Boko Haram Seizes Army Base in Nigeria Town of Baga
BBC World News
The militant group Boko Haram has seized a town and key multinational military base in north-eastern Nigeria, officials and eyewitnesses say.
A senator in Borno state said troops had abandoned the base in the town of Baga after it was attacked on Saturday.
Residents of Baga, who fled by boat to neighbouring Chad, said many people had been killed and the town set ablaze.
Baga, scene of a Nigerian army massacre in 2013, was the last town in the Borno North area under government control.
It hosted the base of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), made up of troops from Nigeria, Chad and Niger.
Set up in 1998 to fight trans-border crime in the Lake Chad region, the force more recently took on Boko Haram.
Boko Haram attacks towns and villages on an almost daily basis, abducting people including young boys and girls, BBC Africa analyst Mary Harper reports.
The military, which includes Western advisers and surveillance, seems incapable of dealing with the problem, she adds.
'Helter skelter'
Residents who fled to Chad said they had woken to heavy gunfire as militants stormed Baga early on Saturday, attacking from all directions.
They said they had decided to flee when they saw the multi-national troops running away.
One unnamed resident of the town described what had happened for the BBC:
"Yesterday at around 05:00 [04:00 GMT] we were woken up by heavy gunshots, and we couldn't identify where the shots were coming from.
"They came through the north, the west and from the southern part of the town because the eastern part is only water. So, when we [went] towards the western part, we saw heavily armed Boko Haram men coming towards us.
"The soldiers were trying to repel the attack but that wasn't going to happen because a lot of the soldiers were without their guns and some were running into the town. When you see soldiers running away into the town - what are you to do, other than to just run away as well?"
Maina Maaji Lawan, senator for Borno North, told BBC World Service civilians had run "helter skelter" - "some into the forest, some into the desert".
Communications with the town were cut off and exact information about casualty numbers could not be confirmed, he said.
"We are very dispirited," the senator added.
Confirming that the military had abandoned the base, he said people's frustration knew "no bounds" over the apparent fact that the military had not fought back.
"There is definitely something wrong that makes our military abandon their posts each time there is an attack from Boko Haram," the senator said.
Who are Boko Haram?
Founded in 2002, it initially focused on opposing Western education. Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language
Began fighting in 2009 to create an Islamic state in a campaign which has claimed thousands of lives
Attacks mostly in the north-east but has also targeted police and UN headquarters in the capital, Abuja
Was declared a terrorist group by the US in 2013
Key base
In April 2013, at least 37 people were killed and 2,275 homes destroyed in Baga by troops hunting Boko Haram fighters who had attacked a patrol, Human Rights Watch reported.
The New York-based organisation accused soldiers of engaging "more in destruction than in protection".
Before Saturday's attack on the town, the area was already a stronghold of Boko Haram, which has been waging a bloody insurgency to create an Islamic state since 2009.
More than 2,000 people were killed in militant violence last year in the north-east.
Days before the attack on Baga, suspected Boko Haram militants kidnapped about 40 boys and young men in a raid on the remote Borno village of Malari.
Many Soldiers Feared Dead In Fresh Borno Attack
Hussaini Jirgi, Kareem Haruna
Nigerian Leadership
Jan 4, 2015
Security sources in Borno State have yesterday confirmed a major attack by Boko Haram terrorists on the Multinational Joint Task Force base in the border town of Baga in Kukawa local government area of Borno State, where dozens of soldiers were said to have been killed.
This is as a credible security official in Maiduguri also confirmed the abduction of about 40 young men by the terrorists, who have created a new camp, known as Modube, close to the Sambisa forest.
Meanwhile, the top security personnel who pleaded anonymity in speaking about the attack on the multinational base said the development was being handled with top secrecy by the military authorities in the countries that constitute the Multinational Joint Task Force and that the attack was carried out at about 5am yesterday.
The source said the multinational joint task force which might have been taken unawares by the Boko Haram insurgents were “practically dislodged”.
