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Boko Haram extremists have invaded a key crossroads and military outpost in northeastern Nigeria, local residents and authorities said on Saturday. Gudumbali is a city where, only a few months ago, the government encouraged the return of thousands of displaced people.
The attack highlights the difficulties faced by the Nigerian government in trying to reassure more than 1.5 million people displaced by the deadly Islamic insurgency that has won the nearly ten-year fight against Boko Haram. This is a major challenge for President Muhammadu Buhari ahead of next year's elections.
Borno vice-governor Usman Durkwa confirmed the attack on a military base in Gudumbali, but "I have not yet had the number of casualties" of the security forces.
The extremists attacked on Friday afternoon, said Bunu Bukar, Borno's state secretary at the Association of Self-Defense Fighters.
"Suddenly, I saw people running around shouting," They came! They came! ", Said Umara Modu, a resident, at the Associated Press." I saw the attackers inside our city but, surprisingly, they told us to take our property calmly and move because we are not the target. "
He said half of the city's population had fled extremists without resistance.
"I will never return to Gudumbali, no matter the insurance, because we returned after the military authority and the Borno state government promised us adequate security," Modu added.
Security forces had no immediate comment.
It is believed that the fighters are with the Boko Haram faction under Abu Mus & 'ab al-Barnawi who has the support of the organization of the Islamic State. The faction, also known as the Islamic State's province of Africa, claimed responsibility but said it had fled and that tanks and other vehicles and weapons had been destroyed or confiscated, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.
Gudumbali was the site of one of the deadliest encounters of the fight again, Boko Haram, with dozens of soldiers killed in 2015.
The city was also among the first targeted communities in a military operation launched earlier this year to return Boko Haram displaced people to their homes in northeastern Nigeria with the aim of resuming a normal life.
Thousands of people have been returned to Gudumbali alone in recent months after spending years in IDP camps in Maiduguri, the state capital of Borno, the vice governor said.
The government under Buhari has more than once declared that Boko Haram was beaten but extremists continue to carry out attacks in the poor region of northeastern and Lake Chad.
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