Africa Map

African Press Agency

African Press Agency Logo
   

 Home
 Country Profile
 Useful Links
 Contact us

Home

MILITANTS/NIGERIABack
[Published: Sunday March 16 2014]

Militants target Nigeria barracks
Maiduguri, Nigeria, 16 Mar - (ANA) - Suspected Islamist militants from Boko Haram have attacked an army barracks in the Nigerian city of Maiduguri.  The army said it had repelled the attack, inflicting heavy casualties. Eyewitnesses said there were deaths on both sides. The assault on the barracks was an attempt by the attackers to free colleagues held there, a military spokesman said. Militants suspected to be from Boko Haram have killed 500 people this year.
Residents said there was a heavy exchange of fire and explosions near Giwa barracks, as the military battled the insurgents. A military source told the AFP news agency that dozens of suspected militants had been freed - a report which defence ministry spokesman Chris Olukolade neither confirmed nor denied.
In a statement, the military said it believed the insurgents were trying "to boost their depleted stock of fighters" by freeing fellow militants.
"They set many houses on fire and killed innocent people," local resident Jamila Yusuf told Nigeria's Daily Trust newspaper. The air force was deployed and some suspected Boko Haram fighters were killed as they fled across a dry river bed behind the barracks, residents said. Maj-Gen Olukolade said the attackers had suffered "heavy casualties" in their attempt to free detainees. He said four soldiers had been wounded. Human rights groups say hundreds of suspects held in Giwa barracks have died and torture there has been rife. The army has always denied mistreating suspects. Eyewitnesses in Maiduguri have seen dead bodies of what appear to be both insurgents and Nigerian soldiers after the attack. Many civilians were also reportedly killed. It came as UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay was in the country. She told journalists that "many Nigerians openly acknowledge human rights violations have been committed by the security forces". "These have served to alienate communities, and create fertile ground for Boko Haram to cultivate new recruits," she said. There was also at least one explosion at Maiduguri university and houses were hit, residents say. It is not clear whether the blasts were set off by Boko Haram or whether they were the result of strikes by the air force. Boko Haram was founded in Maiduguri in 2009. It wants northern Nigeria to become an Islamic state. (ANA)

FA/ANA/16 March 2014------------

 


North South News website

Advertise banner

News icon EU/Kenya/Pesticides
News icon UN/Israel/Gza
News icon US/Israel/Gaza
News icon Pakistan/ISI Interference
News icon EU/North Africa
News icon Senegal/Elections
News icon Israel/Gaza Massacre
News icon Russia/NATO
News icon Gaza/Victims Number
News icon Kenya/Uganda

AFRICAN PRESS AGENCY Copyright © 2005 - 2007