“We had a very ugly development in Baga today (Saturday) morning, when the Boko Haram insurgents went and dislodged the Multinational Joint Task Force there. All we know for now that it was a bad outing for the soldiers, because the base was practically dislodged, but one cannot say specifically the extent of damage caused on the base and the personnel for now,” said the senior security official.
Baga is a fishing community of Borno State that borders Chad Republic. Boko Haram is said to have some of its secret camps along the border areas between Nigeria and Cameroon.
The Multinational Joint Task Force is the major military deployment that has been frustrating the activities of the terrorists in that area. But with the feared dislodgment of the soldiers there, the terrorists may continue to have a field day in that part of the country.
Baga town has suffered several attacks in the past two years, as Boko Haram terrorists continued to take attacks to the community killing civilians, mostly fishermen.
It was reported that on November 21, 2014, Boko Haram terrorists practically ambushed and slit the throats of 48 fishermen during an attack that even the soldiers of the Multinational Joint Task Force were not aware of.
On the abduction of the 40 youths by Boko Haram, the security source said they were taken to a location called Modube, a new base of the sect.
“Our office had received the Intel that on January 1, 2015, at about 5pm, some Boko Haram gunmen had invaded one Malari village in Damboa local government area of Borno State, where they killed some of the villagers and abducted some youths, who might have been taken to one of Boko Haram’s hideouts known as Modube Camp,” said the source.
The security officer added that “Modube Camp is one of the new bases where the Boko Haram insurgents are hiding out”.
Lucky residents of Malari, who escaped the attack, said the Boko Haram gunmen had attacked their village shortly after the villagers had retired back to their homes and asked them to come out to listen to some sermons during which they shot some of them and forcefully took others away.
Bulama Malam, a middle-aged farmer, told journalists in Maiduguri on Friday that at least 40 youths were taken away from the village.
“They gathered many of us near the house of the village head, after telling us that they wanted to preach to us; and then, they began to select young men aged between 12 and 25,” he said. “I was lucky to escape, because they only selected very young and able-bodied men.”
Boko Haram Attacks Tarmuwa In Yobe
Meanwhile, suspected Boko Haram members yesterday attacked Babangida, the headquarters of Tarmuwa local government area of Yobe State.
There were no details of the attack as at press time, but gunshots have persisted, according to a resident.
Tarmuwa is 65 kilometres away from Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State.
A resident, Musa Tarmuwa, who escaped the attack, told LEADERSHIP Sunday that the attackers stormed the town around 6:12pm and unleashed terror on the residents.
“Let me tell you the truth, we just got prior information since last week that the attackers are approaching Babangida, the headquarters of Tarmuwa from Gujba local government area of the state. That’s how I escaped into the bush with some people; but as we are speaking now, there are gunshots going on,” he said.
Another resident who escaped to Baimari which is about 24 kilometres, Alhaji Kalla, said many people from Babangida including women and children had fled to nearby bushes for safety. “We cannot go back to our village, because the thing is becoming worse; gunshots coming sporadically from all directions, and we have remained in the bush,” he said.
When contacted, the Yobe State Commissioner of Police, Mr Marcus Danladi, confirmed the incident, adding that they were yet to have reports on casualties, but that his men and other security personnel had gone to the scene of the incident to investigate and defend the remaining residents of the town.
Boko Haram militants seize military base in Nigeria after fierce battle with government troops
Boko Haram seized military base and carried out raids in north Nigeria
Militants 'killed several people, burnt hundreds of homes' and looted
Gunmen fought Nigerian military 'for hours' before taking over base
By AFP
12:56 EST, 4 January 2015
Suspected Boko Haram militants have seized a military base in northeastern Nigeria following a series of deadly raids in the area this weekend.
Gunmen fought the army for several hours before taking control of the military base outside the town of Baga, near Lake Chad, on Saturday.
Civilians were forced to flee across the border to Chad after groups of militants carried out several raids, killing several people, burning hundreds of homes and looted businesses, witnesses said.
The Islamists are believed to control large swathes of land in northeastern Nigeria since launching an uprising in 2009 that has now claimed more than 13,000 lives.
The base is used by the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), which was established in 1998 to battle cross-border crime but whose mandate was expanded to fighting the deadly Boko Haram insurgency.
