Boko Haram Might Have Repeated Baga Massacre In Fotokol
While the key political figures in Nigeria are preparing for the February general elections, the Boko Haram insurgents attacked and ‘killed many’ in the Cameroon-Nigeria border town of Fotokol.
According to foreign media, the situation is extremely tense and confused in Fotokol.
It was reported earlier that Chadian troops have entered Nigeria and Cameroon to join the fight against Boko Haram after widespread criticism of the Nigerian army's failure to confront the terrorists.
READ ALSO: Why Did The World Ignore Baga Attacks?
Will Ross, the BBC correspondent who lives in Lagos and covers the most important news in Nigeria, tweeted on February 3 :
Meanwhile, the Nigerian army achieved some success in the fight with the insurgents.
The information that troops had surrounded 6000 insurgents in Borno State appeared the next day after the military finally stormed Boko Haram's notorious hideout, Sambisa forest, where the Chibok girls were reportedly being held.
The Cameroonian forces, backed by Chad, had repelled Boko Haram militants from Fotocol on Wednesday, after the fighters killed at least 70 people in a raid.
READ ALSO: Boko Haram Rampages Near Cameroonian Border
According to Cameroonian news, "the situation is extremely tense and confused in Fotokol.
“Houses are burned, they slaughtered dozens of people. Boko Haram controls the bridge over the river El Beid (Cameroon side), the main supply route for the Chadian troops. The Cameroonian army is preparing its offensive. Extremely tense situation, very tense. Heavy fighting is going on in the city of Fotokol since 4am between the Cameroonian army and Boko Haram fighters fleeing the surrounding Chadian troops at Gambarou and its surroundings.”
The casualty figure is even more dubious than in Baga massacre, where up to 2000 people were killed according to different sources.
Chief Bisong Etahoben, an investigative journalist, shared some shocking details via his twitter:
“Local media giving figures ranging between 400-2,000 civilians massacred. Real figure a mystery,” Chief Etahobe further tweeted.
Will Ross shared the map of clashes:
Many of the dead were found with their throats slit, according to Cameroon's L'Oeil du Sahel newspaper.
"Boko Haram entered Fotokol through Gambaru early in the morning and they killed more than 100 people in the mosque, in the houses and they burned property," Abatchou Abatcha, the civic leader, told Reuters news agency over the telephone on Wednesday.
READ ALSO: Nigerian Army Storm Sambisa Forest
He further said the insurgents had shot and killed one of his sons during the attack.
No official death toll was immediately available.
One more country, Uganda, has decided to arrange two battalions of troops to Nigeria for the war against Boko Haram insurgency in the North.
The disposition of soldiers is a support to the African Union (AU) Multi National Joint Task Force (MNJTF).
It was learnt that the contingent could be deployed in the next two weeks.
Chad's army said it had "completely wiped out" Boko Haram bases at Gambaru and Ngala in northern Nigeria on Tuesday, killing more than 200 militants.
Chad and Cameroon are positioning thousands of troops, and Niger has reinforced its border against Boko Haram.
Former colonial power France is also sending aircraft from its base in the Chadian capital to carry out surveillance missions in the border area.
Source: Legit.ng
