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| Nigeria's Boko Haram crisis: 'Many dead' in Damboa | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Many people are feared dead after suspected Boko Haram Islamist gunmen attacked the town of Damboa in north-eastern Nigeria. | |
| Eyewitnesses have told the BBC that half the town was burnt down, including the main market. | |
| One resident said the attack was launched on Thursday night and lasted until the early hours. | |
| Boko Haram's violent campaign to establish an Islamic state has killed thousands of people in recent years. | |
| In April, it sparked international outrage by abducting more than 200 girls from their boarding school in Chibok, in Borno state, like Damboa. | |
| Damboa, 85km (53 miles) from the state capital Maiduguri, is now said to be deserted as many people have fled to neighbouring towns. | |
| Boko Haram attacked the barracks in the town two weeks ago, killing several soldiers. | |
| Nigeria's defence ministry said the military had repelled that attack and killed at least 50 insurgents. | |
| But residents say that since then the town has been defended by vigilante groups. | |
| On Tuesday, Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan asked the National Assembly for an extra $1bn to help the military fight Boko Haram. | |
| But the parliamentarians have now gone on a two-month recess without debating the request. | |
| Nigeria's soldiers have frequently complained that the insurgents have superior firepower. | |
| Nigeria has a military budget of about $6bn a year but large sums are lost to corruption, critics say. | |
| The US, UK, China, France and Israel have all sent military assistance to help rescue the schoolgirls. | |
| Who are Boko Haram? |