge of the lake and shoot any head
that emerged from the water, shouting 'Allahu akbar' (God is great),"
he added.
"They burnt the entire village and went on a shooting spree. Many
residents were burnt alive in their homes."
Yerima said he managed to stay out of sight by hiding in the long
grass that lines the water's edge.
The gunmen remained on a rampage until about roughly midday,
withdrawing when a military jet started bombarding the area, according
to Yerima, who estimated the civilian death toll was "huge" but could
not provide specifics.
The security source in Chad said an aerial bombardment on the island
was carried out by Chadian helicopter gunships based in Diffa.
In another incident, hundreds of people have been found dead in
Damasak, Borno State, apparently victims of Boko Haram insurgents,
residents and officials said.
"Dead bodies were found in houses, streets and many more in the
Damasak River which has dried up," local man Kaumi Kusur said, adding
that the victims were buried in 20 mass graves at the weekend.
Mohammed Sadiq, another local who helped in the burials on Saturday,
put the death toll at more than 400.
However, the Borno State Government did not state a precise figure,
giving a toll of "hundreds", according to AFP.
Troops from Chad and Niger retook Damasak from Boko Haram on March 9
as part of a regional offensive to combat the militants, who captured
the town in November last year.
A Chadian security source said at the time some 200 rebel fighters
were killed in the offensive, as well as 10 soldiers.
On March 20, Chadian army spokesman, Colonel Azem Bermandoa Agouna
said about 100 bodies were found in a mass grave under a bridge just
outside Damasak. Some had been decapitated while others shot.
Colonel Agouna said he estimated the massacre probably occurred in January.
In the latest discovery, Mr. Sadiq said the bodies had been covered by
sand from the encroaching desert.
"We were mobilised by the state authorities to bury them and we did it
accordingly," he said.
"The bodies include those of women and children as well as agile men."
Mr. Kusur said the bodies discovered on Thursday last week "far
outnumbered" those found in March when the town was liberated.
"We brought all of them and though the bodies have decomposed, we gave
them (a) proper burial in more than 20 mass graves that can be
identified anytime the need arises," he said.
Claimed successes against the militants by Nigeria and partners Chad,
Niger and Cameroun have increased talks of the displaced returning
home.
Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima set up a committee to look at
ways to rebuild some of the towns recovered but members of one of the
sub-committees returned with news of the grim find.
"The level of devastation in Damasak is high. We have seen hundreds of
people that were massacred by Boko Haram," spokesman Baba Gana
Mustapha said.
Firstclassnewsline.net