Boko Haram: Borno govt sends militia to protect soldiers
Government of Borno state is sending some 300 militia to help out the military after Boko Haram Islamist insurgents killed at least eight soldiers during an attack.
Governor Babagana Zulum who convened a security meeting in Maiduguri on Tuesday ordered members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) to help the military in Malam Fatori after of the state where Boko Haram insurgents had attacked security forces.
Security sources are quoted by agency sources as saying that the attack which also claimed two policemen and left some 25 soldiers and residents injured happened in Malam Fatori town weekend.
ISWAP confirmed the attack in a post on telegram on Wednesday, boasting that the death toll was 20 soldiers and that it had seized weapons and ammunition.
“The Borno state government in collaboration with the military has requested to involve 300 members of (CJTF) to join the military in the clearance operation in Malam Fatori,” agency sources reported on Wednesday.
The military retook Malam Fatori in 2015 after it was overrun by the insurgents in 2014.
In May this year, the Borno state government said the town was safe enough for internally displaced persons to return, and resettled some families.
Aid groups, however, say the town remains unsafe.