A military offensive in northeast Nigeria that killed more than 50
Islamist rebels has destroyed four villages and left corpses scattered
in bushes, with some civilians among the dead, witnesses said Tuesday.
The defence ministry has said the operation was launched in response
to an attack Friday by Boko Haram insurgents on an army barracks in the
town of Bama in Borno state, the epicentre of the Islamist conflict.
Defence spokesman Chris Olukolade identified those killed as “terrorists.”
Residents told AFP that an unknown number of civilians also lost
their lives as the military bombarded the fleeing rebels. While they
reported finding scores of charred bodies in the area, many were thought
to be those of Boko Haram fighters.
Area resident Karim Bunu told AFP the military onslaught “completely
burnt down four villages,” specifically listing Awaram, Ali-Ali,
Suwabara and Kashimri, all in Borno state.
“Civilians from the affected villages,” were among those killed, he said.
“We have never seen so much death,” added a tribal chief in the area,
who asked that his name be withheld. “The bushes are littered with
decomposing bodies.”
Bunu, the local chief and other residents said much of the
destruction was caused by bombs dropped by fighter jets. Locals are
collecting bodies and digging graves for those killed, residents added.
In a Monday statement on the operation, Olukolade said that “a good
number of the insurgents escaped with bullet wounds while some have been
arrested. Over 50 of them died in the course of exchange of fire with
ground troops.”
Fifteen soldiers were killed during the Boko Haram raid on the
barracks and “during the pursuit” of the insurgents, according to
Olukolade.
The defence spokesman gave no indication that the military response
caused large-scale property destruction or cost civilian lives.
Nigeria’s military has been accused of using scorched-earth tactics
in campaigns against Boko Haram and not distinguishing between civilian
and insurgent targets. Such accusations have however been typically
denied.
According to multiple witness accounts, Boko Haram stormed the
barracks before sunrise on Friday, spraying it with gunfire before
torching the compound. There were reports that soldiers as well as wives
and children were abducted in the raid.
The army said the Islamists had tried to escape across the border
with Cameroon but were pursued through the weekend by ground troops with
the support of fighter jets deployed from an air force base in Borno’s
capital Maiduguri, some 60 kilometres (37 miles) away.
Borno and two neighbouring states were placed under a state of
emergency in May, giving the military added powers in their bid to crush
Boko Haram’s four-year uprising which has killed thousands.
The conflict has affected various parts of the north and centre of
Nigeria, but the northeast has been the hit hardest, including
communities near Bama, which has emerged as a hotspot in the insurgency.
No comments:
Post a Comment