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Nigeria soldiers save Maiduguri from Boko Haram
02:50 - Source: CNN

Story highlights

Soldiers repelled the attacks in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state

A simultaneous attack on nearby Monguno was a different story

CNN  — 

Hundreds of Boko Haram gunmen on Sunday launched a predawn attack on the Nigerian city of Maiduguri and were locked in a fierce battle with government troops on the outskirts of the city, according to the military, residents and citizen vigilantes.

Hundreds of Boko Haram gunmen launched a predawn attack Sunday on Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.

Soldiers repelled the attacks, and officials have since eased a curfew imposed as a result, said Col. Sani Usman, a military spokesman.

The militants launched a simultaneous attack on the town of Monguno and were apparently successful in taking control of the town and its military barracks, a Nigerian military officer in Maiduguri told CNN.

The Islamist militants captured the town, together with its military barracks, a Nigerian military officer said.

It’s unclear how many people were wounded or killed during the battle for the two cities.

“Our soldiers initially repelled the terrorists but they mobilized more fighters and came back in full force. They overwhelmed our troops and forced them to retreat,” said the officer, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Monguno, a town of about 100,000 people in northeast Nigeria, is about a 135-kilometer (85-mile) drive from Maiduguri, a city of more than 600,000. Both cities are tucked into the corner of the country, near the borders with Chad and Cameroon.

Both cities are near the Chad and Cameroon borders, which would give the militants an entry point into those countries.

Monguno, with its huge military barracks, has a strategic importance ‎in that it acts as a buffer to keep Boko Haram from advancing towards Maiduguri. Its fall means Boko Haram is in good position to advance on Maiduguri, which has been its goal for months.

Boko Haram had been confined to the fishing town of Baga since its fighters seized it January 3, hesitant to move south towards Maiduguri because of the military presence in Monguno.

Cornered since January 3

Boko Haram had been confined to the fishing town of Baga since its fighters seized it on January 3. Thousands were feared killed in that attack, which lasted days.

Speaking to reporters Sunday afternoon, Borno Governor Kashim Shettima said, “So long as we have the resources, we will continue to regard the efforts to reclaim peace our No. 1 area of commitments. I want to reassure the good people of Borno State that we will never abdicate from our responsibility as those they entrusted with leadership.”

“So long as we have the resources, we will continue to regard the efforts to reclaim peace our No. 1 area of commitments,” he said.

” I want to reassure the good people of Borno State that we will never abdicate from our responsibility as those they entrusted with leadership.”

Elections next month

The attack came a day after President Goodluck Jonathan made a campaign stop in Maiduguri ahead of the February 14 presidential election. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was also in the nation Sunday to call for peaceful elections.

The hostages were released after they declined to fight alongside Boko Haram, which branded them infidels, said a local politician from Katarko.

Boko Haram failed attempts to seize the key Nigerian city of Maiduguri on Sunday, the militants’ second attack there in a week.