480 Nigerian troops cross into Cameroon

Some 480 Nigerian troops yesterday crossed over into Cameroon following fierce fighting with Boko Haram militants in the border town of Gamboru in Borno State, a Cameroonian official has said. Spokesman for the Cameroonian army, Lt Col Didier Badjek, told the BBC that the soldiers had been disarmed and were being accommodated at a school […]

Some 480 Nigerian troops yesterday crossed over into Cameroon following fierce fighting with Boko Haram militants in the border town of Gamboru in Borno State, a Cameroonian official has said.
Spokesman for the Cameroonian army, Lt Col Didier Badjek, told the BBC that the soldiers had been disarmed and were being accommodated at a school in Maroua, about 80km from the Nigerian border.
Daily Trust learnt that the troops retreated into Cameroonian territory when the number of well-armed insurgents that were engaging them kept swelling.
Security sources said help later came the way of the Nigerian soldiers when their Cameroonian counterparts who took them to a safe location later mobilised with the retreating Nigerians and engaged the attackers at the border.
A resident who fled the violence told the BBC: “I saw about 50 soldiers who run through a river and crossed to Cameroon.
But the Defence Headquarter in Abuja said the Nigerian soldiers were not fleeing from Boko Haram but were on a tactical retreat following fierce fighting, and they were now were heading back to Nigeria.
In a statement posted on its website, the DHQ said: “the Nigerian troops that were found in Cameroon was as a result of a sustained battle between the troops and the terrorists around the borders with Cameroon which saw the Nigerian troops charging through the borders in a tactical maneuver.
“Eventually they found themselves on Cameroonian soil. Being allies the normal protocol of managing such incident demanded that the troops submit their weapons in order to assure the friendly country that they were not on a hostile mission.
“Following necessary discussions between Nigerian and Cameroonian military authorities, the issues have been sorted out. Subsequently, the troops are on their way back to join their unit in Nigeria.”
“The reference to the incidence as a defection is therefore not appropriate considering the discussion between the two countries’ military leadership and the series of contacts with the soldiers who have confirmed that they are safe.
“Meanwhile, troops are repelling a group of terrorists who are trying to enter the country through Gamboru Ngala.  A group of them who fizzled into the town are being pursued.”
Gamboru falls to insurgents
Residents of Gamboru said when the Boko Haram militants stormed the town early in the morning, they did not attack civilians or private buildings but warned people to remain indoors.
The insurgents said they were in Gamboru to take over the town “from the Nigerian government” and establish Sharia system.
A resident, Mukhtar Aliyu Modu, told our correspondent by telephone the insurgents arrived early in the morning under the cover of darkness.
“We were coming out from the mosque after the Subh (dawn prayers) around 5.30am when we started hearing sound of gunfire,” he said.
“Some of us could not run until the insurgents reached the frontage of our mosque. They told us to go home.
“However, mindful of the unfortunate incident that befell us in May when they mercilessly attacked us, most of us crossed over to Fotokol in Cameroon.
“Many women and children had to endure the turbulence of the river that divides Nigeria and Cameroon. May be later, families that disappeared would be found.”
Modu said the insurgents separated into two groups before storming Gamboru.
“The first group includes dozens of Boko Haram insurgent that stormed Gamboru and went straight to the police barracks and the military base,” he said.
“The Nigerian soldiers and the police engaged them very well till around 7am when suddenly, a different group mobilised with many armoured personnel carriers, rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and other dangerous weapons and appeared from the other side of the town,” Modu added.
He said before the arrival of the second group of insurgents, Nigerian troops had the “upper hand”.
Another man who does not want his name mentioned said the arrival of the second group of the insurgents changed the trend of the fight.
“Nigerian soldiers had nearly exhausted their ammunitions before the second group of terrorists arrived…and they (Nigerian soldiers) had no option but to flee into Cameroon,” he said.
“The insurgents have so far destroyed the military formations after the soldiers left. I strongly believe that there is casualty on both sides because the fight was intense and still ongoing.”
Our correspondent learnt that thousands of people from Gamboru are now taking refuge in Cameroonian villages while others have fled to the villages that lead to Chad and other localities in northern part of Borno.
Later yesterday, Daily Trust learnt that Gamboru had fallen to the insurgents after Nigerian and Cameroonian troops retreated from the battle ground at the border.
Malam Kime, a resident of Gamboru who spoke to our correspondent around 7.30pm, said the insurgents were patrolling the town by last night.
“The insurgents have taken over Gamboru…they are patrolling the town on motorcycles and bicycles but they did not touch anybody (civilian),” he said. “In fact, some of us that are still in the town went out and got water.”
He said a fighter jet flew over and dropped what appeared to be a bomb along the Nigeria-Cameroon border and then left.
“We did not see the aircraft again but honestly, all the security operatives in Gamboru have disappeared, the insurgents are in charge and we are really living in fear because we don’t know their next line of action,” he said.
Gamboru is the headquarters of Ngala Local Government Area, which has an area of 1,465 km² and a population of 237,071, according to the 2006 national census.
Boko Haram insurgents had attacked the town several times over in the past, with the worst one on May 5 in which at least 300 people were killed while the biggest market as well as over 200 cars and 100 motorcycles were destroyed.
The bridge linking Gamboru to the rest of Nigeria, and also linking the immigration checkpoints of both Cameroon and Nigeria, was also destroyed twice between May and July.
The destruction of the bridge had adversely affected businesses between Nigeria, Cameroon Chad and the Central African Republic.
The attack on Gamboru came a day after Boko Haram released a video in which its leader Abubakar Shekau is shown proclaiming Gwoza town in southern Borno as part of an Islamic caliphate. Insurgents seized control of Gwoza on August 6.