ISWAP opens fire on Boko Haram fighters fleeing military onslaught

Some Boko Haram fighters who were escaping the military bombardment in Borno State have been attacked by their Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) rivals.

The military has increased its raid against insurgents on the fringes of Lake Chad.

• Military disrupts Boko Haram funeral in Borno, bombs many fighters
• 49 killed as Super Tucano bombs Boko Haram terrorists in Sambisa

Daily Trust had earlier reported how over 200 Boko Haram fighters and their commanders were killed in a military onslaught and how floods sacked some insurgents, forcing them to relocate to east of Konduga Local Government Area of Borno state.

Some of the escapees had sought refuge in Cina village, Bama Local Government Area of the state but they were attacked, according to sources.

Corroborating the account, Zagazola Makama, a counter insurgency expert and security analyst in the Lake Chad, said the military attacks forced hundreds of terrorists and their families to desert their camps to seek safe havens in other locations.

“Unfortunately for the Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād, an Islamic terrorist groups and their families, they were attacked by their rivals, the ISWAP who occupied Cingori and Yuwe,” a source said.

The source told Daily Trust that on sighting the Boko Haram terrorists led by two commanders, ISWAP fighters started shooting at them.

“They were in their hundreds; many of them without clothes or shoes. Only few of them were holding arms. They had only four motorcycles, with two conveying their commanders. They looked very tired; some had their clothes soaked by rain.

“When the ISWAP fighters saw that there were women and children in their midst, they decided to allow Boko Haram continue their journey. Shortly after they were given the chance, they moved toward the axis of Bulabulin,” the source added.

In recent weeks the Troops Of 199 Special Forces Battalion, 222 Battalion, Civilian Joint Task Force in close coordination with the Air Task Force Operation, Hadin Kai, have killed at least 250 insurgents.