Suspected jihadists from the Islamic State in West Africa (Iswap) group invaded a military base in northeastern Nigeria, before being bombarded by the air force, which said on Monday it had killed
" key commanders ”
of the group.
Insurgents from Iswap arrived in twelve pick-ups in the town of Dikwa, Borno State, and pushed back the troops stationed in this garrison town after long fighting.
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"The 'terrorists' attacked the city in large numbers while the populations were breaking the Ramadan fast,"
the Nigerian army said in a statement, through its spokesman Brigadier General Mohammed Yerima.
"The troops withdrew to the nearby town of Gulumba Gana to allow deployment by air,"
we read. On Monday, after intensive bombing, the Nigerian army claimed to have regained control of Dikwa and killed some of
"key members"
of the jihadist group.
"The 'terrorists' attacked the city from two sides, with light vehicles armed with machine guns,"
a soldier told AFP on condition of anonymity. The jihadists took control of the city, as residents fled across fields, a witness reported.
"Several of them left for Ajiri, 20 kilometers away while others remained hidden in the thickets,"
said the same source.
"One of the commanders of Iswap, Abba Moundou was killed, as well as Elhajji Gana and Abou Ousman in the bombings",
she confirmed. Dikwa, 90 kilometers from the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, is home to more than 130,000 people, more than half of whom are internally displaced by conflict. All of them depend almost on humanitarian aid and survive in extremely precarious conditions.
The city is regularly attacked and on March 1, the jihadists carried out a very violent attack on the city and particularly on United Nations facilities, disrupting aid and food distributions. Last week, Iswap carried out deadly and repeated attacks on Damasak, further north, on the Nigeria-Niger border, forcing all aid workers to leave the city and forcing more than 65,000 people to flee. Since the rebellion of the radical Islamist group Boko Haram began in 2009 in northeast Nigeria, the conflict has left nearly 36,000 dead and two million displaced. In 2016, the group split, with on one side the historical faction and on the other Iswap, recognized by the Islamic State (IS) organization. President Muhammadu Buhari, 78,had promised to put an end to the jihadist rebellion, but he is currently criticized, facing an alarming security situation across the country.