17 Nigerian soldiers killed in battle with Boko Haram

At least 17 soldiers are reported to have been killed and several abducted during skirmishes between the Nigerian military and Boko Haram insurgents this weekend. 

The insurgents targeted the village of Firgi on the road from Gwoza to Bama on Friday night. 13 soldiers are believed to have been killed in the attack, which lasted over two hours. The insurgents returned to the road on Saturday night, engaging a military company at the Banki

Junction for a further three hours.

Speaking at a party organised for the troops in Maiduguri on Saturday night, Maj Gen Olusegun Adeniyi said that Boko Haram had “failed” in their mission and that the military would not allow them “an inch of land in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states”. 

The Major General was joined at the event by guest of honour Alhaji Usman Kadafu, the deputy governor of Borno state. Kadafu said of the occasion, “I feel honoured to be Special Guest of Honour. We appreciate all the efforts by the military to safeguard our territory. We pray to God for guidance and repose of the soul of heroes. Those that have paid the supreme price and we asked that God continue to be with their widows and orphans”.

Photo credit: Stefan Heunis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images