Troops, Boko Haram in fierce battle for Bama

Residents said the insurgents staged a daring attack on Bama on Sunday but they were repelled by soldiers, and reports said dozens of the insurgents were killed.A resident told Daily Trust on phone last night that the fighters retreated and there was relief in the town. But he added that this turned out to be […]

Residents said the insurgents staged a daring attack on Bama on Sunday but they were repelled by soldiers, and reports said dozens of the insurgents were killed.
A resident told Daily Trust on phone last night that the fighters retreated and there was relief in the town. But he added that this turned out to be short-lived.
“By 4am yesterday, they returned with a big force. The soldiers engaged them and the fighting became ferocious,” he said.
“Sensing trouble, residents began to troop towards Maiduguri, 75 kilometres to the north. The scene was pathetic – women, children, old and young, all hitting the road.
“Only a few were lucky to board the few vehicles available, the rest continued to trek. As the fighting raged on, the insurgents began to have an upper hand and by early evening the soldiers began to withdraw. It also looked like orders had been given for the others to evacuate the barracks.
“They also joined the civilian train in the mass movement to Maiduguri. What we heard later was not inspiring. The Boko Haram insurgents were said to have overrun the barracks and hoisted their flag.
“They then drove into the town and began to patrol it. They  told the few residents that remained behind not to panic, but added that if they wished they could leave for Maiduguri, and that in any case that is where they would head for in a short while.”
Sources said the insurgents threw bombs into the army barracks in Bama.
While some sources said troops retreated to Maiduguri, others said reinforcement was heading towards Bama.
“Thick smoke was billowing from the direction of the military barracks and it is only after normalcy returns that what happened would be ascertained,” a source said.
The Defence Headquarters in Abuja yesterday confirmed there was an attack on Bama by Boko Haram insurgents but said it was repelled by troops.
The DHQ, in a post on Twitter, assured that everything necessary was being done to contain the terrorists.
Bama is one of the most populous towns in Borno.
It was gathered that during the fighting many insurgents were killed by soldiers who were earlier mobilised to Bama for onward deployment to Gwoza, which was seized by insurgents on August 6.
Some soldiers and mobile policemen as well as civilians were also killed.
“Dozens of them were killed but those that fled remobilised and returned. As we speak (around 5pm yesterday) the fight is ongoing and I can assure you that the terrorists have met their waterloo this time around,” a security source said.
Sources said the insurgents advanced towards Bama from the direction of Gwoza town.
Another security source said the insurgents made efforts to take Bama when it became evident that troops had made positive advances in Gwoza.
“I can tell you that the fight in Bama was prompted by the ongoing confrontation in Gwoza, the so called Caliphate of the terrorists. But let me tell you that the Caliphate has fallen because hundreds of the terrorists have been killed as a result of a ground operation and aerial reconnaissance,” he said. This claim by the security operative could not be independently verified at press time.
Colonel Sani Usman, spokesman for the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, did not respond to a text message sent to him yesterday on the Bama attack.
Pre-dawn raid
Residents of Bama said the insurgents emerged from Mararaba Banki (T junction), a settlement about 10 kilometers away and started shooting sporadically.     “There was serious fight when the militants who were attempting to enter the town were engaged by troops and youth vigilantes at the T junction which leads to Banki and Cameroon Republic,” Mustapha Boyi, a fleeing Bama resident said.
He said Rocket Propelled GrenadeS (RPGs) and other deadly weapons were freely used in the battle.
“Though the initial fight was at the T-Junction, there was confusion in Bama town which prompted residents to flee”, Boyi said.
Hundreds of residents of Bama, Kawuri and Konduga have so far fled to Maiduguri in search of safety.
Some of them told Daily Trust that soldiers and civilian JTF members told them to leave Bama to give space for “a real fight with the terrorists.”
Daily Trust gathered that the Shehu of Bama, Alhaji Kyari Ibn Umar El-Kanemi, has arrived  Maiduguri with members of his family.
Modu Bukar, who lives in Maiduguri, told newsmen that his mother had also fled Bama to Kawuri due to heavy gunshots.
“I was called on phone by my mother who told me she managed to escaped to Kawuri…I am  looking for a way to  bring  her to Maiduguri,” he said.  
Bama, 60 kilometers away from Maiduguri, was attacked in May 2013 and February 2014.
The army barracks, the emir’s palace and hundreds of private and public utilities as well as the biggest market were targetted by the insurgents in the previous attacks.