Suspected Boko Haram insurgents attacked Yamtake, a recently resettled community in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State, on Thursday night, killing two soldiers and an undisclosed number of civilians.
The attack, which occurred around 11:15pm, targeted a local military formation before reinforcements could arrive.
A military source said the damage had already been done by the time help came from Gwoza town.
Senator Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South) confirmed the incident, expressing sadness over the loss of lives.
“It is very sad that two soldiers paid the supreme price, while an unspecified number of innocent civilians were among the casualties,” he said.
Yamtake is one of the communities where Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) were recently resettled by the Borno State Government.
Senator Ndume commended the efforts of Brig. Gen. Nasir Abdullahi and his troops in preventing further attacks. He revealed that the insurgents attempted to infiltrate Gwoza town but were repelled by troops.
He renewed his call for the federal government to support the military with advanced Technology, Equipment, Arms, Ammunition, and Motivation (TEAAM) and also advocated for the establishment of an Armed Community Defence system to back the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) and local vigilantes.
“Let me, therefore, use this opportunity to advocate for the setting up of Armed Community Defence to complement the efforts of the military. This is because men of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), hunters and vigilantes have been doing their best, but they have limitations, as they only carry dane guns, sticks, which they found it very difficult to confront the terrorists,” he said.
This latest assault is part of a string of deadly attacks in Borno in recent months. On April 12, eight passengers were killed in a landmine explosion along the Damboa-Maiduguri Highway.
