#News: 15,000 Nigerians Flee After Boko Haram Attacks

[HuffingtonPost]

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, July 21 (Reuters) - More than 15,000  people have fled an area around the northeast Nigerian town of  Damboa after a spate of lethal assaults by Islamist Boko Haram  fighters during the weekend, the emergency services said on  Monday.                

Suspected Islamists raided Damboa on Friday and Saturday,  shooting dead more than 40 residents and burning houses, part of  a pattern of killing that has forced tens of thousands to flee  this year. They also attacked six nearby  villages.                

Boko Haram, which is fighting for an Islamic state in  Nigeria, has ceaselessly targeted civilians this year in rural  parts of Borno state, where its fighters fled after a military  offensive dislodged them from the cities.                

Abdulkair Ibrahim, a spokesman for the National Emergency  Management Agency (NEMA) in Borno, said the agency had records  of 15,204 people who had fled Damboa and the six villages --  Kimba, Madaragrau, Mandafuma, Chikwar Kir, Bomburatai and Sabon  Kwatta.                

Addressing press in the capital Abuja on Monday, Defense  spokesman Major-General Chris Olukolade appeared to deny that  Boko Haram had taken over Damboa and the surrounding areas, when  asked about reports that the military had fled and the  insurgents had hoisted their black flags in the town.                

"We are not conceding any portion of this country to any  terrorist group," he said. "Our patrols are active and they are  stepping up their activities to reverse any insecurity there."                

Whether or not Boko Haram controls significant territory,  its ability to strike with impunity is destabilizing Africa's  biggest economy and making it an unattractive investment  destination. Around 200 school girls kidnapped by the rebels in  April remain in captivity, despite a vocal campaign calling on  President Goodluck Jonathan's forces to rescue them.                

A military operation in the northeast last year initially  succeeded in breaking up a de facto area in the northeast that  had been controlled by Boko Haram.                

But the rebels melted away into the hilly border area near  Cameroon. From there they have launched deadly reprisal attacks  that are increasingly targeting civilians, after they formed  vigilante groups to help the government kick out the militants.                

Several bombs across the country since April, including  three in Abuja and one in the commercial capital Lagos, in the  southwest, have shown they can now bring their insurgency to any  part of Africa's top oil producer.     (Reporting by Lanre Ola; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Larry  King)
Source: huffingtonPost

[HuffingtonPost]