The gunmen seized the base near Lake Chad after engaging troops in a fierce battle that lasted several hours, witnesses said.
'They (the militants) overwhelmed the troops and forced them to abandon the base which the gunmen took over,' local resident Usman Dansubdu said after fleeing to neighbouring Chad.
Hundreds of fear-stricken residents from Baga and five other Nigerian towns and fishing villages poured into Chad to escape the Islamist raids on their homes, witnesses said.
Witnesses in Bagan say the suspected Boko Haram militants killed several people, burnt hundreds of homes and looted scores of businesses during the attack on Saturday (file photo)
Maina Ma'aji Lawan, the senator representing northern Borno where Baga is located, confirmed the attack on the military base and other five locations.
'Boko Haram insurgents launched attacks in Baga area yesterday, destroying six towns and several settlements, forcing the people in the affected places to flee into Chad,' he said.
'They came in unbelievably large numbers and overpowered the multinational troops and local vigilantes.
'They took over the multinational troop base in Baga and sent the soldiers fleeing.'
The force is made up of troops from Nigeria, Niger and Chad, Nigerian army spokesman Brigadier General Olajide Laleye said.
Residents of Kauyen Kuros, Mile 3, Mile 4, Baga, Doron-Baga and Bundaram fled across the lake in fishing boats and canoes into Chad following the hours-long attacks by hundreds of militants from the Islamist group.
'We are now seeking refuge in Gubuwa, Kangallam and Kaiga villages inside Chad near the border with Nigeria,' Dansubdu said.
The gunmen killed several people, burnt hundreds of homes and looted scores of businesses in the attacks that lasted over seven hours, said Doron-Baga resident Lawan Ajikalumbu who also fled to Gubuwa.
There was no official casualty toll.
Abubakar Gamandi, head of the fishermen's union in Borno state and a resident of Baga, said he received several calls from union members who fled to neighbouring Chad informing him of the attacks.
Baga was the scene of the deadliest Boko Haram attack in April 2013 when 185 people were killed and more than 2,000 homes were destroyed in fighting between the Islamists and members of the multinational force.
Suspected Boko Haram gunmen late Saturday also raided the town of Babban Gida, 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Damaturu, the capital of neighbouring Yobe state, according to residents.
The militants destroyed the military barracks, torched a deserted government boarding school and a local administration building after overpowering soldiers in a gunfight, they said.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2896238/Boko-Haram-seizes-military-base-Nigeria-witnesses.html#ixzz3NuHMqBVs
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At Least 15 Killed In ‘Boko Haram’ Attack On Cameroon Bus
REUTERS
Jan 4, 2015
At least 15 people have been killed in an attack by suspected Boko Haram militants on a bus in northern Cameroon, a senior local security official and a businessman said on Saturday.
Over the last year, Boko Haram, which has killed thousands in its struggle to create a caliphate in northern Nigeria, has stepped up attacks on both sides of the border, forcing Cameroon to dispatch thousands of troops to its north.
“Boko Haram elements on Thursday attacked a bus that was transporting many passengers from Kousseri to Maroua and killed 25 persons on the spot,” said a senior officer in the military’s BIR rapid reaction unit deployed in the region.
The officer, who asked not to be named, said another 10 people had been severely injured and taken to Maroua hospital and he feared the death toll would rise.
Maroua is the capital of the Far North region, which has seen the worst of the spillover of Nigeria’s conflict.
Cameroonian authorities were not available for comment on the attack, which took place in the evening of Jan. 1. However, a local businessman based in the north said travelers who reached the town of Maroua had confirmed the incident.
Foncha Ngeh, who is based in Maroua, said travelers had told him there were at least 15 dead in the incident but many more had been injured and were being transported to Maroua for treatment.
Ngeh said there had been a string of other attacks in the region, carried out by Islamists but also ordinary bandits targeting people traveling during the holidays with lots of cash.
Late last month, Cameroon had to call on its air force to help troops dislodge Boko Haram fighters who briefly occupied a military camp after hundreds of militants mounted a wave of attacks on five northern towns.
