LAGOS
A cloud of uncertainty hung over Bama town in Nigeria's northeastern Borno State on Tuesday following deadly clashes between army troops and Boko Haram militants.
"The status of Bama is not clear for now," a top security official told Anadolu Agency, requesting anonymity.
"Troops are still battling them," he added.
Boko Haram militants descended on the town on Monday morning, but met fierce resistance from army forces.
Locals said the insurgents had launched an initial attack on Bama last Sunday, but had been repelled by troops who killed several of them, while others had fled.
"But the terrorists were back in full force early Monday in huge numbers and [with] heavy weapons," Uba Musa, a Bama resident, told AA by phone.
"We were told to move out by the soldiers for fear of too many deaths of civilians," he said.
"We are now in Maiduguri; we came in several thousands, including women, children and able-bodied men," added Musa.
"We had to desert our land because of these terrorists. It was a bad day for everyone," he lamented.
Musa said there had been several deaths among civilians and a number among the militants.
"We are definitely talking about more than 70 casualties [overall]," he said.
He could not say whether or not the town, one of the most populated in Borno, had fallen to Boko Haram.
The Nigerian military has yet to provide clarification regarding the situation in Bama.
On Twitter, defense spokesman Chris Olukolade said troops were battling militants in Bama, but gave no further information.
"Bama attack is being repelled. We cannot state casualty situation/figures now," he said late Monday.
"Everything necessary will be done to contain the terrorists," Olukolade added.
On Tuesday morning, he denied that any injured soldiers had been turned away from any military medical facilities.
At 8:01am, Olukolade tweeted the word "victory," but it was not immediately clear if he was referring to the situation in Bama.
Analysts say Boko Haram's capture of Bama would be very dangerous because of the town's proximity to Maiduguri, provincial capital of Borno State.
"It is just about 60km to Maiduguri; some escapees have spoken about militants vowing to march on Maiduguri sooner or later," Neerom Abba, a military analyst at Ado Bayero University, told AA.
"This is why this battle [for Bama] is crucial," he said.
The military has thwarted earlier Boko Haram attempts to capture the flashpoint town.
Militants attempted to take Bama in 2013 and again in February of this year. Both attempts were thwarted by the army, however, leaving casualties on both sides.
Boko Haram has already overrun the towns of Gamboru Ngala, Dikwa and Gwoza, all in Borno; Buni Yadi in neighboring Yobe State; and Madagali in Adamawa State.
The group's elusive leader, Abubakar Shekau, recently declared all territories under Boko Haram control to be part of an "Islamic caliphate" in northern Nigeria.
The Nigerian military, for its part, has dismissed Boko Haram's claims, insisting that no part of the country had – or would be – conceded to the militant group.
Since May of last year, the three states – Borno, Yobe and Adamawa – have all remained in a state of emergency, imposed by the government with the stated aim of curbing the Boko Haram "menace."
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