Boko Haram fighters have overrun an army
base in the remote northeast Nigerian town of
Baga, killing scores of soldiers in the attack,
security sources have said.
Baga is known for hosting the headquarters
of a multinational force comprising troops
from Niger, Nigeria, Chad and
Cameroon, although only Nigerian troops are
actually stationed there.
Troops eventually fled the remote station on
the semi-desert shores of Lake Chad after it
was attacked on Saturday by Boko Haram
fighters using military vehicles, two sources
said.
Earlier on Friday, suspected members of the
armed group raided the northeast village of
Malari, kidnapping about 40 boys and young
men.
The fighters came to the remote village of
Malari and urged people to come out and
listen to a sermon, farmer Bulama Malam told
reporters on Saturday.
"After telling us that they wanted to preach to
us, they began to select young men aged
between 12 and 25,'' Malam said. "I was lucky
to escape because they only selected very
young and able-bodied men."
He spoke in Maiduguri, the capital of
northeast Borno state, to which he escaped
on foot.
Nigeria''s longstanding conflict with Boko
Haram has killed over 10,000 people this year,
according to a count by the Council on
Foreign Relations in November.
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