Boko Haram insurgents on Thursday, August 28, 2014 attacked Dikwa and Marte towns in Borno state with the Emir of Dikwa narrowly escaped death as he fled to the state capital, Maiduguri.
According to an unnamed close aide of the emir who spoke to Sahara reporters said the insurgents who were heavily armed stormed both towns using Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV) and motorcycles.
The aide went on to state that the residents of the towns on sighting the invaders who arrived chanting “Allah is great”, sought refuge in nearby bushes including the emir of Dikwa, Muhammad Masta Ibn El Kanemi, who was later seen in Maiduguri on Friday, August 29, 2014.
Sahara Reporters reports:
Another source said the insurgents later cruised into the town of Marte, walking freely within the town without any challenge from Nigerian soldiers. “They (the militants) told us that they didn’t come here for us, but that they were looking for soldiers among us,” said our source, a resident of Marte.
Dikwa is about 80 kilometers from the Borno State capital of Maiduguri along Gamboru-Ngala axis.
The Islamist insurgents have intensified their attacks in Adamawa and Borno states where at least 400,000 people have been displaced from their former homes and locations. More than 10,000 of the displaced people have taken refuge in the neighboring West African country of Cameroon.
