Suspected ISWAP terrorists kill civilians, troops in northeast Nigeria

Unidentified gunmen attacked an army base and a town in northeast Nigeria during the night from Friday to Saturday (18-19 November), killing nine soldiers, two policemen and scores of civilians in the latest violence in the region.

Riding in trucks fitted with machine guns, the fighters, suspected to be members of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), stormed the town of Malam Fatori in northeast Nigeria, security sources and residents have said. “ISWAP terrorists attacked Malam Fatori and caused huge destruction which we are working to quantify,” a military officer told the media. “They attacked the military base and engaged troops in a fight while a second group went on a killing spree and arson in the town,” said the officer who asked not to be identified. It is not yet clear exactly how many people were killed because they are reported to have fled the town and are now gradually returning to assess the damage.

According to an intelligence officer, the attackers came from nearby Kamuya village. Malam Fatori on the fringes of Lake Chad was seized by Boko Haram jihadis in 2014 but clawed back by the military in 2015. A base was established in the town to repel attacks from ISWAP, which split from Boko Haram in 2016 and turned Lake Chad into a bastion.

In March, thousands of people who fled to Maiduguri and into neighboring Niger were returned to Malam Fatori on Borno state government orders, despite concern by aid agencies. The conflict, which broke out in 2009 has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced around 2 million. The violence has spilled into neighboring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military force to fight the insurgents.