Latest news with #AhmedKingimi
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
At least 20,000 flee insurgency-hit town in Nigeria, governor says
By Ahmed Kingimi MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) -At least 20,000 people have fled Marte town following increasing attacks by Islamist militants in Nigeria's northeastern Borno state, its governor has said, four years after residents returned to the town that was once controlled by insurgents. Borno state has witnessed an upsurge in attacks by suspected Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) assailants this year, raising concerns that the militants are making gains again after years of intense attacks by the military. Borno state governor Babagana Zulum visited Marte, which is close to the border with Cameroon, to assess the security situation and meet military officials there. His visit followed a raid on Marte's army base last week in which militants temporarily overran the installation. At least five soldiers were killed and others went missing in the attack. "Marte was resettled about four years ago, but unfortunately, over the last three days, it was ransacked and was displaced again," Zulum told reporters on Sunday. "About 20,000 people left Marte for Dikwa (town)." Zulum, who also visited Rann, another town where an army base was attacked last week, will on Monday head to Kalawa Balge district where 23 farmers were killed by suspected militants. At least two million people have been displaced and thousands killed by the insurgency in Nigeria in the last 16 years, according to humanitarian groups. Zulum's state government resettled residents in Marte as part of a programme to shut camps for Internally Displaced Persons in Borno capital Maiduguri and upheld the plan as a model for other towns previously controlled by insurgents. But many Marte residents now fear that their lives could be upended again if attacks continue. Boko Haram and Islamic State-backed ISWAP have been adapting their tactics, including using drones for surveillance, security analysts and the military say. Zulum said leaving residents to live in a camp in Dikwa town was a big threat as it would leave young men "vulnerable to recruitment by insurgents." (Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe, Editing by William Maclean)
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Militants kill 5 soldiers in attacks on two Nigerian bases, security sources say
By Ahmed Kingimi MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Suspected insurgents killed five Nigerian soldiers in assaults on two army bases in northeastern Borno state early on Tuesday, security sources and a district official said, less than 24 hours after another deadly attack on troops in the region. Nigeria, which has grappled with an Islamist insurgency for over 15 years, has this year witnessed a surge in attacks by Boko Haram and its offshoot Islamic State West Africa Province in Borno, the heartland of the militants. Two soldiers from the 24 Task Force Brigade in Borno's Dikwa district said militants flew two surveillance drones in the vicinity before attacking the brigade's base around 1 a.m. (0000 GMT) on Tuesday. The base also housed some troops from the 153 Battalion in nearby Marte district, which was attacked on Monday with at least five soldiers killed. Nigeria's Defence Headquarters, which coordinates the anti-insurgency operation, did not respond to a request for comment. "We responded effectively this time, with the Nigerian Air Force providing support to pursue them. We killed many of them," a soldier involved in the battle told Reuters by phone. Around the same time, militants on trucks mounted with machine guns attacked the army's 3rd Battalion base in the Rann area of Kala Balge district, 65 km (45 miles) from Dikwa, two security sources and a district official said. Insurgents torched a mine-resistant vehicle, a gun truck and a Russian-made T-72 tank but quickly retreated when air force fighter jets arrived, said the security sources. At least five soldiers were killed while four sustained gunshot wounds, the Kala Balge district official said. Borno state governor Babagana Zulum said he was "more determined than ever to support the military, security agencies, and our volunteer forces in the fight to end terrorism and insurgency in our state". Last month, Zulum warned that jihadists, who a decade ago controlled large swathes of the northeast before they were pushed out by the military, were making gains again in Borno.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Yahoo
Militants attack Nigerian army base, troops missing, sources say
By Ahmed Kingimi MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Suspected Islamist militants attacked a Nigerian army base and captured soldiers and ammunition during a raid in the insurgency-hit northeastern Borno state in the early hours of Monday, two security sources told Reuters. A surge in attacks this year by Boko Haram and its splinter rival Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has raised fears of a major comeback by jihadists, whose tactics include armed drones and explosive devices planted on major roads. A soldier who escaped the attack said the militants arrived on motorbikes and gun trucks and laid siege on the 153 Task Force Battalion base in Borno's Marte district from around 0200 GMT. The Nigerian troops retreated to the larger 24 Task Force Brigade in nearby Dikwa district where they regrouped and launched a counter-attack that retook the base, said the soldier, who declined to be named for security reasons. Several soldiers were feared dead and others missing. "As I'm speaking to you now, they killed many of our soldiers while some were captured alive by the insurgents while we were withdrawing from the attack," the soldier said. Nigerian Army spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Onyechi Appolonia Anele referred questions to the country's Defence Headquarters, which did not immediately respond. A member of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), which is helping the military fight jihadists, said the militants took ammunition and burned the army's anti-mine resistance vehicles. The CJTF member, who also escaped, said the military was still searching for the missing soldiers and had yet to account for the number of dead troops. Security experts have attributed the resurgence to a lull in fighting between Boko Haram and Islamic State-backed ISWAP and the adoption of aerial technology by the groups. (Additional reporting by Camillus Eboh in Abuja; Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Leslie Adler)
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Yahoo
At least 22 killed in weekend attacks in Nigeria's northeast
By Ahmed Kingimi MAIDUGURI (Reuters) - Suspected Islamist miltants killed at least 22 people and wounded several others in two separate attacks over the weekend in northeastern Nigeria, residents and police said, the latest incidents in a region plagued by armed violence. Nigeria has been grappling with a long-running insurgency in its northeast region, primarily driven by the Islamist armed group Boko Haram and its offshoot, Islamic State West Africa Province. In Borno state, suspected militants ambushed and killed 10 civilians and two security officials in an attack on Saturday, said Mohammed Shehu Timta, emir of Borno's Gwoza area. Two others sustained injuries in the attack. In neighbouring Adamawa state, suspected Boko Haram militants had killed 10 people and wounded several others in an attack against Kopre village, also on Saturday, residents said. The attack targeted hunters and civilian joint task force (CJTF) members and Adamawa police have deployed additional officers to Kopre, which is in Hong district, police spokesperson Suleiman Yahaya Nguroje said on Monday. Earlier this month, Borno's governor acknowledged that Boko Haram had renewed attacks and kidnappings, reversing previous gains by security forces.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Yahoo
Residents say gunmen kill at least 20 people in mining village of Nigeria's Zamfara state
By Ahmed Kingimi MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Gunmen have killed at least 20 people in an attack in a gold mining village in Nigeria's northwestern Zamfara state, residents and Amnesty International said. Details on a possible motive for the attack were not immediately known but Zamfara state has grappled with kidnappings for ransom by armed gangs, who also target security forces. Zamfara police's spokesperson did not immediately respond to request for comment. Ismail Hassan, a resident, told Reuters gunmen in their hundreds opened fire on miners on Thursday afternoon and a firefight ensued with over 20 people dead in the mining village of Gobirawa Chali in the Maru local government area of Zamfara state. Another resident, Isah Ibrahim, said they had recovered 21 bodies following the attack and that several were injured. Amnesty International said in a statement the gunmen went house-to-house in Gobirawa Chali, killing over 20 people. Armed gangs of men have killed and kidnapped hundreds across northwest Nigeria over the past two years, typically operating from remote forests. The country's thinly stretched armed forces have struggled to secure the large, remote regions. Nigeria's military is stretched by insecurity across the country, including an Islamist insurgency in the northeast, deadly farmer-herder clashes in the central belt and clashes with separatist movements in the south.
