Continued ISWAP Siege On Geidam Displaces Residents
Civilians are fleeing Geidam, Yobe State, Northeast Nigeria, following the continuous siege on the town by ISWAP terrorists.
Thousands of people have been displaced from the northeastern town of Geidam in Yobe State following three days of siege and attacks by terrorists of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), on the garrison town.
Geidam is a strategic town in Yobe State located near the border with neighbouring Borno State and Niger Republic.
HumAngle learnt that the ISWAP incursion in Geidam which began on Friday, April 23, has forced many people to other parts of the state including Damaturu, the state capital.
During the continuous attacks, the insurgents destroyed private and public properties including telecommunication facilities that have made access to information difficult in the area.
Attempts by the military to push back the incursion have not been successful due to the insurgentsâ blending with the townâs population, making it difficult for airstrikes to be conducted against their convoys and positions.
Rawana Usman, a survivor who escaped to a neighbouring village on Sunday, April 25, told Daily trust that he had no intention of leaving his house but later changed his mind when he learnt that the terrorists slaughtered two Christians working with an NGO from his neighbourhood.
âThey were going round houses targeting Christians, NGO workers and those that are educated in the western schools,â Usman said.
âWhen I heard of the selective killings, I couldnât resist, I left abruptly. I can say that there were soldiers engaging them. They have been doing their best to push out the terrorists, but I can tell you that these boys were moving normally in the town up to the time I left,â he added.
HumAngle understands that clashes have resumed in the town as of Monday morning between the insurgents and Nigerian troops.
The status of the nearby super camp located on the western axis is unknown. The troops of 159 Battalion attached to Sector 2 of Nigeria’s counter-insurgency operation are domicile in Geidam.
On Sunday, Mai-Mala Buni, Governor of Yobe State held a meeting with Gen. Lucky Irabor, Nigeriaâs Chief of Defence Staff, to discuss the security situation in Geidam.
Jamaâatu Ahlis Sunna Liddaâawati Wal-Jihad (Boko Haram) and its splinter faction ISWAP have waged a bloody decade long insurgency in Northeast Nigeria that has led to over 30,000 deaths and displacement of more than 2.3 million people.
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