Boko Haram: Traders pick pieces after Borno market attack

Witnesses said the insurgents stormed the market at peak hour and opened fire on unsuspecting traders and customers who normally besiege the market from neighboring towns and villages. It was gathered that about 22 dead bodies were recovered at the market square while many others that fled to the bushes with gunshot wounds died later.Sources […]

Witnesses said the insurgents stormed the market at peak hour and opened fire on unsuspecting traders and customers who normally besiege the market from neighboring towns and villages. It was gathered that about 22 dead bodies were recovered at the market square while many others that fled to the bushes with gunshot wounds died later.
Sources said the insurgents, armed with Ak47 rifles went to the market around 1.30pm. “After shooting for some minutes which caused serious commotion, the insurgents stole foodstuff and other goods before they fled,” Alamin Bana, a resident of Mainok said. He said the insurgents were looking for food and other basic needs, hence their desperate raidings of villages in the past few days.
“Within the week, they launched more than three attacks. In one of the attacks at Ngamdu, close to the border between Borno and Yobe states, they stopped a trailer truck and evacuated many bags of grains before they set the vehicle ablaze,” he said.
Our correspondent who passed through Mainok yesterday saw some traders picking the wares they left behind on Friday while scampering for safety. Some of the villagers were in sober mood as they were seen seated in front of houses receiving condolences.
Mainok was recuperating from a deadly attack in March this year, which led to the killing of dozens of people and more than 80 per cent of the town burnt.
Weeks after the onslaught, Governor Kashim Shettima approved millions of naira for the reconstruction of the town. Many of the houses and road side shops have been rebuilt and the residents had started going back to their homes when the Friday incident occurred.
Luckily enough, only the market was affected as most of the buildings in the town are intact, a feat attributed to prompt response of security operatives. Mainok, the famous watermelon village is situated 50 kilometers along the Maiduguri-Damaturu road