Nigeria Army Overrun Islamist Sect Enclave, Militants Flee

The army has stormed the base of Boko Haram's leader and militants were fleeing the city, and the military says it now has the upper hand. Photo by huffingtonpost.com

Members of a Nigerian radical Islamist sect have fled the northern city of Maiduguri after the military overran their enclave, reports say.

The army has stormed the base of Boko Haram's leader and militants were fleeing the city, and the military says it now has the upper hand, the BBC reported.

The army also stormed a mosque where members of the sect were hiding leading to the death of many of the militants.

The move came after the military drafted in 1 000 extra soldiers. Earlier reports said the army had lost ground to militants who were using civilians as human shields.

At one point the local authorities said sect members had taken over six districts of the city.

Boko Haram says it is fighting against Western education. It believes Nigeria's government is being corrupted by Western ideas and wants to see Taliban-style rule imposed across Nigeria.

More than 200 people have been killed in four days of clashes since an estimated 1 000 well-armed militants began attacking police stations and government buildings in Maiduguri.

President Umaru Yar'Adua earlier ordered Nigeria's national security agencies to take all necessary action to contain and repel attacks by the extremists.

 

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