Suspected Boko Haram militants have seized a military mase outside the Nigerian town of Baga near Lake Chad after engaging troops in a fierce battle that lasted several hours, witnesses said on Sunday.
"They (the militants) overwhelmed the troops and forced them to abandon the base which the gunmen took over," local resident Usman Danssubdu told AFP after fleeing to neighbouring Chad following Saturday's raid.
The base is used by the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) which was established in 1998 and is made up of troops from Nigeria as well as Niger and Chad.