KANO, NIGERIA // Boko Haram fighters launched a fresh attempt to take over the strategically crucial northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri on Sunday, a brazen attack on a state capital just two weeks before national elections.
Residents said that Sunday’s fighting began at about 3am with loud explosions and gunfire, as the militants tried to enter the city from the south.
Troops backed by vigilantes battled the assailants for several hours, with the fighting concentrated in the Mulai area just three kilometres south of the city in the late morning, several witnesses said.
“The whole city is in fear,” said resident Adam Krenuwa. “People are afraid of what will happen if Boko Haram defeats the security forces.”
The rebels tried to capture Maiduguri just a week ago, but were repelled by troops.
Losing control of Maiduguri, capital of Borno state, would be an enormous defeat for the security forces, whose handling of the six-year militant uprising has been fiercely criticised.
The city’s fall would also likely spark a humanitarian disaster.
Maiduguri’s population is believed to have swelled above two million in recent weeks as residents from other parts of Borno have fled to the city to seek refuge from Boko Haram violence.
Resident Fannami Dalwaye said people could be seen fleeing towards the city from Mulai as more vigilantes were headed south to the front line to reinforce the military.
“Some of us are in mosques praying, just waiting to hear the outcome of what happens,” Mr Krenuwa said by telephone.
Nigeria’s national security adviser Sambo Dasuki last month called for elections to be postponed.
He cited difficulties in distributing voter identity cards, but experts have questioned how Nigeria can hold legitimate national elections when significant parts of the country are controlled by extremists.
Boko Haram is believed to control at least half of Borno state, as well as several areas in neighbouring Adamawa and Yobe.
The north-east is an opposition stronghold and there are fears that the credibility of the polls could be challenged if millions of voters are disenfranchised, especially if the final tally is close.
The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected any postponement of the vote, describing it as a stalling tactic by the ruling party which is fearing defeat after 16 years in power.
But even before the latest assault on Maiduguri, election officials conceded that voting would be impossible across much of the north-east.
Foreign observers have said they will not attempt to monitor polling in the region because of the unrest.
President Goodluck Jonathan, who is facing a tough challenge from former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, has repeatedly sought to assure Nigerians that Boko Haram could be contained.
But those promises have consistently proved hollow, with the violence having escalated each year under his watch.
* Agence France-Presse
