SAN FRANCISCO, August 16, (THEWILL) – Boko Haram gunmen supported by mercenaries suspected to be Chadians, Thursday night, laid a siege on Damboa, a town in Borno State, killing 11 persons in an attack that was described as massive.
Numbering about 50, the gunmen were said to have arrived the town in a convoy of nine Golf salon cars and motorcycles before launching the attack.
Confirming the incident in Maiduguri, the state capital, on Friday, a top security source who craved anonymity, said 11 civilians were lost to the attack.
“More troops have been dispatched to the area to confront the insurgents. We gathered that they sneaked away from Damboa towards the bush part that lead into Yobe and Gombe States. For sure, they will not escape,” he said.
The gunmen were said to have destroyed more than half of the business premises and shops in the village despite the resistance from the Civilian JTF, who also killed one of the gunmen, injured many and captured one alive.
A resident of Damboa who said e was compelled to flee the town to Maiduguri said there was heavy gunfire from the attackers who also targeted police and military formations, thus forcing the residents to vacate their houses and flee to nearby farms and bushes.
“The attackers went to Damboa around 8pm and laid siege till around 12am. They divided themselves into three groups. One of the groups confronted the police, the other confronted the military and the third group waylaid the civilian population and burnt many houses,” he said.
“The good news is that the youth vigilante defied the superior power of the attackers because they confronted them squarely. Though what the youths had were daggers, knives and machetes, they were well charmed up as the gun bullets could not penetrate most of them.”
Corroborating this evidence, another witness confirmed the presence of foreigners among the attackers. “They spoke Arabic fluently and they came with sophisticated guns and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
They threw many of the explosives into shops and buildings,” he said.
Te member representing Damboa in the Borno State House of Assembly, Hon. Ayamu Lawan Gwasha, told journalists in Maiduguri yesterday that his people “are under siege”.
According to him, “We raised alarm soon after the Sunday’s attack in Konduga where many innocent people were killed. We expressed our fear to the deputy governor of Borno State, Zanna Umar Mustapha, who was also proactive in sharing the information with Governor Kashim Shetttima. Relevant security authorities were also alerted. I think this has helped in reducing the magnitude of the attack.”
However, the spokesman of the Joint Task Force (JTF), Lt. Col. Sagir Musa, could not be reached for confirmation of the development when filing this report on Friday.
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