TROOPS KILL OVER 100 INSURGENTS IN BATTLE FOR MAIDUGURI

Nigerian Troops

The Boko Haram sect failed yesterday in its plan to invade Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

Its insurgents were beaten back by soldiers at Konduga, 35 kilometres from Maiduguri.

The intervention came  48 hours after the Borno Elders Forum (BEF) raised the alarm that Boko Haram fighters had almost encircled Maiduguri to launch an attack, and a week after  the sect circulated leaflets in Maiduguri warning of its plan to invade two military barracks in the city.

The Defence Headquarters had dismissed the  BEF claim as alarmist, although it also said that “all facets of security arrangements for the defence of Maiduguri have been upgraded to handle any planned attack.”

 About 100 Boko Haram members were killed  in yesterday’s battle, according to a military source.

The insurgents were said to have attempted to overrun Konduga as a prelude to an attack on Maiduguri.

“Following intelligence report of alleged plans by Boko Haram to invade Konduga and use it as a base for final attacks on Maiduguri, the military rose to the challenge,” the source said.

“Troops laid ambush for the insurgents and killed more than 100 during fierce encounters. The victory was a major one for troops in Borno State in recent times.

“The troops have sent a strong signal to the insurgents that Maiduguri is a no-go area for them.

“The attackers were repelled… there were casualties on their side,” government spokesman, Mike Omeri,  also told Reuters.

 Many sophisticated weapons and armoured tanks were recovered from the insurgents.

A military mop up of the area was said to be in progress. The military’s claims could not be independently verified last night.

It was also gathered that troops were getting close to reclaiming Bama from the sect.

The source said:  “part from air strikes, troops are on the verge of taking over Bama from the insurgents. They are making an inroad now.

“We have sustained heavy air strikes on Bama and Gwoza in the last few days and we will not relent until the insurgents give up.”

Another military source said: “Riding on its recent reversals of Boko Haram fortunes, the Nigerian military at dawn today dealt a further blow on the insurgents during a futile attempt to take over Konduga town, some 40 miles from Maiduguri.

 ”Combining air power with infantry activities, troops ambushed the insurgents while marching from Bama to Konduga, Air Force jets and attack helicopters rained fire and brimstones on the invaders while ground troops picked those of them attempting to flee the scene.

“At least 100 of the terrorists were dispatched to the great beyond while a few of the about 200 strong militants escaped in the only truck that manoeuvred from the scene.

 ”Most of the dead insurgents were mangled beyond recognition during the few hours of fury displayed by our men”.

 It was learnt that several weapons, including anti-aircraft guns mounted on trucks and RPGs, were gathered by the military following the annihilation of the insurgents.

 Other materials taken by the military included an armoured personnel carrier (APC), several Hilux vehicles and motorcycles.

 Officials of the state government worked round  the clock  to  reassure frightened residents  of the ability of the armed forces to defend them against the  militants.

 Maiduguri residents said they heard gunfire and explosions coming from the direction of Konduga, south east of the city, yesterday.

What followed, according to them, was a massive movement of troops in the direction of Konduga.

“Some people came from Konduga… They told us the army are in control,” Musa Sumail, a human rights activist in Maiduguri, told Reuters on the phone.

Other residents said they were told the army had intercepted an attempted probe into Konduga by   Boko Haram fighters. No details of casualties were available.

Sumail said military helicopters were flying over Maiduguri  which is brimming with tens of thousands of refugees fleeing Boko Haram forces advancing from the north, east and south of the city in the last few weeks.

Another source said the terrorists  arrived Konduga in a convoy of pickup trucks and motorbikes.

Many residents have  fled Maiduguri westwards towards Damaturu, the Yobe State capital  for safety.

The Borno Elders Forum  had said it was  convinced that the federal authorities “have not shown sufficient political will to fight Boko Haram and rescue us from the clutches of the insurgents which may ultimately lead to the total annihilation of the inhabitants of Borno,”  and called for the fortification of Maiduguri.

 Chairman of the Forum, Amb. Gaji Galtimari Usman, said about 50 per cent of the population of Borno State had relocated to Maiduguri, adding: “Since July 2009, the Boko Haram insurgents have not only grown in size and number but seemed to have become better equipped and trained, more sophisticated and the scope of their brutality has become overwhelming.

“They have reached as far as Kayamla from the South of Maiduguri; Dikwa and Mafa from the East of Maiduguri; and have destroyed almost all the island settlements at Lake Chad and the commercial fishing towns of Baga, Doro, Kingarra, Duguri, Daban Masara, etc.”

 Simultaneously, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) accused President Goodluck Jonathan  of  mishandling  the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast.

The ACF said that the state of emergency declared in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe has not succeeded in stopping the sect from sacking towns and villages in the Northeast and maiming and killing innocent people