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| AFP |
Hundreds of people from four villages near the devastated Nigerian town of Baga have been forced to flee after a warning from Boko Haram militants, witnesses and community leaders said Tuesday.
News of the exodus from Kekenu, Budur, Yoyo and Mile 90 villages came as Niger hosted a meeting on how to fight the rebels as concern mounted at the threat to regional security.
Boko Haram fighters attacked Baga on January 3, looting and burning down homes and businesses in the town and at least 16 surrounding villages on the shores of Lake Chad.
Hundreds of people, if not more, are feared to have been killed, although there is no official confirmation of the toll as the town is still in rebel hands, residents said.
Security analysts said the attack, in which a regional military base was captured, potentially puts the group in a strong strategic position to strike southwards and launch cross-border attacks.
Abubakar Gamandi, head of the Borno State fishermen's union, said residents from the affected villages told him Boko Haram fighters had visited "and asked people to leave -- or else".
One woman who fled Baga to the Borno State capital, Maiduguri, on Monday confirmed that she joined the crowds fleeing the four villages.
"When we came to Mile 90, we found it almost empty with some remaining residents staying behind to pick up personal belongings," said Ma'agana Butari.
"We also found Budur, Kekenu and Yoyo deserted and we caught up with some of the residents moving towards Monguno," the 32-year-old mother of five said by telephone from Maiduguri.
News of the exodus from Kekenu, Budur, Yoyo and Mile 90 villages came as Niger hosted a meeting on how to fight the rebels as concern mounted at the threat to regional security.
Boko Haram fighters attacked Baga on January 3, looting and burning down homes and businesses in the town and at least 16 surrounding villages on the shores of Lake Chad.
Hundreds of people, if not more, are feared to have been killed, although there is no official confirmation of the toll as the town is still in rebel hands, residents said.
Security analysts said the attack, in which a regional military base was captured, potentially puts the group in a strong strategic position to strike southwards and launch cross-border attacks.
Abubakar Gamandi, head of the Borno State fishermen's union, said residents from the affected villages told him Boko Haram fighters had visited "and asked people to leave -- or else".
One woman who fled Baga to the Borno State capital, Maiduguri, on Monday confirmed that she joined the crowds fleeing the four villages.
"When we came to Mile 90, we found it almost empty with some remaining residents staying behind to pick up personal belongings," said Ma'agana Butari.
"We also found Budur, Kekenu and Yoyo deserted and we caught up with some of the residents moving towards Monguno," the 32-year-old mother of five said by telephone from Maiduguri.
-AFP
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