The militant group Boko Haram has seized a town and key multinational military base in north-eastern Nigeria, officials and eyewitnesses say.
A senator in Borno state said troops had abandoned the base in the town of Baga after it was attacked on Saturday.
Residents of Baga, who fled by boat to neighbouring Chad, said many people had been killed and the town set ablaze.
Baga, scene of a Nigerian army massacre in 2013, was the last town in the Borno North area under government control.
It hosted the base of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), made up of troops from Nigeria, Chad and Niger.
Set up in 1998 to fight trans-border crime in the Lake Chad region, the force more recently took on Boko Haram.
Boko Haram attacks towns and villages on an almost daily basis, abducting people including young boys and girls, BBC Africa analyst Mary Harper reports.
The military, which includes Western advisers and surveillance, seems incapable of dealing with the problem, she adds.
'Helter skelter'
Residents who fled to Chad said they had woken to heavy gunfire as militants stormed Baga early on Saturday, attacking from all directions.
They said they had decided to flee when they saw the multi-national troops running away.
One unnamed resident of the town described what had happened for the BBC:
"Yesterday at around 05:00 [04:00 GMT] we were woken up by heavy gunshots, and we couldn't identify where the shots were coming from.
"They came through the north, the west and from the southern part of the town because the eastern part is only water. So, when we [went] towards the western part, we saw heavily armed Boko Haram men coming towards us.
"The soldiers were trying to repel the attack but that wasn't going to happen because a lot of the soldiers were without their guns and some were running into the town. When you see soldiers running away into the town - what are you to do, other than to just run away as well?"
Maina Maaji Lawan, senator for Borno North, told BBC World Service civilians had run "helter skelter" - "some into the forest, some into the desert".
Communications with the town were cut off and exact information about casualty numbers could not be confirmed, he said.
"We are very dispirited," the senator added.
Confirming that the military had abandoned the base, he said people's frustration knew "no bounds" over the apparent fact that the military had not fought back.
"There is definitely something wrong that makes our military abandon their posts each time there is an attack from Boko Haram," the senator said.
Who are Boko Haram?
Founded in 2002, it initially focused on opposing Western education. Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language
Began fighting in 2009 to create an Islamic state in a campaign which has claimed thousands of lives
Attacks mostly in the north-east but has also targeted police and UN headquarters in the capital, Abuja
Was declared a terrorist group by the US in 2013
Key base
In April 2013, at least 37 people were killed and 2,275 homes destroyed in Baga by troops hunting Boko Haram fighters who had attacked a patrol, Human Rights Watch reported.
The New York-based organisation accused soldiers of engaging "more in destruction than in protection".
Before Saturday's attack on the town, the area was already a stronghold of Boko Haram, which has been waging a bloody insurgency to create an Islamic state since 2009.
More than 2,000 people were killed in militant violence last year in the north-east.
Days before the attack on Baga, suspected Boko Haram militants kidnapped about 40 boys and young men in a raid on the remote Borno village of Malari.
Many Soldiers Feared Dead In Fresh Borno Attack
Hussaini Jirgi, Kareem Haruna
Nigerian Leadership
Jan 4, 2015
Security sources in Borno State have yesterday confirmed a major attack by Boko Haram terrorists on the Multinational Joint Task Force base in the border town of Baga in Kukawa local government area of Borno State, where dozens of soldiers were said to have been killed.
This is as a credible security official in Maiduguri also confirmed the abduction of about 40 young men by the terrorists, who have created a new camp, known as Modube, close to the Sambisa forest.
Meanwhile, the top security personnel who pleaded anonymity in speaking about the attack on the multinational base said the development was being handled with top secrecy by the military authorities in the countries that constitute the Multinational Joint Task Force and that the attack was carried out at about 5am yesterday.
The source said the multinational joint task force which might have been taken unawares by the Boko Haram insurgents were “practically dislodged”.
“We had a very ugly development in Baga today (Saturday) morning, when the Boko Haram insurgents went and dislodged the Multinational Joint Task Force there. All we know for now that it was a bad outing for the soldiers, because the base was practically dislodged, but one cannot say specifically the extent of damage caused on the base and the personnel for now,” said the senior security official.
