Troops on alert as Boko Haram insurgents surround Gwoza

Troops have been placed on red alert following information that Boko Haram insurgents had surrounded Gwoza, Borno State. A military source said the insurgents had been “massing up in Gwoza with intent to strike.” “We have placed troops on red alert. We are also sending reinforcement as I speak with you. We are taking pre- emptive measures to avert a repeat of what happened in Gamboru during the week.” The news broke as the terrorists blew up another bridge, killed an unknown number of people and abducted the wife and two children of a retired police officer at Limankara village in Adamawa State. The Limankara bridge served as a link between Adamawa and Borno states. A team of French experts arrived Abuja yesterday to join those from the USA and UK to help look for the girls. An official in President Francois Hollande’s office in Paris said they are experts in collecting intelligence from technical and human sources and in image analysis. Father of two of the abducted girls, the Rev. Enoch Mark, described his despair and anger at the military for not yet finding his daughters. “For a good 11 days, our daughters were sitting in one place,” he told The Associated Press. “They camped them near Chibok not more than 30 kilometres, and no help in hand. For a good 11 days.”