Gwoza | |
---|---|
LGA and town | |
![]() An IDP Camp in Gwoza | |
Coordinates: 11°5′10″N 13°41′29″E / 11.08611°N 13.69139°E | |
Country | ![]() |
State | Borno State |
Area | |
• Total | 1,113 sq mi (2,883 km2) |
Population (2016) | |
• Total | 388 600 |
Time zone | UTC+1 (WAT) |
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Gwoza is a local government area of Borno State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Gwoza, a border town "about 135 kilometres South-East of Maiduguri."[2] The postal code of the area is 610.[3]
The terrain is rocky and hilly.[4] The Gwoza Hills, with heights of about 1300m above sea level provides scenery and is made up of the Mandara Mountains, which form a natural barrier between Nigeria and Cameroon, starting from Pulka. They overlook the game reserves by meandering towards Mubi and beyond in Adamawa State.[5]
The Gwoza LGA has been called "a notorious hide out for the Boko Haram insurgents,"[5] who arrived in the area in 2009 from Maiduguri.[6] The area has suffered considerable violence as a result of the Islamist insurgency in Nigeria, and in 2014, saw an influx of Boko Haram fighters fleeing Sambisa Forest.[citation needed]
As of 23 June 2014[update], "reports indicated that the whole of Gwoza was under attack. The report could not be substantiated because most telephone masts in Gwoza and surrounding villages have been vandalized by insurgents."[7] Deutsche Welle reported that "Roads out of the region are extremely dangerous and phone connections are poor to nonexistent."[8]
As of 19 October 2014, an estimated 3,000 Gwoza residents displaced by fighting are "squatting on the fringes of Abuja", according to a local relief committee spokesman, with "the need for shelter, food, clothing and medicare for the displaced also becoming dire."[9]
On 27 March 2015, the day before the Nigerian presidential election, the Nigerian Army announced that it had recaptured the town of Gwoza from Boko Haram.[10] According to AllAfrica.com, "Gwoza, one of the largest towns in Borno, fell under the control of Boko Haram terrorists on August 6, 2014."[11]
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