By Kabiru R. Anwar And Ibrahim Kabiru SuleYola/Abuja — Boko Haram insurgents appeared to have taken Michika, one of the major towns in the northern part of Adamawa State, yesterday.
They entered the town in the morning and took over many places apparently when security personnel reportedly fled on seeing the Boko Haram convoys.
Residents who fled the violence said well-armed militants are now patrolling the streets of the town. Some of them are reported to have set up base at the emir's palace.
The attack on Michika came two days after Boko Haram militants captured neighbouring Gulak, headquarters of Madagali Local Government Area.
A resident of Michika, who fled to the state capital Yola, said the insurgents slaughtered many young people and shot the elderly at close range.
"They killed several of my friends. They rounded dozens of young people, lay them on the ground and slit their throats while elderly people were shot at close range," he said.
Chairman of Michika Local Government Area, Vandi Pavanza, confirmed the attack, saying the town was under siege as at yesterday and residents were fleeing to escape from the assailants. He added that soldiers were still fighting to repel the attack.
"The situation is beyond our control; we need prayers to overcome this problem. Honestly I have never seen something like this but military are currently doing their best to subdue the attackers," Pavanza told Daily Trust.
Another resident told the BBC Hausa: "We were chatting with friends in front of our houses when we suddenly heard gunshots. We heard more shots for the second time, and then for the third time. We then started running helter-skelter.
"We run with our women and children into the bush. We put them in front of us, and we followed them from behind. I am now in the middle of the bush which I have never been to before in my life.
"Me and my friends are running without clothes. The situation was very bad. Despite the large population of Michika, you hardly find people now, because people have dispersed. Only God knows what happens to us next."
The resident added that the insurgents met no security personnel in the town.
"There was not a single security personnel in the town: no army, no vigilantes. It is God who saved us out from the town and into the bush," he said.
Other residents of Michika reported seeing military jets hovering over the town soon after the insurgents struck.
"Boko Haram members are presently hiding around emir's palace since the arrival of a war plane around 10.50am. But the plane has remained in Hausari quarters, not where they converged," one man said.
The takeover of Michika sparked panic in Mubi, which is the second largest town in Adamawa State, as residents began fleeing for fear of Boko Haram.
Pandemonium has also been reported in Uba and Mararaba Mubi. Residents of these towns and villages, including thousands of displaced people from Gwoza, Izge, Damboa, Madagali and Gulak, have begun fleeing to safer areas.
A health worker in Mubi, Abubakar Usman, said many residents were moving out to remote villages and other settlements to the south, in the direction of the state capital of Yola. But Daily Trust learnt that soldiers have mounted road blocks around Mubi, to stave off any attack on the town.
The Army Public Relations Officer of the 23 Armoured Brigade in Yola, Capt. Jafaru Nuhu, could not be reached for comments.
No comments:
Post a Comment