At least 6,900 people have fled
Bama, a town in Borno State that Nigerian soldiers liberated nearly a
week ago from Islamist insurgent group, Boko Haram.
Over 6,900 civilians from Bama
have moved to Maiduguri. The state government facilitated their
evacuation and movement to Maiduguri. This [evacuation] has been
occurring since last weekend,” said an official of the Borno State
government. He added that two camps had been created for the evacuees to
enable soldiers to interrogate them before their reintegration back to
their original homes. The official stated that the interrogations are
part of a process of gathering intelligence about the insurgents and
their atrocities in the areas they seized last year.
An official of the National
Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said their officers have visited the
camps numerous times to determine the number of refugees, assess their
needs, and make arrangements to provide immediately needed first aid and
other materials.
A military source said Nigerian
troops still had a lot of work to do before the recently recaptured town
of Bama would be ready and fit for habitation. “Our engineers are
there. We are yet to complete the mop up operation. And we are still
removing hundreds of corpses that litter the streets of Bama and some
wells,” said the source.
Bama is the second largest town
in Borno State. Located in the central part of the state, the town is
about 38 miles from the state capital of Maiduguri. Boko Haram had
captured the town in September 2014. Some of the residents who arrived
in Maiduguri earlier this week recounted their horrific experiences
under Boko Haram for six months.
“We thank God for sparing some of
us,” said one evacuated resident, a widow who gave her name as Kulu
Mali. She added, “There was no water, no hospital, no light. Even to get
one meal in a day was a problem. Most of our husbands have been killed,
especially strong ones and youths. We were kept in Boko Haram prison
and many of us were locked in different rooms.”
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