Suspected jihadists attacked a military base in northeastern Borno state on Wednesday, killing four police officers and two members of the civilian militia, security sources said.
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The insurgents arrived at dawn in militarized trucks and carried out a raid on the base of the town of Damboa, on the border with the Sambisa forest, lair of fighters loyal to the Boko Haram faction led by Abubakar Shekau .
"We have lost four police officers and two militiamen," - fighting alongside the Nigerian military in the fight against jihadists-, said a military officer, on condition of anonymity. The death toll was confirmed by the head of the civilian militias, Ibrahim Liman.
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A Damboa resident, Modu Malari, said the army had pushed the insurgents out of the city after two hours of fighting in which the jihadists used heavy weapons and rockets. According to him, around 50 residents were injured by the gunfire.
The conflict between the Nigerian armed forces and Boko Haram has left some 35,000 people dead since 2009 and nearly two million people still cannot return to their homes, according to the UN. It has spread to neighboring Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
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