Boko Haram attacks north Nigeria city, warns residents against voting

Scores of Boko Haram fighters traveling in a convoy of vans attacked the northeastern Nigerian town of Gombe on Saturday, engaging in heavy fighting as the military responded with ground troops and air force jets, witnesses said. The fighters reportedly warned residents against voting in next month's elections as the armed group defied a mounting regional force aiming to pursue them.

The fiercest fighting was about two miles outside the town, resident Jummai Aliyu said.

"We are under attack now. Boko Haram are trying to invade our town. They are very close by here and the soldiers are engaging them," Aliyu told The Associated Press.

Soldiers on the ground were backed up by two fighter jets, witnesses said.

"We've all rushed back inside our houses now. Everywhere is quiet except for the sounds of shooting and explosions," Aliyu said.

Gombe has previously been attacked multiple times, including a car bomb incident in December that killed at least 20 people.

The Boko Haram fighters called on residents to boycott elections that had originally been planned to take place on Saturday, before they were postponed until March 28. Nigeria announced Feb. 7 that it was pushing back the planned presidential and legislative votes by six weeks because of insecurity.

"Whoever professes Islam should distance himself from polling stations, because we are going to attack polling booths," the Boko Haram leaflets read.

Two weeks ago, two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside a stadium, just minutes after Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan had left the venue where he had given a campaign speech. Many people were injured.

Boko Haram's insurgency killed 10,000 people last year compared to 2,000 in the four previous years, according to the U.S. think tank Council on Foreign Relations. Fighting has forced some 157,000 people to seek refuge in Niger, while 40,000 others have gone to Cameroon and 17,000 are in Chad, according to the United Nations.

On Friday the group staged its first attack on Chadian territory, bringing to three the number of neighboring countries roped into what had previously been an internal Nigerian conflict. The targeted village, Ngouboua, was already host to nearly 3,300 refugees who had fled Boko Haram-related violence in Nigeria, according to the U.N.

Cameroon and Niger have also been attacked. Along with Benin, all three have vowed to contribute to a regional force against Boko Haram that is expected to be launched in the coming weeks, though funding questions remain unsettled.

The United Nations special representative for West Africa said Friday that Nigeria's military needs to show "greater resolve" in the widening fight against Boko Haram.

Wire services