Soldiers flee as Boko Haram recaptures Borno Town

According to Punch Newpaper, the insurgent group stormed the Marte community in Borno with over 2000 fighters, armed with bombs and tanks. They used their weapons with no restraint, killing several people and forcing hundreds of soldiers to flee for their lives. They battled the soldiers over Thursday night and continued on Friday. Full report below

This is the third time Boko Haram has seized control of Marte in restive Borno State, a key battleground of their six-year insurgency, which has killed more than 13,000 and left 1.5 million persons homeless.
The city is among several retaken in recent weeks by Nigeria’s military, which has launched an offensive against the Islamists as part of a regional operation supported by Chad, Cameroon and Niger.
But Boko Haram have been fighting back, and unconfirmed reports said the soldiers were forced to retreat from Boko Haram’s Sambisa Forest stronghold this week after a landmine blast killed one soldier and three vigilantes.
A senior local politician confirmed, on condition of anonymity, that the insurgents had retaken Marte.
“We lost many (people) because some of our people that fled to Chad and Cameroon have returned after troops recovered the town recently,” he added.
A senior military official confirmed the attack on Marte, but refused to say whether Boko Haram had retaken the town, describing the army’s retreat as “strategic”.