Hundreds of
residents of a northeastern Nigerian city were fleeing on Sunday after three
days of Islamist attacks that left at least 31 dead and many buildings and
properties razed, witnesses said.
The troubled city of
Potiskum had been under security lockdown since Thursday with troops patrolling
the streets and residents keeping in-doors for fear of new attacks.
Security was relaxed
on Sunday morning and hundreds of residents took advantage to flee the restive
city.
"A lot of
people are leaving following the relaxing of the lockdown on the city" said
a resident.
"Hundreds of
residents, especially those living on the outskirts of the city, which have
been worst hit by the attacks, are fleeing with their belongings," he
said.
"Those of them
with cars are stuffing personal belongings into their vehicles and heading out
of the city, while others are taking buses and taxis at the garage and along
the main road, heading south," he said.
Potiskum, the
commercial hub of Yobe state, has been hard hit by near daily attacks by Boko
Haram Islamists in recent weeks, prompting heavy deployment of troops and
armoured vehicles to forestall fresh violence.
A wave of attacks by
suspected Islamists which began on Thursday left at least 31 people dead and
several buildings destroyed.
Residents said the
toll could be higher as some relations had taken some bodies from the streets
for burial.
Boko Haram's
insurgency in northern and central Nigeria and the state's military response
are believed to have left more than 2 800 people dead since 2009.
Boko Haram has claimed
to be seeking an Islamic state in Nigeria, though its demands have repeatedly
shifted.
Nigeria, Africa's
most populous nation and largest oil producer, is divided between a mainly
Muslim north and predominantly Christian south
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