Borno: Troops flee as Boko Haram invades IDP camps, communities

Troops protecting an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Dalori, Bornu state were said to have allegedly abandoned the camp on Thursday when Boko Haram insurgents invaded the camp.

National Daily gathered that eight persons were killed in the recent attack on the IDP camp.

Bulama kachalla, a member of civilian JTF, said the insurgents also raided some communities destroying houses while some women and children from the camp were abducted.

‘The military and the police securing the camp ran away leaving the IDPs and members of the community on their own,” he said.

‘The insurgents came in five gun trucks and many motorcycles. They bombed the filling station and razed more than 200 houses. The soldiers guiding the camp were overpowered. We are suspecting that many women and children drowned in the water while running.”

But Alfred Audu, a resident, said the insurgents engaged troops in a bid to force their way into the communities but were repelled.

A witness, who simply identified himself as Alhaji Modu, said the insurgents launched rocket attacks and forced their way into the IDP camps and also attacked homes with ferocious fire.

He said nine people were killed at Bulari IDP camp and three others in the Kofa IDP Camp.

“An Islamic cleric together with his wife and three children were burnt to death when the insurgents sacked their home at Bularin IDP camp,” he said.

“They burnt down the village market, shops, houses, animals and vehicles. Many people died in the attack while others are still missing. Bularin village was razed and several tents in the camp destroyed. Many people were displaced in the attack.”

Boko Haram launched its campaign of violence in 2009, vowing to enthrone a strict Islamic code in Africa’s most populous nation.