Hundreds of repentant jihadists of Boko Haram rioted Wednesday (November 17th) in a detention camp in northeastern Nigeria, demanding to slaughter their cows themselves, security sources told AFP.
About 250 Boko Haram members, including women and children, protested violently in Gidan Taki, on the outskirts of Maiduguri, threatening to leave the camp if their demand was not met, according to security sources and residents.
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In response, residents of neighboring neighborhoods besieged the camp, brandishing machetes, knives and clubs, threatening to kill anyone who left the area.
"
The Boko Haram detainees went on a rampage this morning, they smashed doors and windows and even tried to leave the camp,
" Konto Garga, member of an anti-jihadist militia allied with the United Nations, told AFP. 'army.
"
The residents of the neighborhood arrived with locally made weapons and swore to kill all the demonstrators who left the camp,
" said the militiaman, Konto Garga.
"
The population still perceives them as a threat
."
Thousands of Boko Haram fighters surrendered
According to the Nigerian military, thousands of Boko Haram fighters and their family members have surrendered after the death in May of their leader, Abubakar Shekau, who blew himself up while under siege by a rival faction.
The protesters, detained in the camp since August, asked the authorities to give them the cow that is provided to them daily, so that they slaughter it themselves instead of receiving the meat from the slaughterhouse. indicated safe sources.
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The ex-combatants "
always regard anyone who is not in their folds as an infidel, which is why they want to be allowed to slaughter their cows themselves,
" said Usman Bunu, a resident of Gidan Taki. "
If they had left the camp, we would not have hesitated to finish them all because we know how dangerous they are
", he added, specifying that the armed intervention of the inhabitants and militiamen had made it possible to restore calm.
This incident illustrates the delicate task of the authorities to reintegrate combatants who have visited communities traumatized by violence (attacks, attacks and kidnappings) since the start of the jihadist insurgency 12 years ago.
The army presents the surrender of Boko Haram fighters as a success supposed to reintegrate them and find a solution to the conflict, but this strategy remains unpopular in the northeast of the country.