Residents in the remote town of Mainok in northeastern Nigeria have been fleeing violence by Boko Haram militants on the town over the weekend.

Mainok is located some 56 km away from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State which has been the epicenter for Boko Haram militants in recent months.

The militants stormed the town’s market on Friday afternoon, looting food and shooting indiscriminately at civilians.

Soldiers beings stationed at the market to protect civilians in case of such attacks were said to have fled the market when the militants arrived.

Some of those running for safety during the attack were said to have been killed after being hit by cars speeding away from the area.

The death toll is still not yet clear but some residents who escaped the attack told local reporters that more than 50 people might have been killed in the attack.

But reinforcement team from the Nigerian army which was dispatched to the area is still fighting the militants for control of the town. There was fighting on Saturday and Sunday, displacing many residents.

Haram has consolidated its recent campaign of annexing territory for its Islamic Caliphate State. The State of Borno is firmly under its control. All government troops’ station in the area has pulled out, leaving the area to the mercy of the militants according to local reports. Boko Haram has also taken some towns in the State of Adamawa as well.

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 New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said that Boko Haram has killed more than 3,000 civilians this year alone.

Political analysts say this year is the worse year for Nigeria since Boko Haram began its armed insurgency in 2009.

Boko Haram is a Hausa language which translates to mean “Western education is forbidden” and it sees schools and colleges as a symbol of Western culture in Nigeria. It has vowed to eradicate such institutions and create an Islamic state in the north of the country.

Boko Haram abducted more than 200 schoolgirls in the town of Chibok in the state of Borno in April which sparked an international outrage.

An international rescue operation is still being carried out by the US and its allies to be able to locate and free the abducted schoolgirls.

Issaka Adams / NationalTurk Africa News

Writer’s Email Address: Adamsisska@googlemail.com

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