Heavy gunfire, explosions in Maiduguri

 

The city of Maiduguri in Borno state this morning experienced three large explosions suspected to be a major bomb attack, Sahara Reporters reports

Saharareporters could not ascertain if the explosions led to deaths or destruction of any kind. But our sources states that the three explosions were heard across the city.

SaharaRepoprters learnt that fighters from the Islamist sect Boko Haram are attempting to bomb and take over a major military base known as "Giwa barracks" in Maiduguri. A gunfight is raging in the area as at the time of publishing this report.

Reuters has reported heavy gunfire in Maiduguri, capital of the embattled north east state of Borno.
The news agency said the gun fire raged for two hours in Maiduguri on Friday morning, residents said, and explosions were heard at the Giwa barracks, where the army has detained hundreds of Islamist insurgent suspects.

Al Qaeda-linked Boko Haram has killed thousands in an almost five-year-long insurgency aimed at carving out an Islamic state in the religiously diverse country of about 170 million people.
“The sound of heavy gunfire and what sounds like RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) began at around 7:15 a.m. and it is still going,” a Reuters witness said. The fighting was happening at Fori, an area near a military barracks, he said.

Boko Haram is the biggest security threat in Africa’s top oil exporter and the continent’s second biggest economy. More than 2,000 people have been killed in Boko Haram violence in the last six months, security sources say.

President Goodluck Jonathan intensified the military campaign almost a year ago to oust insurgents from their stronghold in the poor and undeveloped northeast but it has failed to stem the bloodshed.
Violence in recent months has mostly been confined to rural regions where Boko Haram often gains the upper hand against the military. An attack on the northeast’s biggest city where there is a heavy army presence would be a setback for Jonathan.