{Boko Haram militants in Nigeria on Thursday stormed a French-owned cement works for the second time in as many months, as they attacked two towns in northeast of the country.}<\/p>\n
The Islamists first struck in Bajoga, 60 kilometres (40 miles) from Gombe city, in a convoy of 20 vehicles before being pushed to Ashaka, where the plant owned by French group Lafarge is located.<\/p>\n
Both raids came after an attack Monday on the Yobe state capital, Damaturu, to the north, which left more than 150 people dead including 38 police and six soldiers.<\/p>\n
The latest raids suggested that Boko Haram fighters based in the Buni Yadi area of Yobe state may have been looking to replenish supplies.<\/p>\n
In Bajoga, fighters raided banks and set fire to a police station, government buildings and political party offices. In Ashaka, they stole pick-up trucks and medical supplies.<\/p>\n
“\u200eThe gunmen kept shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is greater) and firing guns haphazardly. They went into the cement factory and took away some vehicles,” said Ashaka resident Samaila Adnan.<\/p>\n
“They didn’t touch anyone.”<\/p>\n
A staff member at the cement works, who asked not to be identified, confirmed Adnan’s account and said the factory was evacuated before the attack.<\/p>\n
“Our fear was confirmed. They went into the factory and headed to the administrative building where company vehicles were parked,” he said.<\/p>\n
“They took away several Hilux (four-wheel drive) vans. They also went to the factory clinic and took away an ambulance along with drugs. They didn’t harm anybody.”<\/p>\n
The same plant was attacked on November 4, when pick-up trucks and large quantities of industrial dynamite used in mining were also taken.<\/p>\n
The staff member said the explosives had been moved since the last raid and although the militants looked for more, they were unable to find any.<\/p>\n
– Pattern of violence –<\/p>\n
The Lafarge plant, set up in 1974, is the largest cement works in northern Nigeria. It employs about 500 people, including an unspecified number of expatriates.<\/p>\n
The fighters were pursued by the military for five kilometres, from Bajoga to Ashaka, after three hours of fighting, which also included an air force jet that bombarded militant positions.<\/p>\n
But Adnan said that after initial skirmishes in the town, the soldiers withdrew.<\/p>\n
Gombe state has not been as badly hit by Boko Haram violence as Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states but there have still been a number of attacks blamed on Boko Haram.<\/p>\n
On October 31, at least eight people were killed in a triple bomb blast at a bus station in Gombe city, while in June a female suicide bomber blew herself up at a barracks in the state capital.<\/p>\n
That attack was the first by a female bomber in Nigeria and marked the first of a series of attacks by women and young girls across the wider north.<\/p>\n
There have been two double suicide attacks in the Borno state capital Maiduguri in the last two weeks, while last Friday at least 120 were killed in a bomb and gun attack in Kano city.<\/p>\n
Thursday’s attacks fit a pattern of almost daily violence by the Islamists, who have taken over more than two dozen towns in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa in recent months.<\/p>\n
The militants’ tactics have evolved from hit-and-run strikes and suicide bombings to holding territory and conducting “logistical” raids for food, money and other supplies.<\/p>\n
Boko Haram has frequently targeted banks for funds to buy weapons, while burning down police stations, government and political party buildings is a sign of their opposition to secular rule.<\/p>\n
{{AFP}}<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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