Boko Haram destroys Askira Uba, forcing residents to flee

Boko Haram destroys Askira Uba, forcing residents to flee

A screengrab taken on November 9, 2014 from a Boko
Haram video shows Boko Haram fighters parading with a
tank in an unidentified town
Hundreds of Boko Haram militants stormed the town of Askira Uba in northeast
Nigeria, burning homes and public buildings, as attacks continued despite a
regional campaign against the Islamist rebels, witnesses said Tuesday.
Residents able to flee the town in Borno state left in droves, with only the sick
and elderly remaining behind through the insurgents’ rampage.
“We don’t know their fate in the hands of Boko Haram,” said a guard at the
palace of the local chief, requesting anonymity.
The attack began at about 7:30 pm (1830 GMT) Monday and the extremists
“burnt most of the homes in town”, he added.
Another resident who fled, Aliyu Abdullahi, gave similar details but said Monday’s
attack was preceded by a similar raid on Sunday, when the insurgents torched the
local emir’s palace.
“When they burnt the palace of the emir on Sunday we thought they were done
only for them to come back last night and set the town on fire,” said Abdullahi
who fled to the nearby town of Mubi, which was recently liberated from rebel
control.
Abdullahi said residents in Askira Uba tried to call for help from troops based in
the town of Chibok 25 kilometres (16 miles) away but that soldiers “refused to
deploy”.
More than 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped from Chibok in April, prompting global
outrage and drawing unprecedented attention to the Boko Haram conflict.
The Islamists took over Chibok in September but troops backed by vigilantes
reclaimed it days later.
Since then, a large contingent of soldiers have been based in the now infamous
town and it was not immediately clear why they did not deploy to Askira Uba to
repel the latest attack.
Defence officials were not available to comment.
Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger have launched an unprecedented joint
offensive against the Islamists this month and have claimed a series of major
gains.
But violence has persisted, with critics saying Nigerian soldiers are still not doing
enough to protect civilians against near daily assaults by the militants.