Boko Haram Hits Maiduguri Again

THE Boko Haram insurgents on Tuesday June 2, 2015 morning launched a renewed attack on Maiduguri, Borno State capital, just days after the military repelled an assault on the city.

The Islamists arrived in the Moronti area of the city by river, but were unable to advance further because of wide ditches and embankments dug by soldiers around the city limits. One of the residents, Isa Mala, who lives in Ajillari Cross, gave a graphic account of how the attack occurred to newsmen.
According to him, “They then began shelling Ajillari Cross, about three kilometres (two miles) away at about 12.45 am.

“There was no immediate word on damage or casualties. We were bombarded by RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) by Boko Haram from Moronti. We all left our homes for fear of being hit inside.
“It was dark so we could see the trajectory of the RPGs, which were red with heat.
“Soon afterwards, we saw troops in trucks moving towards Moronti and then a fighter jet also deployed not long afterwards.”
Another resident, Kyari Bulunkutu, who lives near Mala, corroborated, but added: “At about two in the morning (2.am), it was all over. But, I haven’t been able to see whether there was any damage or casualties.”
The insurgents launched a similar attack nearby early on Saturday, just hours after President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in and called the group “godless” and “mindless”.
Buhari has pledged to move the military’s counter-insurgency command centre to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, which has suffered the worst violence in the six-year insurgency.
The sect later carried out a suicide attack at a mosque in the city on Saturday, killing 26 people and injuring 28 others.