Boko Haram attacks camp that was mistakenly bombed by Nigerian air force

Jardine Malado Tuesday, January 24, 2017

People walk at the site after a bombing attack of an internally displaced persons camp in Rann, Nigeria January 17, 2017. | MSF/Handout via Reuters

Boko Haram insurgents attacked a refugee camp that was accidentally bombed by the Nigerian military last week in an operation targeting the terrorist group.

The military fought hard to repel over 100 Boko Haram gunmen who came to attack the Rann IDP Camp in Borno State on Thursday evening. Eight of the insurgents were killed while one soldier was wounded in the attack, according to the Premium Times.

The officers said that the attackers came from Cameroon, which is less than 10 kilometers away.

"We battled them for almost 30 minutes. We suddenly saw residents running towards the battalion headquarters and we quickly mobilized troops," Lieutenant Colonel Igwe Omoke, commander of the third battalion based in Rann, told Reuters on Friday.

Meanwhile, a local official has stated that the death toll resulting from the air strike has risen to 200.

"People have suffered enough. We buried more than 200 people. The military should compensate our people," said Babagana Malarima, head of the local government in Rann.

The aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) previously stated that there were up to 170 people who died in the air strike. Some residents put the death toll at around 180 or fewer, while the army refused to reveal exactly how many were killed.

The Red Cross said on Friday that around 100 people were sent to Maiduguri city for medical care.

Over 15,000 people have been killed, and about two million have been displaced from their homes since the start of the Boko Haram insurgency in 2009. Most of the areas held by the terror group have been retaken by the Nigerian army, but it still operates in Rann.

Boko Haram has stepped up its attacks in the past few weeks as the end of the rainy season allowed them to move more easily in the bushes.

The terror group claimed responsibility for the twin suicide bombing that occurred on the day before the airstrike at the University of Maiduguri. A professor and a child were killed, and 17 more were wounded in the attack. According to a report from Breitbart, the suicide bombers were seven and 12 years old.