Boko Haram sacks towns in Yobe

Gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram militants sacked Katarko and Gujba towns in Yobe State on Monday night where they killed at least eight people and abducted a cleric, his wife and two others.They also sacked a military base and destroyed a major bridge that links southern Yobe to the state capital Damaturu, residents who […]

Gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram militants sacked Katarko and Gujba towns in Yobe State on Monday night where they killed at least eight people and abducted a cleric, his wife and two others.
They also sacked a military base and destroyed a major bridge that links southern Yobe to the state capital Damaturu, residents who fled the violence told Daily Trust yesterday.
These are the latest Yobe towns and villages that Boko Haram men laid siege on in recent weeks, having earlier struck at Buni Yadi, Buni Gari, Ngirbuwa, Sirdi, Muktum, Goniri and Katarko.

Daily Trust learnt that in the attack on Katarko, 21 kilometers south of Damaturu, a large number of insurgents drove in 10 pick-up trucks and an armoured-personnel carrier at about 7.30pm. They first attacked the military base, before moving into the heart of the village where they killed eight people. It was not clear if there were security personnel casualties.
The gunmen then seized a cleric named Sheriff Ali, along with his wife and two other people whose names are given as Goni Kolo and Ishak Alhaji Goni.
Later on the insurgents bombed a major bridge linking southern Yobe to the state capital, effectively isolating the area and making it more difficult to deploy security reinforcement. This was the fifth major bridge that Boko Haram destroyed in Borno and Yobe states in three months.
A resident of Katarko said the attackers had a field day, as they rampaged throughout the night till around 6.15am when they left.
Soon after residents, who fled the village into the nearby bushes during the violence, started trickling back. But as they try to assess the damage and prepare to bury the dead, the insurgents returned at about 10.30am and unleashed more terror.
“Many people have fled the village to nearby bushes as the military unit in the area was dislodged by the insurgents,” a resident said.
“We did not bury the dead bodies when the assailants resurfaced, and we all fled to the bush.”
In Gujba town, 27 kilometers south of Damaturu, the insurgents launched a massive assault as a result of which much of the town has now been deserted, according to survivors.
Residents told Daily Trust that suspected Boko Haram militants stormed the town around 3pm, hurling explosives and firing indiscriminately. There is no confirmed information on the number of casualties in the attack.
Locals who escaped to Damaturu said that they received prior warning that the insurgents where headed towards Gujba from Kasafiya village, which is 3 kilometers away.
“We advised the Gujba district head to leave the town for security reasons. We are now in Damaturu making contacts to know more about the family but Gujba is under serious attack,” a man who fled told our correspondent in Damaturu.
“There was smoke billowing from so many places in the town, especially around Gulani T-junction were the military unit is based.”
Boko Haram insurgents have been terrorising towns and villages in the southern part of Yobe recently.
Residents of Buni Yadi, Buni Gari, Ngirbuwa, Sirdi, Muktum, Goniri and Katarko told Daily Trust that most people have relocated following intense attacks on locals and security formations.
Most recently, militants raided the military base in Goniri town, leaving a number of security men dead.
A security source told our correspondent that the military base was relocated from Goniri after the violence.
“They (soldiers) were moved to Katarko for security reasons,” he said, referring to one of the places attacked on Monday night.
A resident said with the destruction of the major bridge, the affected areas have now effectively been cut off from the rest of the state. “So how do you expect a quick reinforcement?” he queried.
He expressed concern that the insurgents operating around Buni Yadi, 60 kilometers from Damaturu, are now advancing towards the state capital as they have now reached villages less than 30 kilometers away.
Security authorities and the state government have yet to comment on the latest violence.