Boko Haram crisis: 'Militant traders' raid Nigeria town
Despite a state of emergency in the north-east, Boko Haram has been stepping up its attacks
Hundreds of residents and soldiers are fleeing a northern Nigerian town attacked by militant Islamists disguised as traders, officials say.
Shootings and explosions had rocked the trading town of Damasak, near Niger's border, a senator told the BBC.
Boko Haram fighters seized a nearby fishing village on Thursday, reportedly killing 48 people.
On Sunday, Nigeria's top Islamic leader accused soldiers of "terrorising", rather than defending, civilians.
"Soldiers take to their heels and abandon their bases, arms, ammunition and other military hardware on the approach of the insurgents," said the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar.
The sultan of Sokoto is Nigeria's most influential Muslim scholar
"Nigerian security forces only surface after the deadly attacks and terrorise an already terrorised people by installing road blocks and searching homes," he added in a statement issued on his behalf by Jama'atu Nasril Islam (JNI), the main body representing Muslim clerics in Nigeria.
'Inflicted horror'
The militants entered Damasak carrying containers which they claimed were full of goods for sale when were, in fact, stuffed with AK-47 rifles, local government official Mohammed Damasak said, AFP news agency reports.
The gunmen "inflicted horror" and "many traders escaped with bullet wounds while many are lying dead at the market", he is quoted as saying.
Senator Maina Ma'aji Lawan told the BBC Hausa service that Boko Haram appeared to be on the verge of capturing Damasak, forcing people to flee to outlying villages and across the border into Niger.
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