Baga is a fishing community of Borno State that borders Chad Republic. Boko Haram is said to have some of its secret camps along the border areas between Nigeria and Cameroon.
The Multinational Joint Task Force is the major military deployment that has been frustrating the activities of the terrorists in that area. But with the feared dislodgment of the soldiers there, the terrorists may continue to have a field day in that part of the country.
Baga town has suffered several attacks in the past two years, as Boko Haram terrorists continued to take attacks to the community killing civilians, mostly fishermen.
It was reported that on November 21, 2014, Boko Haram terrorists practically ambushed and slit the throats of 48 fishermen during an attack that even the soldiers of the Multinational Joint Task Force were not aware of.
On the abduction of the 40 youths by Boko Haram, the security source said they were taken to a location called Modube, a new base of the sect.
“Our office had received the Intel that on January 1, 2015, at about 5pm, some Boko Haram gunmen had invaded one Malari village in Damboa local government area of Borno State, where they killed some of the villagers and abducted some youths, who might have been taken to one of Boko Haram’s hideouts known as Modube Camp,” said the source.
The security officer added that “Modube Camp is one of the new bases where the Boko Haram insurgents are hiding out”.
Lucky residents of Malari, who escaped the attack, said the Boko Haram gunmen had attacked their village shortly after the villagers had retired back to their homes and asked them to come out to listen to some sermons during which they shot some of them and forcefully took others away.
Bulama Malam, a middle-aged farmer, told journalists in Maiduguri on Friday that at least 40 youths were taken away from the village.
“They gathered many of us near the house of the village head, after telling us that they wanted to preach to us; and then, they began to select young men aged between 12 and 25,” he said. “I was lucky to escape, because they only selected very young and able-bodied men.”
Boko Haram Attacks Tarmuwa In Yobe
Meanwhile, suspected Boko Haram members yesterday attacked Babangida, the headquarters of Tarmuwa local government area of Yobe State.
There were no details of the attack as at press time, but gunshots have persisted, according to a resident.
Tarmuwa is 65 kilometres away from Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State.
A resident, Musa Tarmuwa, who escaped the attack, told LEADERSHIP Sunday that the attackers stormed the town around 6:12pm and unleashed terror on the residents.
“Let me tell you the truth, we just got prior information since last week that the attackers are approaching Babangida, the headquarters of Tarmuwa from Gujba local government area of the state. That’s how I escaped into the bush with some people; but as we are speaking now, there are gunshots going on,” he said.
Another resident who escaped to Baimari which is about 24 kilometres, Alhaji Kalla, said many people from Babangida including women and children had fled to nearby bushes for safety. “We cannot go back to our village, because the thing is becoming worse; gunshots coming sporadically from all directions, and we have remained in the bush,” he said.
When contacted, the Yobe State Commissioner of Police, Mr Marcus Danladi, confirmed the incident, adding that they were yet to have reports on casualties, but that his men and other security personnel had gone to the scene of the incident to investigate and defend the remaining residents of the town.
Boko Haram militants seize military base in Nigeria after fierce battle with government troops
Boko Haram seized military base and carried out raids in north Nigeria
Militants 'killed several people, burnt hundreds of homes' and looted
Gunmen fought Nigerian military 'for hours' before taking over base
By AFP
12:56 EST, 4 January 2015
Suspected Boko Haram militants have seized a military base in northeastern Nigeria following a series of deadly raids in the area this weekend.
Gunmen fought the army for several hours before taking control of the military base outside the town of Baga, near Lake Chad, on Saturday.
Civilians were forced to flee across the border to Chad after groups of militants carried out several raids, killing several people, burning hundreds of homes and looted businesses, witnesses said.
The Islamists are believed to control large swathes of land in northeastern Nigeria since launching an uprising in 2009 that has now claimed more than 13,000 lives.
The base is used by the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), which was established in 1998 to battle cross-border crime but whose mandate was expanded to fighting the deadly Boko Haram insurgency.
