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Boko Haram seizes army base in Nigeria town of Baga | Boko Haram seizes army base in Nigeria town of Baga |
(35 minutes later) | |
The militant group Boko Haram has seized a town and key multinational military base in north-eastern Nigeria, officials and eyewitnesses say. | The militant group Boko Haram has seized a town and key multinational military base in north-eastern Nigeria, officials and eyewitnesses say. |
A senator in Borno state said troops had abandoned the base in the town of Baga after it was attacked on Saturday. | A senator in Borno state said troops had abandoned the base in the town of Baga after it was attacked on Saturday. |
Residents of Baga, who fled by boat to neighbouring Chad, said many people had been killed and the town set ablaze. | Residents of Baga, who fled by boat to neighbouring Chad, said many people had been killed and the town set ablaze. |
Baga, scene of a Nigerian army massacre in 2013, was the last town in the Borno North area under government control. | Baga, scene of a Nigerian army massacre in 2013, was the last town in the Borno North area under government control. |
It hosted the base of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), made up of troops from Nigeria, Chad and Niger. | It hosted the base of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), made up of troops from Nigeria, Chad and Niger. |
Set up in 1998 to fight trans-border crime in the Lake Chad region, the force more recently took on Boko Haram. | Set up in 1998 to fight trans-border crime in the Lake Chad region, the force more recently took on Boko Haram. |
Boko Haram attacks towns and villages on an almost daily basis, abducting people including young boys and girls, BBC Africa analyst Mary Harper reports. | |
The military, which includes Western advisers and surveillance, seems incapable of dealing with the problem, she adds. | |
'Helter skelter' | 'Helter skelter' |
Residents who fled to Chad said they had woken to heavy gunfire as militants stormed Baga early on Saturday, attacking from all directions. | Residents who fled to Chad said they had woken to heavy gunfire as militants stormed Baga early on Saturday, attacking from all directions. |
They said they had decided to flee when they saw the multi-national troops running away. | |
Maina Maaji Lawan, senator for Borno North, told BBC World Service civilians had run "helter skelter" - "some into the forest, some into the desert". | Maina Maaji Lawan, senator for Borno North, told BBC World Service civilians had run "helter skelter" - "some into the forest, some into the desert". |
Communications with the town were cut off and exact information about casualty numbers could not be confirmed, he said. | Communications with the town were cut off and exact information about casualty numbers could not be confirmed, he said. |
"We are very dispirited," the senator added. | "We are very dispirited," the senator added. |
Confirming that the military had abandoned the base, he said people's frustration knew "no bounds" over the apparent fact that the military had not fought back. | Confirming that the military had abandoned the base, he said people's frustration knew "no bounds" over the apparent fact that the military had not fought back. |
"There is definitely something wrong that makes our military abandon their posts each time there is an attack from Boko Haram," the senator said. | "There is definitely something wrong that makes our military abandon their posts each time there is an attack from Boko Haram," the senator said. |
Who are Boko Haram? | |
Who are Boko Haram? | |
Profile: Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau | |
Key base | |
In April 2013, at least 37 people were killed and 2,275 homes destroyed in Baga by troops hunting Boko Haram fighters who had attacked a patrol, Human Rights Watch reported. | |
The New York-based organisation accused soldiers of engaging "more in destruction than in protection". | |
Before Saturday's attack on the town, the area was already a stronghold of Boko Haram, which has been waging a bloody insurgency to create an Islamic state since 2009. | |
More than 2,000 people were killed in militant violence last year in the north-east. | |
Days before the attack on Baga, suspected Boko Haram militants kidnapped about 40 boys and young men in a raid on the remote Borno village of Malari. |