A vigilante group made up of residents of Kalabalge, a town in the north
of Borno State, on Wednesday mounted a fierce resistance to a siege by members
of Boko Haram, inflicting severe casualties on militants from the fringe
Islamist sect. This daring move SHOWBIZPLUSng gathered has been applauded by
leaders of the community, who promised to ensure that their village remains
safe and free from constant attacks from the terrorists.
“We killed many of them (Boko Haram members) yesterday (Wednesday),” one
of the residents of the town who took part in the battle told a correspondent
of SaharaReporters.
However, local officials who spoke to Al Jazeera said 41 insurgents were
killed by the villagers
Several other residents disclosed that the members of the community had
received advance information that Boko Haram’s death squads were on their way
to wreak havoc in the community. “Once we got the information, we gathered many
of our young men and positioned ourselves in surrounding bushes and forests. We
were armed with bows and arrows, Dane guns and pump action rifles,” said one
source.
The sources added that some 400 Boko Haram militants wearing army
uniforms arrived in Kalabalge around 5 a.m. in two armoured tanks, eight Hilux
pick-up vehicles, and seven sports utility vehicles (SUVS), all painted in
Nigerian army colours according to eyewitnesses.
The sectarian terrorists however received the shock of their lives from the
ambush of the community’s vigilantes. The Boko Haram attackers were overwhelmed
by the residents’ surprise firepower.
A security agent confirmed to SaharaReporters that the villagers killed
several of the attackers and captured many of them, even though the rest of the
terrorists scampered off into the bush and forests, some of them with injuries.
The security source disclosed that some village vigilantes lost their lives
while a few sustained gunshot wounds.
Kalabalge community is a few kilometers from Gamboru-Ngala where sect
members killed at least 300 people last week Tuesday.
Our security source said Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State is
expected to visit Kalabalge later this week.
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