Boko Haram fighters have killed killed at least 10 people as they tried to advance onto a town near the Borno State capital of Maiduguri in Nigeria, just hours after President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in.
Al Jazeera’s sources in the area reported the killings by the fighters who fired rocket-propelled grenades. Another 10 people were reportedly injured.
Hundreds of gunmen are reported to have advanced to Ajilari-Cross, just south of Maiduguri early on Saturday morning, but were repelled by the military.
The incident occurred just hours after Buhari’s inauguration ceremony was held in Abuja. It was the first peaceful, democratic transfer of power in Nigeria since its independence.
At the ceremony, the new leader promised a crackdown on the fighters would be a top priority, saying he wants to tackle Boko Haram “head on”. Buhari also ordered the operational command over the fight against the group be relocated from Abuja to Borno State.
Borno has borne the brunt of many of the recent attacks by the armed group. The violence has forced tens of thousands of people from their homes.
Boko Haram is a radical armed group fighting against western influence. The name loosely translates as ‘western education is forbidden’. It was behind the kidnapping of more than 200 girls from their school in Chibok in April last year. Most of the girls are still missing.
President Buhari said on Friday, “We cannot claim to have defeated Boko Haram without rescuing the Chibok girls”.
The suicide bombings and armed attacks by the group has killed more than 13,000 people and displaced an estimated 1.5 million since 2009.
By Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera’s sources in the area reported the killings by the fighters who fired rocket-propelled grenades. Another 10 people were reportedly injured.
Hundreds of gunmen are reported to have advanced to Ajilari-Cross, just south of Maiduguri early on Saturday morning, but were repelled by the military.
The incident occurred just hours after Buhari’s inauguration ceremony was held in Abuja. It was the first peaceful, democratic transfer of power in Nigeria since its independence.
At the ceremony, the new leader promised a crackdown on the fighters would be a top priority, saying he wants to tackle Boko Haram “head on”. Buhari also ordered the operational command over the fight against the group be relocated from Abuja to Borno State.
Borno has borne the brunt of many of the recent attacks by the armed group. The violence has forced tens of thousands of people from their homes.
Boko Haram is a radical armed group fighting against western influence. The name loosely translates as ‘western education is forbidden’. It was behind the kidnapping of more than 200 girls from their school in Chibok in April last year. Most of the girls are still missing.
President Buhari said on Friday, “We cannot claim to have defeated Boko Haram without rescuing the Chibok girls”.
The suicide bombings and armed attacks by the group has killed more than 13,000 people and displaced an estimated 1.5 million since 2009.
By Al Jazeera