12 Soldiers Missing After Latest Boko Haram Attack Twelve soldiers went missing Sunday night following an attack by suspected Boko Haram insurgents in Mafa, Borno State, a senator said yesterday. At least 33 civilians were killed in the latest violence while two policemen also died yesterday when their vehicle drove over an explosive buried near the home of the Mafa divisional police officer. Twenty other people were gravely injured, residents said. Hundreds of insurgents dressed in military fatigue drove into Mafa town around 7pm in about 20 pick-up trucks, armed with guns, explosives and rocket launchers. They surrounded the town and began firing shots and detonating explosives indiscriminately, resident Zarima Mustapha told Daily Trust yesterday. Kaumi Lawan, one of the survivors who escaped to Maiduguri, said the insurgents subdued soldiers in the area and had a field day. “They remained in the village till around 2.30am when they completed their mission. Almost all the soldiers on ground removed their uniforms and took to their heels, leaving us at the wickedness of the attackers,” Lawan said. Senator Ahmed Zannah (Borno Central) told Daily Trust that troops stationed at Mafa fled when the attack began, and that 12 of them had not been located by yesterday afternoon. “When the attackers came the solders in the town all fled together with the people but I later heard that the military authorities have arrested the fleeing soldiers according to what the deputy governor told me. But we also heard that about 12 Nigerian soldiers are missing as at 12.30 noon today (yesterday),” he said. Zannah said at least 32 people were killed in Mafa and the entire town was razed down. He said after attacking Mafa, the gunmen launched another attack on Gamborun-Ngala but “unfortunately for them they did not succeed, and from there to enter Cameroon but they were killed by Cameroonian soldiers and two of them were arrested in Gamborun- Ngala.” When Daily Trust contacted the Defence Headquarters in Abuja on the missing soldiers, Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade, simply said: “Such has not been reported to us. When we have details we will brief you.” Speaking on the BBC Hausa radio earlier, Senator Zannah said the insurgents had days ago sent a warning to the residents informing them of an impending onslaught. “The attackers had given notice of their planned attack on the town, and because of this most people have already fled to Maiduguri, schools were closed and soldiers were deployed,” he said. “But when they (insurgents) came, the soldiers run away. None of them fired at the attackers. They run away together with people of the community.”It was learnt that about 10 days ago, Boko Haram insurgents had told Mafa residents that an attack was impending. Soon after that threat, students of the Government Girls Secondary School Mafa were evacuated to another school in Maiduguri while most senior local officials also relocated their families. One of the survivors who fled to Maiduguri, Zarima Mustapha, told Daily Trust: “Many of our people could not make it because they were shot by the insurgents. There are many dead bodies in the bushes. I have 15 people in my family but only four are with me now, I don’t know the whereabouts of the rest.” He said over 150 brick houses and countless mud and thatched houses were damaged by the insurgents who also destroyed over 30 vehicles, 120 motorcycles as well as seven articulated vehicles loaded with assorted goods, some coming to Nigeria from Cameroon and others heading towards Chad and Cameroon. He said some people who were observing night prayers were trapped in the mosque when the insurgents arrived. “The attackers simply locked the door of the mosque and threw explosives which killed most of the worshippers,” he said. It was gathered that most of the settlements in Mafa, including Ajari, Hausari and Wulari, were burnt to ashes while the private residence of the Imam of the village was also destroyed. Also bombed are the local government secretariat, GGSS Mafa, a modern shopping complex, a court, a primary school which the military uses as a base, and residence of the police divisional officer. Over 300 people were seen at Mafa Park in Maiduguri while many others are taking refuge with relatives and friends in the Borno State capital. Most of those seen, including aged women, women with children on their backs and toddlers, looked haggard and confused. Some of the displaced people said they had to flee because the insurgents have promised to return unless youths in the area shelved the idea of community policing. ‘Heinous, barbaric’ Mafa is about 40 kilometers from Maiduguri and Sunday night’s attack came a day after the twin blasts in Maiduguri that left over 50 people dead, and the Mainok attack in which 47 people were killed. Military authorities in Maiduguri have remained silent on recent violence in Borno State. Borno State Police Commissioner Tanko confirmed the Mafa incident but said he was yet to get details of what transpired. State commissioner of environment Mustapha Aminami, who hails from the area, described the attack as “heinous and barbaric.” The commissioner, who visited Mafa yesterday, told journalists that most of the victims were given a mass burial, and called on the people across Nigeria to intensify prayers for an end to the recurring killings. Meanwhile, a protest erupted in Maiduguri last night over the shooting of two vigilantes by men in Army uniform. The incident happened when the ‘Civilian JTF’ conducting stop-and-search flagged a vehicle carrying five uniformed security officers, a witness told the BBC Hausa radio. He said the Civilian JTF wanted to search the car, but one of the uniformed officers in the vehicle instantly shot two of them. This created suspicion of existence of fake soldiers going round town to attack people, hence the protest. He said the road leading to Chad, near the College of Agriculture, was barricaded by the protesting youths, who refused to leave the area despite the appeal of the security personnel.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 17:54:43 +0000
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