2,000 flee Borno to Niger Republic

Culled from Punch

More than 2,000 Nigerians living in border villages in Borno State have reportedly fled as a result of the ongoing military operations targeted at routing insurgents from the area under the emergency rule.

The fleeing villagers were said to have headed to the neighbouring Niger Republic.

“Most of the residents of border villages of Borno have fled to Niger. About 2,000 people from Abadan, Malam Fatori and other villages are now refugees in Difa, Niger Republic,” a top security officer told one of our correspondents on Sunday.

The source said that the Joint Military Task Force was on the trail of members of the Boko Haram sect, who were dislodged from the Sambisa Game Reserve and other camps on Thursday in Borno State.

It was learnt that residents of Maiduguri and other communities far from the border, who did not want to be caught in the cross-fire had also fled to some neighbouring states, including Kano and Bauchi