Over 5,000 residents have reportedly fled into Cameroon after Boko Haram insurgents invaded the border town of Kirawa in Borno State on Thursday.
According to Reuters, the attack forced villagers to abandon their homes, which were set ablaze alongside a military barracks.
Boko Haram later claimed responsibility for the assault in a video that showed its fighters torching the barracks while chanting, “Victory belongs to God.”
Abdulrahman Abubakar, the district head of the community, confirmed that the situation left residents with no other choice but to flee.
“I was left with no option but to flee to Cameroon,” Abubakar was quoted as saying by the news agency.
“Residents boarded trucks to seek refuge across the border, while others ran to Maiduguri.”
In recent months, Boko Haram insurgents have intensified attacks on both civilian and military targets across Borno State.
Since the start of the year, the group has reportedly seized several army bases and local communities, though the military continues to reclaim affected areas through periodic reinforcements.
On Monday, Boko Haram launched another assault on Kirawa, killing two people and setting fire to the district head’s residence, several houses, vehicles, and heavy-duty equipment.
On Friday, Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum urged the federal government and military authorities to deploy more troops to critical border communities — including Kirawa, Wulgo, Baga, Damasak, and Malam Fatori — to forestall further attacks.
Zulum said he had held a meeting with the Theatre Commander of Operation Hadin Kai, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 7th Division of the Nigerian Army, and the Force Commander of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF).
He disclosed that the meeting produced an agreement to deploy troops to Kirawa within a short time.
The governor also lamented that his earlier warnings to the Nigerian military about the dangers of leaving border communities unmanned, as well as his repeated requests for troop deployment, had not been given adequate attention.