Here are pictures of the soldiers who survived attack after Boko Haram insurgents overran a Nigerian Army battalion in Borno State on Sunday, killing the unit’s commander and at least 70 soldiers.
According to reports, large cache of arms, ammunition, and military equipment were carted away by Boko Haram fighters during the attack on 157 Task Force Battalion in Metele, Guzamala Local Government Area, at about 6:00 p.m.
According to some of the soldiers, who survived the attack, the move to evacuate the corpses was thwarted by the Boko Haram fighters, who held their ground and forced the soldiers to abandon the mission.
According to a soldier, who survived the attack, their location was invaded after Boko Haram allegedly issued a threat letter last Friday that it would soon take over four strategic military locations around the Lake Chad region.
The soldier, who managed to escape the attack alongside other injured troops, said at least 70 soldiers died in the attack.
He said the corpses of the slain soldiers were yet to be evacuated days after Boko Haram took advantage of their lack of munitions to deal them a devastating defeat.
“The attack came at about 6 pm on Monday evening”, said the soldier. When the soldier on top of the observation post alerted that a large number of Boko Haram fighters were advancing, we all got alarmed as we took cover and waited within the base in Metele.
“The fight did not last for more than 45 minutes, but it was bloody because the Boko Haram fighters had more armament advantage than the soldiers.
“When we realised the fight would be against us, we decided to retreat from the camp, but it was rather too late. The camp was surrounded with barbed wire, and the enemy fire was coming from the direction of the entrance. We were like surrounded.
“One of the drivers of the gun trucks decided to push through the barbed wire so that other vehicles could follow and escape, but the truck got stuck, that was how many of our soldiers in other vehicles and those on foot were massacred.
“Those that managed to escape with injuries made it on foot through Cross-Kauwa to Monguno where they boarded commercial vehicles, some even sat in the booth of the Golf cars to get to Maiduguri. “The Boko Haram made away with about seven gun trucks of the Nigeria army.
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