Most residents of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital had a
sleepless night as suspected Boko Haram insurgents freely fired dozens of
arsenals into residential areas using rocket propelled grenades (RPGs).
Many civilians are feared killed by the RPG bombs that
landed and destroyed houses of civilians, witnesses said. Thunderous sound of
blasts began around 12.25am and went on till around 3.30 in the morning. This made
it difficult for people, especially those living in the outskirts of Maiduguri
to sleep.
Residents, including those that were directly threatened by
the onslaught could not flee because of the existing curfew imposed on Maiduguri.
Sources said the terrorists had wanted to enter Maiduguri
through the bushes around Damboa in the south-western part of the state capital
but could not succeed. They therefore promptly deployed RPGs.
About seven people were killed by one of the RPG bombs at
Dala suburb, behind Gomari area, along Maiduguri-Damaturu road, witness Khalil
Ahmad said.
A top security source said "The terrorists wanted to
enter Maiduguri through Dala Alamdari because there was no way they could come
in through any of the recognized highways. And the trenches that we dug around
the whole of Maiduguri also served as serious impediment for them to move with
their vehicles and arms. They therefore tiptoed from the bushes and fired
several RPG bombs into residential areas. We confronted them frontally for over
three hours and all is now well.
No comments:
Post a Comment