killed 24 people in two separate
attacks, eyewitnesses said on
November 30, 2013, Saturday,
just as the military vowed to
ramp up security over
Christmas.
Seven fishermen were ambushed
and killed in the first attack in Baga,
a fishing community on Lake Chad
in Borno state, while seventeen
people died in a separate attack on
the night from Thursday to Friday
(Nov.27-28), when gunmen in pick-
up trucks torched more than 100
shops and vehicles in the Sabon
Gari area of the Damboa district, 90
kilometres from the capital of Borno
state, Maiduguri.
There was no immediate
confirmation of either attack from
the military or local authorities.
However, the following details
emerged.
Attack in Baga
“They killed seven fishermen,
injured 15 others and burnt some
local boats and nets used for
catching fish,” a fisherman, Ibrahim
Gambo, said in Maiduguri, where he
had brought his brother for
treatment.
“It was a reprisal by insurgents
because the soldiers have two
weeks ago clamped down on them,”
added another fisherman, Sheriff
Bababa.
Attack in the Sabon Gari Area of
the Damboa District
Insurgents suspected to be
members of the Boko Haram
Islamic sect invaded Sabon Gari
village of Damboa local government
area of Borno State and killed 17
residents and burnt down over 100
houses, shops, motorcycles and
vehicles.
The Sabon Gari Main Market was
also burnt down and property worth
millions of naira destroyed. A report
claims that the villagers killed two
of the attackers with the assistance
of some vigilante groups, while
three others who fled to Damboa
town were arrested.
A resident who did not want his
name mentioned told that the
terrorists invaded the community at
11.35 p.m. using several
motorcycles and Hilux Toyota
vehicles, and fired gunshots on
fleeing residents, set houses, shops
and vehicles ablaze. The attackers
were chanting “Allahu Akbar” (God
is great) as they arrived.
The violence lasted until about 4.00
a.m.
“As I am talking to you, I am
parking out of this village with my
family. I lost one of my uncles in
the incident, and I have no reason
to stay in this place again. The
attackers said they will still come
back to wipe out everybody next
week,” one of the witnesses
concluded.
