MAIDUGURI, Nigeria
Boko Haram militants have attacked the recently liberated northeastern border town of Gamboru, killing at least 11 people who had returned to their homes.
"I heard some Boko Haram [militants] returned to Gamboru and attacked the place," a military source told The Anadolu Agency on Thursday on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to journalists.
He said the insurgents had killed 11 people who had just returned from Fotokol, a neighboring Cameroonian town about 3km away.
Umara Sherriff, one of the survivors, said he had returned to Gamboru from Fotokol on Tuesday before Boko Haram attacked the area on Wednesday.
"We heard gunshots. Everybody around was jittery," he told AA by phone.
He said Cameroonian troops had engaged the insurgents.
"We saw Cameroonian soldiers moving into Gamboru again," Umara added. "Some soldiers told me later the insurgents were chased out, though they had already killed 11 people."
Aji Kaomi, another Gamboru resident, said people had been scared yesterday when they heard gunshots.
"Soldiers moved in immediately. After one hour, everywhere was calm again, but they came back and told us that Boko Haram had killed people again," he told AA by phone.
The twin towns of Gamboru and Ngala were both liberated by Chadian troops last month – nearly six months after they were taken by Boko Haram.
Nigeria is fighting a six-year Boko Haram insurgency that has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced over one million people from the northeastern region, where the militants have been the most ruthless.
Last year, Boko Haram went from attacking communities and planting bombs to capturing entire towns.
In mid-2014, the group declared a self-styled "Islamic caliphate" in areas seized in the northeastern Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.
But the Nigerian military – aided by new weapons and backed by troops from neighboring Chad, Cameroon and Niger – has since recaptured at least 20 of the 25 local government areas earlier captured by Boko Haram.
