Soldiers in gun battle with insurgents over ‘attempt to take over Borno town’

There was heavy gunfire in Dikwa, a town in Borno, on Monday, as insurgents attempted to take over the area.

The attack on Dikwa comes nine days after a previous invasion on a military base in the area was repelled.

Suspected Boko Haram insurgents had, on February 19, launched an attack on the military super camp, situated a few kilometres from Dikwa town.

A military source, who spoke to TheCable on the Monday attack, said the insurgents targeted the town because it is a border area, and would be useful for accessing materials for their operations.

The source, however, added that the soldiers engaged the attackers, leading to exchange of gunfire.

“Dikwa was attacked. The insurgents are trying to take control of the area, because it’s a border town that will be useful for their logistics,” the source said.

At the time of this report, it was not clear if the attack had been repelled.

Meanwhile, insurgents also attacked Mussa in Askira/Uba local government area, also in Borno state.

Villagers told TheCable that they came into the village on motorcycles and started shooting sporadically.

“Troops from the 115 battalion stationed in Askira/Uba had engaged them, but it took another reinforcement to kick them out of the village. The insurgents almost overpowered the troops,” a source said.

Mohammed Yerima, army spokesperson, was not immediately available to respond to enquiries on the attacks.

Over the past weeks, troops have continued to intensify efforts in the fight against insurgency in the north-east.