Sunday Trust gathered that the clash started at noon, after the sect members entered the town located along the Yola/Mubi highway, hours after they invaded neighbouring Hong Local Government where they killed an unspecified number of people and burnt down a police station.
A former Minister of State for Health, Dr. Aliyu Idi Hong, who is from the area confirmed the attack to our correspondent by telephone. Hong said the insurgents set a police station ablaze but could not ascertain the casualty as details were scanty.He added that few days ago, the insurgents had attacked two villages in Hong Local Government area, killing at least five persons.
A resident of the area who spoke to our correspondent also revealed that the militants attacked the residence of a retired general near Hong. Military authorities in Yola could not be reached for comments on the attack.
Boko Haram has seized control of five local governments in Adamawa State and has been threatening to march on the state capital, which has seen the influx of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the territories captured by the sect.
Mubi, which is the second largest local government in the state and its commercial hub, fell to the sect in October. Yesterday’s attacks on Hong and Gombi were seen as continuation of the sect’s territorial grab.
A military source told Sunday Trust that soldiers stationed at Gombi town were able to stand and face the insurgents because the Army had deployed ‘powerful weapons’ it had just acquired from Ukraine.
Troops who fled areas that were occupied by the sect in parts of Adamawa were camped in Gombi.
Sources said the group’s plan was to advance on Yola after sweeping Gombi.
“They came in large numbers to overrun Gombi and advance on Yola, but soldiers their scuttled the plan and engaged them in fighting for hours,” he said, adding that the newly acquired weaponry were already giving troops an edge over the insurgents.
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