On the first day of Ramadan and just 12 hours after Damasak was raided, insurgents stormed the town again yesterday, resulting in fasting residents having to flee for their lives.
Some said the insurgents were members of the Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’way Wa’l-Jihād, also known as Boko Haram. Others, however, said the fighters were members of the Islamic State of West Africa Province, a splinter group of Boko Haram.
Damasak is the main town in the Mobbar Local Government Area in Borno State. It is close to the shores of Lake Chad.
A source, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “The latest attack on Damasak came just 12 hours after the first one. The fighters stormed into the town at about 5pm just as residents were preparing to break the first fast of the holy month of Ramadan”.
He said the fighters arrived in more than a dozen armoured vehicles.
The attack took the residents by surprise. They were just getting back to normal after the first attack.
The source said some residents took donkeys, cows and wheel barrows as they tried to get away from the town. Others just ran for their lives, fleeing to nearby villages.
“Shops, houses and the clinic were destroyed and the attackers stole medicines and drugs,” the source said.
“I didn’t get to flee yesterday because I am ill. I tried to get out of the town today but I couldn’t get a car to take me.”
The source said that during the attack soldiers from the Nigerian Military closed the entrance to the town, leaving many of the fleeing residents having to scale the gate to save their lives.
The insurgents left Damasak at about 5am.
The number of people killed is still to be confirmed.
Residents begged the government to come to their aid. They said the increase in the number of attacks added to their difficulties.
“We need help if we are to survive,” said a resident.
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