The Nigerian military has imposed a curfew from 9pm to 6am in the Askira-Uba town and its environs following another attack by extremists in the area on Sunday, November 14.
The insurgents – thought to be members of the Islamic State West Africa Province – attacked troops in Dille, a village in Lassa that falls under the Askira-Uba Local Government Area in Borno State.
Military sources said the air taskforce and ground troops repelled the extremists. They said they had received intelligence that ISWAP members were moving through Askira-Uba villages and the troops had repelled them in Dille.
The attack on Sunday followed another in Askira-Uba on Saturday, November 13, when a fierce gun battle ensued between the Nigerian army and the insurgents, again thought to be members of ISWAP.
RNI reporter Alkali Mustapha said the battle continued for six hours.
An Askira resident, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, said: “It was around 8 o’clock on Saturday morning when the insurgents arrived in eight big armored vehicles, including an armoured personal carrier, gun trucks and bullet-proof vehicles. They opened fire on the military and there was fierce engagement until 2 o’clock in the afternoon.”
He said a soldier had told him that there were at least 1,000 insurgents and that the army was totally outnumbered until reinforcement troops arrived from Mubi and Chibok.
“No civilians were killed but five soldiers were killed, including Brigadier-General Dzarma Zirkushu and three of his soldiers who died in an ambush on their way to support the military,” he said.
The attack occurred a few days after insurgents raided the Kilangar community in Askira, burning down houses and a hospital.
Residents of Askira-Uba told RNI that they living in a state of terror and had no idea when or where the next attack would happen.
The rampant attacks had forced the military to impose a curfew, closing the Askira gate from 9pm to 6am.
Zainab Ali, a resident, said: “We have seen many heavily armed troops being brought into town and we are okay with the curfew because it has been imposed to protect our lives.”
In a statement released on Sunday night, ISWAP claimed it had killed 17 soldiers. It said 13 soldiers were killed when its fighters attacked troops at a military base in Askira town, and four others, including Brigadier-General Dzarma Zirkushu, who were killed in an ambush in Bulguma, a few kilometres from Askira. ISWAP said it had also razed an army camp, a car and an armoured vehicle parked inside the military base. The militants said they had captured a tank, various weapons and ammunition.
In a statement on Monday the Nigerian Army announced that troops of Joint Task Force, North East Operation Hadin Kai, had killed more than 50 ISWAP fighters on Sunday and that combat equipment was destroyed.
Neither statements could be corroborated.