The gunmen seized the base near Lake Chad after engaging troops in a fierce battle that lasted several hours, witnesses said.
'They (the militants) overwhelmed the troops and forced them to abandon the base which the gunmen took over,' local resident Usman Dansubdu said after fleeing to neighbouring Chad.
Hundreds of fear-stricken residents from Baga and five other Nigerian towns and fishing villages poured into Chad to escape the Islamist raids on their homes, witnesses said.
Witnesses in Bagan say the suspected Boko Haram militants killed several people, burnt hundreds of homes and looted scores of businesses during the attack on Saturday (file photo)
Maina Ma'aji Lawan, the senator representing northern Borno where Baga is located, confirmed the attack on the military base and other five locations.
'Boko Haram insurgents launched attacks in Baga area yesterday, destroying six towns and several settlements, forcing the people in the affected places to flee into Chad,' he said.
'They came in unbelievably large numbers and overpowered the multinational troops and local vigilantes.
'They took over the multinational troop base in Baga and sent the soldiers fleeing.'
The force is made up of troops from Nigeria, Niger and Chad, Nigerian army spokesman Brigadier General Olajide Laleye said.
Residents of Kauyen Kuros, Mile 3, Mile 4, Baga, Doron-Baga and Bundaram fled across the lake in fishing boats and canoes into Chad following the hours-long attacks by hundreds of militants from the Islamist group.
'We are now seeking refuge in Gubuwa, Kangallam and Kaiga villages inside Chad near the border with Nigeria,' Dansubdu said.
The gunmen killed several people, burnt hundreds of homes and looted scores of businesses in the attacks that lasted over seven hours, said Doron-Baga resident Lawan Ajikalumbu who also fled to Gubuwa.
There was no official casualty toll.
Abubakar Gamandi, head of the fishermen's union in Borno state and a resident of Baga, said he received several calls from union members who fled to neighbouring Chad informing him of the attacks.
Baga was the scene of the deadliest Boko Haram attack in April 2013 when 185 people were killed and more than 2,000 homes were destroyed in fighting between the Islamists and members of the multinational force.
Suspected Boko Haram gunmen late Saturday also raided the town of Babban Gida, 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Damaturu, the capital of neighbouring Yobe state, according to residents.
The militants destroyed the military barracks, torched a deserted government boarding school and a local administration building after overpowering soldiers in a gunfight, they said.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2896238/Boko-Haram-seizes-military-base-Nigeria-witnesses.html#ixzz3NuHMqBVs
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At Least 15 Killed In ‘Boko Haram’ Attack On Cameroon Bus
REUTERS
Jan 4, 2015
At least 15 people have been killed in an attack by suspected Boko Haram militants on a bus in northern Cameroon, a senior local security official and a businessman said on Saturday.
Over the last year, Boko Haram, which has killed thousands in its struggle to create a caliphate in northern Nigeria, has stepped up attacks on both sides of the border, forcing Cameroon to dispatch thousands of troops to its north.
“Boko Haram elements on Thursday attacked a bus that was transporting many passengers from Kousseri to Maroua and killed 25 persons on the spot,” said a senior officer in the military’s BIR rapid reaction unit deployed in the region.
The officer, who asked not to be named, said another 10 people had been severely injured and taken to Maroua hospital and he feared the death toll would rise.
Maroua is the capital of the Far North region, which has seen the worst of the spillover of Nigeria’s conflict.
Cameroonian authorities were not available for comment on the attack, which took place in the evening of Jan. 1. However, a local businessman based in the north said travelers who reached the town of Maroua had confirmed the incident.
Foncha Ngeh, who is based in Maroua, said travelers had told him there were at least 15 dead in the incident but many more had been injured and were being transported to Maroua for treatment.
Ngeh said there had been a string of other attacks in the region, carried out by Islamists but also ordinary bandits targeting people traveling during the holidays with lots of cash.
Late last month, Cameroon had to call on its air force to help troops dislodge Boko Haram fighters who briefly occupied a military camp after hundreds of militants mounted a wave of attacks on five northern towns.
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