Suspected Boko Haram insurgents have laid siege on Maiduguri, capital of Borno, north west Nigeria in an early Sunday attack which eye witnesses claim was carried out from different entry points.
Thousands of residents are said to be fleeing the city to neighbouring states as troops belonging to the Sector 6 Battalion of the Nigerian Army engage the insurgents who have attacked the town for the second Sunday in a row.
Eye witnesses say the troops have engaged the insurgents in a heavy gun battle as the terrorists carry out a second attempt to take control of the barracks in the city.
A curfew had been placed on Maiduguri, following an attack by the terrorists on both Maiduguri and Monguno towns, last week Sunday.
Last Thursday, the African Union endorsed a West African plan to set up a regional task force of 7,500 to fight Islamist Boko Haram militants, a senior official disclosed.
This was following a unified call by neighbours Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, Chad and Benin in January to call on the African Union (AU) to seek U.N. Security Council support for their plan to take on insurgents who are fighting to create an Islamic state in northern Nigeria.