‘Insurgents’ flee as troops repel attack on Borno village

Suspected fighters of the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), on Saturday, reportedly attacked Yamarkumi, a village in the southern part of Borno state.

According to sources, the gunmen stormed the village at 3pm and began to shoot sporadically.

A source said the military, however, moved in swiftly to tackle the attackers, while a jet hovered over a gun truck belonging to the suspected insurgents who fled on sighting the troops.

When TheCable contacted Kamikudeen Sanu, the Borno police command spokesperson, to confirm the incident, he said “I am not aware of it”.

The development comes hours after an attack by suspected ISWAP fighters on Kautikari community in Chibok LGA of Borno.

According to residents, the insurgents invaded the area around 5pm on Friday with different of weapons and started shooting sporadically.

Some of the villagers who spoke to TheCable said the insurgents set houses ablaze, and residents had to run to the bushes for safety.

“They first went to the market area as today is our market day, and they looted almost everything,” one of the villagers said.

Meanwhile, Babagana Zulum, governor of Borno, has expressed concern over the activities of ISWAP fighters in the state.

Speaking on Wednesday when he received members of the senate committee on army led by Ali Ndume, the governor had said something urgent must be done about the activities of insurgents.

“We have to do something about the operations of ISWAP in Borno state. If nothing is done to check them and chase them out, it may be bad not only for people of the north-east, but the entire nation at large,” Zulum had said.

“ISWAP’s fighters are better armed, better equipped, more intelligent and more sophisticated than Boko Haram and they grow spontaneously. Hence, the need to pursue the ISWAP now.”