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Boko Haram Territorial Gains: Boko Haram Launches Final Assault to Capture Northeastern Part of Nigeria

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The Borno Elders Forum, a retired government officials association in the Nigerian State of Borno has said that Boko Haram militants have completely surrendered Maiduguri, the State capital of Borno State in a final assault to capture it.

The Borno Elders Forum represents influential people in the state and they include former government ministers and civil servants.

The northeastern parts of Nigeria have been highly restive beginning early this week. Local reporters say the militants are in firm control of the northeastern part of the country.

The only remaining city yet to fall into the hands of the militants is Maiduguri which has a population of some two million.

But local reporters say fear and panic have gripped the city with many residents preparing to flee as Boko Haram assault looks possible anytime. Boko Haram is believed to be 50km away from the city.

The Nigerian Security Network-a security think-tank group, has said that Boko Haram has made territorial gains in recent months, raising fears that the country could disintegrate like Syria and Iraq, where the Islamic State (IS) fighters have declared an Islamic caliphate.

Boko Haram has already declared an Islamic Caliphate in territories it has captured in the northeast and has congratulated the Islamic State for holding onto territories it has capture in Iraq and Syria.

The Borno Elders Forum cautioned the military to fortify the city to prevent the militants from attacking it from all directions. They also accused the Nigerian central government of failing to protect them from Boko Haram.

“The insurgents have surrounded Maiduguri and are nursing the ambition of attacking the city from all directions; the insurgents have rendered impassable almost all the roads leading to Maiduguri”.

“We are convinced that the Federal Government of Nigeria has not shown sufficient political will to fight Boko Haram and rescue us from the clutches of the insurgents which may ultimately lead to the total annihilation of the inhabitants of Borno,” the group said.

In Adamawa State, the militants have annexed many towns and the Nigerian military have been bombing their positions. But residents say the airstrikes are worsening the situation as it has driven them out of their homes.

Many people in the northeast are trooping to Maiduguri, raising the humanitarian crisis in the city sharply this week. Boko Haram was founded in the city of Maiduguri in 2002.

Political commentators say the militants have changed tactics in recent days. They are capturing towns rather than carrying out hit-and-run attacks as they used to do in the past.

West African Defense Ministers met in the Ghanaian capital, Accra on Wednesday to find solution to the Boko Haram advances but nothing concrete was taken at the meeting.

Boko Haram five-year insurgency has intensified in recent months despite the deployment of thousands of extra troops to the worst-affected areas in the northeast by the Nigerian government.

The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre and the Norwegian Refugee Council has said that more than 3,300 people have been killed by Boko Haram this year alone. Political analysts say this is the worse year for Nigeria since Boko Haram began its armed insurgency in 2009.

Issaka Adams / NationalTurk Africa News

Writer’s Email Address: Adamsisska@googlemail.com

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