Boko Haram capture of key city in Nigeria 'imminent'

Islamist militant group Boko Haram has surrounded a key city in northern Nigeria, a group of traditional elders warned on Thursday (11/09/2014), pleading with the government to intervene.

The insurgents were about to seize Maiduguri, the capital of northeastern Borno State, according to the Borno Elders' Forum.

Boko Haram "completely surrounded the town," the group's chairman, Gaji Galtimari Usman, said in a statement. An attack on Maidiguru was "imminent."

Over the past few days, the insurgents had taken control of numerous smaller towns and villages to the south and east of Maidiguri, as well as settlements near Lake Chad, Usman said.

"We are all getting ready to defend ourselves," Maiduguri resident Malam Nasir Usman told dpa.

Last week, Boko Haram gained control of the city of Bama, in Borno State. In late August, the group declared a caliphate in the town of Gwoya, 50 kilometres from Bama.

Boko Haram, which means "Western education is sinful," is reported to have killed more than 3,000 people in Nigeria's north this year alone.

When it first launched attacks in 2009, the insurgents mainly targeted Christians, saying they wanted to establish an Islamic state.

Since mid-2013, Boko Haram has focused its attacks on government security forces as well as on civilians of both Christian and Muslim faith in their homes, markets, hospitals and schools. - Sapa-dpa