Suspected Boko Haram
insurgents have forced hundreds of soldiers to flee Marte, a border town along
the shores of Lake Chad, a local official and witnesses said.
“The terrorists, numbering over 2,000, appeared from
various directions on Thursday and engaged the soldiers in Kirenowa town and
adjoining communities in Marte,” said Imamu Habeeb, a local community leader.
“They fought with soldiers over the night and the fight
continued today (Friday), forcing hundreds of soldiers to flee,” he added from
Borno State capital, Maiduguri.
Local fighter Shehu Dan Baiwa said the more than 2,000
fighters had been armed with bombs and tanks.
“They used the weapons
without restraint and succeeded in killing several people,” he said.
This is the third time Boko Haram has seized control of
Marte in restive Borno State, a key battleground of their six-year insurgency,
which has killed more than 13,000 and left 1.5 million persons homeless.
The city is among several retaken in recent weeks by
Nigeria’s military, which has launched an offensive against the Islamists as
part of a regional operation supported by Chad, Cameroon and Niger.
But Boko Haram have been fighting back, and unconfirmed
reports said the soldiers were forced to retreat from Boko Haram’s Sambisa
Forest stronghold this week after a landmine blast killed one soldier and three
vigilantes.
A senior local politician confirmed, on condition of
anonymity, that the insurgents had retaken Marte.
“We lost many (people) because some of our people that fled
to Chad and Cameroon have returned after troops recovered the town recently,”
he added.
A senior military official confirmed the attack on Marte,
but refused to say whether Boko Haram had retaken the town, describing the
army’s retreat as “strategic”.
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