Suspected
Boko Haram fighters is said to have stole dynamite and pick-up trucks from a
French-owned cement works in Nigeria after robbing a bank, in a raid to
fund and pursue their campaign of violence in the northeast of the
African nation.
The attack in Ashaka, in Gombe state, on Tuesday
came after the Islamists robbed a bank, blew up a police station and
razed a political party office 20 kilometres (12 miles) away in Nafada.
Both
incidents again demonstrated Boko Haram’s apparent ability to strike at
will and further punctured government claims that a ceasefire deal has
been reached to end five years of bloodshed.
Boko Haram funds its
operations in part through bank robberies and has previously stolen
vehicles including armoured personnel carriers, weapons and ammunition
from the Nigerian military.
Unlike previous attacks in recent
months in the far northeast, the militants did not attempt to hold the
town, leaving when they secured their loot.
French diplomats in
Nigeria said none of its nationals was taken in the raid. The head of
the Lafarge group, Bruno Lafont, said operations had not been affected.
“The
factory was the target of intruders. There were no injuries. There was
no damage in the factory,” he told reporters in Paris on Wednesday.
“This morning (Wednesday), the situation is still calm and everything is back to normal.”
The
Lafarge plant, set up in 1974, is the largest cement works in northern
Nigeria and employs about 500 people, including an unspecified number of
expatriates.
The gunmen stormed the site at about 3:00 pm (1400
GMT), according to one worker, Amadu Wunti, who said they looted high
explosives and demanded to be taken to where expatriate managers stay.
Wunti
identified the expatriates as French nationals but the Lafarge group
said it did not comment on its foreign staff for security reasons.
At the time, the plant was mostly empty, with staff having run to safety when
news spread that the gunmen were coming after the raid in Nafada, which left at least 10 dead, according to residents.
Locals
Abubakar Galda and Awwal Ibrahim said five soldiers were killed at a
checkpoint and four worshippers were shot dead at a mosque with the
town’s most senior cleric.
Wunti’s account was supported by
several others, including another staff member, who said: “They (the
militants) pulled out after the raid. They did not hurt or kidnap
anyone.
“But they took eight company vehicles and lots of dynamite
used in quarry work. The attackers, which included young women, broke
into the store and loaded dynamite into the vehicles and drove off.
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