MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, May 19 — Renewed violence by Islamist militants has forced at least 20,000 residents to flee Marte, a town in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno State, Governor Babagana Zulum said on Sunday.
The displacement comes just four years after civilians were resettled in Marte, which had previously been under insurgent control. Over the past week, militants suspected to be from Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) overran a military base in the town, killing five soldiers and leaving others unaccounted for.
Governor Zulum visited Marte over the weekend to assess the damage and consult with security officials. He told reporters that thousands had been forced to seek refuge in Dikwa, another town in Borno. “Marte was resettled about four years ago, but unfortunately, over the last three days, it was ransacked and displaced again,” he said.
The governor also traveled to Rann, where another army base came under attack, and plans to continue to Kalawa Balge on Monday, where 23 farmers were recently killed in a separate raid.
Borno has been the epicenter of a 16-year insurgency that has left more than 2 million people displaced and caused tens of thousands of deaths, according to humanitarian agencies. Although the Nigerian military has reclaimed territory from militants in recent years, this new wave of violence has raised concerns about their resurgence.
Zulum’s administration had promoted the resettlement of displaced persons to towns like Marte as part of a strategy to close camps in the state capital, Maiduguri. But with escalating attacks, many returnees now fear they could be uprooted again.
Security analysts and the military say militant groups have been evolving their tactics, now using drones and other surveillance tools in their operations. Zulum warned that keeping displaced people in camps like Dikwa poses serious risks, especially as idle youth could be recruited by insurgents.
