Not fewer than 100 residents of Gwoza village in Borno State, North Eastern Nigeria were on Wednesday feared killed by the suspected members of the dreaded Boko Haram. While the invasion lasted, many natives of the community fled to the neighbouring villages. But military authorities said they are working hard to dislodge the terrorists. The whereabouts of the Emir of Gwoza is unknown as he was feared to have been abducted by the terrorists.
“Dozens of our people have been killed by the attackers, some were slaughtered and many others shot with guns,” a resident said.
The Emir of the community was reportedly attacked by the insurgents in May this year, while his son and successor, Mohammad Idrissa Timta, was declared missing after the Wednesday invasion.
A security source also revealed that the insurgents deceived the operatives to another direction – about 70 miles to the neighbouring Damboa town, before storming the village.
Meanwhile Special Forces in the ongoing counter-terrorism campaign have cleared Delwa, Mustafari, Manga, Wanga and Damboa of terrorists who have been rampaging in the communities. The special operation which began early in the week is meant to restore law and order to the area and apprehend all terrorists who have been operating in the locality. The operation which has so far lasted 40 hours has dove-tailed into the mop up phase during which the remnants of insurgents are being cleared from the communities. The mop up phase will also ascertain the casualties as additional efforts are also been made to ensure the protection of innocent civilians during the operation, a statement released by the military said.
