Boko Haram Takes Over Borno Village, Hoists Flag

Boko Haram have taken over the north-eastern town of Damboa, Borno State, killing over 100 people in the process.

The Islamist sect had since hoisted its black and white flag over the town left undefended by the Nigerian military, reports PMNews, citing civil defence spokesman and a human rights advocate said.

Boko Haram continued spreading terror through the northeast, as hundreds of people in Askira Uba have started fleeing the town following letters from the Islamist sect group threatening to attack and take over their villages, according to Abbas Gava, spokesman for Nigerian Vigilante Group, who noted that residents of about “nine major villages are on the run.”

Gava noted that there had been little or no resistance to the sect as the only defence came from vigilantes armed with clubs and homemade rifles.

A human rights advocate, who spoke on the condition of anonymity confirmed the incident, adding that, Boko Haram had struck again as people were trying to bury their dead, and that the toll was probably much higher than 100.

The town had been under siege for two weeks, since Boko Haram dislodged soldiers from a new tank battalion camp on its outskirts.

The defence ministry claimed to have repelled the attack and killed at least 50 insurgents for the loss of six soldiers, including the commanding officer, but locals said many soldiers had been killed and that the military had been driven from the base. They said in the past week, the extremists have twice ambushed military convoys trying to reach the base.