Breaking News: EIGHT BOMBS EXPLODE IN MAIDUGURI

Gunfire and explosions erupted in the city of Maiduguri on Tuesday as soldiers moved into an area where members of Islamist group Boko Haram were believed to be hiding, residents said.

“There have been at least eight explosions in these neighbourhoods and soldiers have moved in with tanks and have taken over the whole area,” one resident said.

EXPLOSIONS : 8 Bombs has been denoted in Maiduguri, Borno State

Another said the area was largely deserted by residents after earlier signs that soldiers were preparing a crackdown. Alleyways had been sealed off ahead of Tuesday evening’s violence, they said.

The city of Maiduguri is at the centre of Boko Haram’s insurgency, which has claimed more than 1,000 lives since mid-2009. The group’s mosque and headquarters were located there until they were destroyed in a 2009 military assault.

Nigerian troops have also been accused of abuses in Maiduguri, including burning homes and killing civilians in the wake of bomb attacks. Thousands of residents have fled the city amid the spiralling violence.

Residents of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, yesterday began relocating from one part of the town to another for fear of being caught in the crossfire between members of the Boko Haram sect and men of the Joint Task Force (JTF).