Thousands have fled their homes as Boko Haram insurgents early
Saturday seized Kirchinga, hometown of Adamawa State acting Governor
Umaru Fintiri, hours before he took part in the PDP governorship
primaries.
Residents of Madagali, Gulak and Michika towns and
nearby villages fled their homes Friday through Saturday following a
Boko Haram advance after repelling a military offensive to retake
Madagali town, seized by the militants last month.
“All the
residents of Madagali, Gulak and Michika have fled their homes to the
mountains and Mubi town after soldiers retreated from Madagali where
they made a failed attempt to push out the insurgents and the recapture
the town,” said Bello Alaramma who also ran away from Gulak to Mubi, 76
kilometres (48 miles) away.
“Boko Haram are now in control of
Gulak,” headquarters of Madagali local government (municipality) in
Adamawa state, Alaramma said.
Defence headquarters spokesman,
Major General Chris Olukolade, declined to comment on Boko Haram seizure
of more towns in the region.
Residents of Gulak became
apprehensive when troops drove into the town in vans, trucks and
armoured cars firing shots in the air in retreat after they were
overpowered by the militants in Madagali, 20 kilometres away, said Ayuba
Daniel, a Gulak resident.
“Around 5:00pm (1600GMT) yesterday (Friday) we started seeing hordes
of soldiers in vans, trucks and armoured cars driving through Gulak
firing shots in the air and soon afterwards people from Madagali started
trooping in telling us Boko Haram were on their way,” Daniel said.
“This forced us to flee to Mubi and nearby mountains to escape Boko Haram attack,” he said.
Residents
of Mubi, 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the state capital, Yola, said
the town was “flooded” with people from Michika, Gulak and Madagali.
“Mubi
is now flooded with people from Michika, Madagali, Gulak, Uba and other
villages who have been trooping in since last night,” said Muhammad
Maishanu, a Mubi resident.
“The influx is causing apprehension
among people in Mubi who fear the influx would attract Boko Haram who
have attacked Mubi before,” he said.
Mubi, the commercial hub of the state, has seen several attacks blamed on Boko Haram.
At least 40 people were killed in June when an explosion ripped through a soccer pitch in Mubi after a match
In October 2012 at least 40 students of a polytechnic college in the town were shot dead in attacks on student hostels.
Both
attacks were blamed on Boko Haram, the sect whose heightened deadly
attacks in the past weeks have won for them seizure of some key towns in
Borno, including Gwoza and Bama, as well as Buni Yadi in neighbouring
Yobe state.
Source:PM News
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