Intense gun battle welcome Maiduguri into the new year, as 22 killed in 48 hr terror

After a protracted gun duel between Joint Task Force, JTF and Boko Haram forces around Gwange, Maidugurii, the town is now in "utter silence". There is no movement around Maiduguri at the moment. But that has not been the situation since the new yearr' eve. While the sound of firecrackers heralded New Year in many parts of

the world, the story is different in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State in north-east Nigeria, as gunshots rented the air.

At exactly 12:00 am, residents say sporadic gunshots were heard in some parts of the state.

At least 22 people have been killed in three separate attacks in northeastern Nigeria since Friday, including 15 Christians shot Sunday inside a church, according to officials.

Reports reaching elombah.com indicates that there is a serious fighting between Boko Haram terrorists and men of JTF, at the moment (Tuesday afternoon) with sophisticated weapons such as armoured tanks with which the JTF engaged the BH forces but no exact location was indicated.

However, it appears that it takes place in two or three separate areas. Residents told elombah.com Lagos Street is quiet, but ferocious battle is taking place around Umrari, Ngarnam and Bulabulin areas. Residents who were lucky to escape from the war zone reported of intense ongoing battle.

"3 km from where I am, I could hear the monotonic sounds of the JTF war machine, children dispersed from Islamiya schools are playing away happily oblivious of the carnage going on a few neighbourhoods away. Life here is indeed a paradox", a citizen reporter wrote for elombah.com.

The violence began early Friday when unidentified gunmen raided a village in Musari, in Borno state, killing five people, said Joint Task Force Lt. Col. Sagir Musa. JTF troops responded, and a gun battle ensued. Three of the attackers were killed, and troops recovered weapons and ammunition. 

Also Friday, gunmen with suspected ties to the Islamist militant group Boko Haram killed two people and wounded another in an attack in Maiha, in Adamawa state, according to Godfrey Okeke, Adamawa state commissioner. The attackers freed 35 inmates from the Maiha prison and set government buildings on fire, Okeke said.

 In Sunday's attack, gunmen entered a church in Chibok, also in Borno state, and killed at least 15 worshipers, said Mohammed Kana, a regional official for the National Emergency Management Agency. 

"Some of the people had their throats slit," Kana said, citing NEMA staff who responded to the scene. 

Sunday's violence comes six days after attackers raided two churches during Christmas Eve services, killing 12 people.

In October, a report from Human Rights Watch addressed the violence plaguing northern Nigeria, particularly from Boko Haram. The group's name means "Western education is forbidden." It seeks to impose a strict version of Sharia law in the Muslim-dominated northern part of the country.

"Suspected members of the group have bombed or opened fire on worshipers in at least 18 churches across eight northern and central states since 2010. In Maiduguri, capital of Borno state, the group also forced Christian men to convert to Islam on penalty of death," it said.

It is not immediately known whether the group was behind the latest attacks.