Thousands of residents fled the northeastern Nigerian town of Bama yesterday after Boko Haram militants overran its defences following a botched strike by the air force.
The Islamists launched their attack on the town of 300,000 people 45 miles (70km) from the Borno state capital of Maiduguri on Monday.
They were initially repelled, but came back in greater numbers overnight, witnesses said.
The Nigeria Security Network warned yesterday that the government was about to lose Borno state. It said that soldiers were sent to fight heavily armed Boko Haram insurgents with only 60 rounds of ammunition, and urged the Nigerian army to deploy more troops to protect Maiduguri.
“If Maiduguri falls, it will be a symbolic and strategic victory unparalleled in the conflict,” a spokesman said. “Unless swift action is taken, Nigeria could be facing a rapid takeover of a large area of its territory reminiscent of Isis’s lightning advances in Iraq.”
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The army had reinforced its garrison in Bama in the hope that it could retake Gwoza, the town where the jihadists proclaimed an Islamic caliphate two weeks ago.