Scores of charred corpses and bodies with bullet wounds littered the
streets from Saturday night's attack on Dalori village and two nearby
camps housing 25,000 refugees, according to survivors and soldiers at
the scene just 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Maiduguri, the birthplace of
Boko Haram and the biggest city in Nigeria's northeast.
The shooting, burning and explosions from three suicide bombers
continued for nearly four hours in the unprotected area, survivor Alamin
Bakura said, weeping on a telephone call to The Associated Press. He
said several of his family members were killed or wounded.
The violence continued as three female suicide bombers blew up among
people who managed to flee to neighboring Gamori village, killing many
people, according to a soldier at the scene who insisted on anonymity
because he is not authorized to speak to journalists.
Troops arrived at Dalori around 8:40 p.m. Saturday but were unable to
overcome the attackers, who were better armed, said soldiers who spoke
on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to
the press. The Boko Haram fighters only retreated after reinforcements
arrived with heavier weapons, they said.
Journalists visited the carnage Sunday and spoke to survivors who
complained it had taken too long for help to arrive from nearby
Maiduguri, the military headquarters of the fight to curb Boko Haram.
They said they fear another attack.
Eighty-six bodies were collected by Sunday afternoon, according to
Mohammed Kanar, area coordinator of the National Emergency Management
Agency. Another 62 people are being treated for burns, said Abba Musa of the State Specialist Hospital in Maiduguri.
Boko Haram has been attacking soft targets, increasingly with suicide
bombers, since the military last year drove them out of towns and
villages in northeastern Nigeria.
The 6-year Islamic uprising has killed about 20,000 people and driven 2.5 million from their homes.
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