B/Haram besieges, recruits in Borno village

Boko Haram militants Wednesday night surrounded a village in Magumeri LGA of Borno State, recruiting youths for combat operations, fleeing residents told Daily Trust yesterday.
Baa Usman, 45, who arrived Maiduguri yesterday, told our correspondent that when they invaded Ngubala village under Bamma district in Magumeri LGA, the militants surrounded the area, going round houses and  asking residents to gather in a location.
“When everybody was assembled in one place, the gunmen began selecting some to sit aside for a preaching session while allowing others, including women to go back home,” he said. He added that the gunmen were seen in the village market on Sunday, the market day, though they did not harm anyone but bought foodstuff and left immediately.
“The gunmen had been sighted moving around villages of Magumeri LGA, though they don’t touch anyone but sometimes seize cattle and food items. Troops are only present in Magumeri town, not in the surrounding villages where the gunmen are occupying,” Usman said.
Another set of gunmen also on Wednesday attacked Mailari village of Konduga LGA, killing five residents and leaving scores injured, a source said. The source added that though details were still sketchy, the injured were taken to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.