Cameroon-Nigeria link bridge blown up; Insurgents kill 5 in Damboa

Barely three days after the Damboa attacks and killings, suspected Boko Haram gunmen attacked the town again and shot dead five residents before fleeing into the forest in Toyota Hilux vehicles and motorcycles.

A 78 year-old resident, who refused to flee since the last deadly attack, explained that five masked gunmen attacked the locations where Boko Haram had earlier hoisted their flags, which were later removed, and began to shoot.

He said: “I was sitting under this tree near where one of the flags was hoisted last Friday. I heard someone in mask chanting ‘God is great’ in Arabic, before shooting sporadically at any person in sight.

“They gunned down three people near the District Head’s residence, while the other two were killed at a nearby farmland. But they did not kill me because of my disability and inability to defend myself in this destroyed and deserted town.”

Habu Damboa, a resident that fled to Maiduguri also told journalists yesterday that the Tuesday attack was triggered by the removal of hoisted flags on Damboa road and the District Head’s palace.

He said: “These gunmen that killed five people could have been informed that the hoisted flags had been removed last Sunday, before the people fled to Biu and Maiduguri for their safety.

“Some of the old men and women, including disabled persons in our town, refused to flee along with us.”

Reliable sources in Maiduguri also said that there was an attack on Damboa by suspected insurgents on Tuesday afternoon, but could not give details of casualties as they were not authorised to speak on the incident.

In another development, a bridge linking Maiduguri Gamboru Ngala Cameroon Republic has been blown up by members of Boko Haram sect yesterday, leaving passengers and motorists stranded. Sources said the incident took place at about 1:30a.m.

This is the second time a bridge linking the area has come under attack by terrorists, leaving commuters stranded. Vanguard gathered that the international road has now been closed.