MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — Maiduguri, the major city in Nigeria’s northeast, came under sustained attack from Boko Haram terrorists on Sunday morning, with officials here calling it the group’s most audacious assault on the city to date.
This city of over two million people was attacked beginning late Saturday night from at least two directions by the militants from the Islamist insurgency, which effectively controls the territory surrounding the city. Loud explosions were heard in the center of the city, and small-arms fire and artillery in its suburbs.
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Hundreds of thousands have been driven from their homes and at least 10,000 killed over the course of the Islamists’ insurgency, now stretching into its sixth year. Brutal assaults on civilians have characterized their bloody insurrection.
Mr. Shettima, the Borno governor and a leading member of the opposition party, All Progressives Congress, expressed exasperation Sunday over the attack by Boko Haram. “It’s so sad,” Mr. Shettima said. “If a genuine effort had been made, this thing could have been stopped a long time ago. It’s a ragtag army.”
