The Islamic militants, Boko Haram have
launched an attack on Rann in Kalabalge Local Government Area of Borno
state, Thursday night, while all Security Service chiefs were in the
state.
Many persons were feared killed including military officers.
Residents of Rann, who are at the IDP camps told newsmen on Friday
that, the attack on Thursday night at the military location in Rann left
many casualties.
An audio distress message sent out by a woman working for an
international humanitarian organization in the town, confirmed that the
village was attacked by terrorists.
There is no telephone service in Rann, but humanitarian workers
depend on wifi services provided by their employers to communicate with
loved ones via social media platforms that support video or voice calls.
The said lady had a distressing chat with her male friend (name withheld) between the hours of 8pm and 9pm.
In her voice message, she informed her friend in Maiduguri that they
were under attack and that they had to run to the nearby military base
for protection.
Her last voice chat indicated the attackers eventually stormed the
military base where her and others were taking refuge and that she was
about to be harmed.
Her last message in Hausa was “oh my God they are now coming in, they are going to kill me…”
A security personnel who asked not to be named confirmed to newsmen that the attack started at about 7pm.
“We got the report that Rann was being attacked at about 7pm and that
many persons may have been affected but no one can clearly say the
number of dead casualty,” the source said.
“We have to wait till morning before one could tell exactly what happened there.”
According to witnesses, the military officials at the camp in Rann seem
to be demoralised with the recent attack as officers were seen
discussing the unfortunate incident.
“We heard that, they have requested for reenforcement from Ngala, but
what we don’t know is whether the reenforcement have arrived.” A camp
official in Rann said. “Although the situation is calm now, we were told
this morning that, they are waiting for the Nigerian Airforce
Helicopters to come and carry the wounded and dead. It is very sad, I
pity our soldiers,” said a source.
Another source in Rann told newsmen that, many soldiers were killed in the attack, which occurred around 7:30pm on Thursday.
Rann, a difficult-to-access community about 150km West of Maiduguri,
is the Borno village where an air force jet deployed under Operation
Lafiya Dole dropped bombs in error on an IDP camp.
Nearly 200 persons died in that unfortunate January 2017 incident.
There was no official statement from the military yet on this attack as service chief are still in town.
It could be recalled that, the Nigerian military said, it has
technically defeated Boko Haram, however, recent happenings brought
fresh doubt on the military’s claim or the sincerity of the defeat.