Boko Haram burns homeless shelters

Boko Haram fighters attacked a military base in remote northeast Nigeria, setting fire to shelters for those made homeless by the conflict.

The attack in Rann, 175km northeast of the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, began late on Monday and forced civilians to flee. It followed a pattern by the Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap) faction of Boko Haram that has called into question government claims the group is virtually defeated.

A similar attempt was made to take over a military base in Magumeri, 50km northwest of Maiduguri on Sunday.

Rann currently hosts some 35,000 internally displaced people (IDPs), according to the International Organisation for Migration. It has been repeatedly hit in the conflict, exacerbating already dire conditions on the ground.

A military source in Maiduguri said the attack began at about 5.20pm.

“Terrorists took over a military position in Rann following heavy fighting,” he said.

Poor visibility because of seasonal Harmattan (dusty) winds hampered the deployment of air force jets, and troops were forced to withdraw.

“The terrorists went about setting fire to camps and shelters of IDPs. Most people have fled town into the bush but we have no details of casualties at the moment.”

An aid worker in Maiduguri added: “We’ve been in touch with some aid workers in Rann, who said the town had been taken by Iswap and camps were being burned. “They had to flee towards Bulale on the Cameroon side of the border. The details are sketchy.”

The UN last week said about 30,000 people fled after a similar attack in and around the Borno town of Baga in late December.

Some 260 aid workers had also been forced to withdraw from three local government areas in northern Borno near Lake Chad, where Iswap are known to operate.

Humanitarian operations in Rann were suspended in March after another attack on a military base, killing three aid workers. Two out of three health workers kidnapped have since been executed. –