Boko Haram : ‘ Bodies litter’ Bamatown – BBC

A lawmaker has told the BBC that bodies littered the
streets of Bama, a northern Nigerian town two days after
it was seized by militant Islamists .
Boko Haram fighters were patrolling the streets of Bama,
preventing people from burying the dead , Ahmed Zanna
said, despite claims by the Borno government that the
town had fallen .
Officials said about 26 , 000 people had been displaced by
fighting in Bama, a key town in the battle for control of
Nigeria ’ s north - eastern Borno state.
Earlier this week , the Nigeria Security Network ( NSN )
think - tank said the group had made “lightning territorial
gains ” in recent months, raising fears that the country
could disintegrate like Syria and Iraq, where the Islamic
State ( IS ) rebel group has declared a caliphate .
‘ Fought gallantly’
Boko Haram has also said it has set up a caliphate in the
areas it controls – it is not clear if the two groups are
allied .
Mr Zanna, a senator in Borno, said the humanitarian
situation in Bama was “ terrible ” and there had been a “ lot
of killings ” in the town .
“ So many bodies litter the streets , and people are not
allowed to even go and bury the dead ones. So the
situation is getting worse and worse , ” Mr Zanna told the
BBC’ s Newsday programme after speaking to a resident
who fled the town .
Boko Haram has captured a string of towns in northern -
eastern Nigeria in recent months, fuelling concern that it
could advance towards the main city , Maiduguri .
Mr Zanna said it would be “ catastrophic ” if Boko Haram
launched an assault on Maiduguri , which has a
population of more than two million.
“ I ’ m begging the government to send more troops and
armoury to Maiduguri , ” he said .
“ Boko Haram do come overwhelmingly because they
recruited en masse in the villages [ in Borno state] , ” he
added.