11 Killed In Yobe Terrorists Attack

“The insurgents looted provision stores before setting them on fire,” said resident Ari Sanda, adding the fighters seized a military armoured vehicle and destroyed three trucks.

Soon after they entered the town on Friday, a fighter jet deployed and engaged the militants who hid among the civilian population to evade aerial attack, the sources said.

On Saturday the jihadists came out of hiding and were joined by more of their comrades who arrived in the town in trucks, the residents said.

“They are still in the town, they are camping under trees, with some of them sleeping,” said Kyari.

Despite assurances they would not harm civilians, residents remained indoors while some tried to flee.

Troops have blocked the road out of town, preventing panicked residents from leaving, prompting some to trek into the bush while others took boats to the other side the river to escape, said residents.

“Our people want to leave town but soldiers are preventing them without chasing the insurgents out, leaving our people in danger,” Kachalla said.

Geidam, around 130 kms from Damaturu, has been repeatedly raided by the jihadists, including the military base where they killed troops and carted away weapons.

The jihadist conflict which started in 2009 has killed 36,000 people and displaced around two million from their homes in the northeast, according to the UN.

AFP