Vigilante and local hunters Go Angry AS Nigerian army fled when hundreds of Boko Haram attacked on Sunday

Islamic Extremists Grab Towns in Northeast Nigeria

Vigilante and local hunters armed with guns patrol the streets of Maiduguri, Nigeria, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014. The United States is preparing to launch a "major" border security program to help Nigeria and its neighbors combat the increasing number...

Nigeria's Islamic extremist group, Boko Haram, has seized more towns along Nigeria's northeastern border with Cameroon and is adopting a strategy of encouraging civilians to stay, witnesses said Sunday, as the militants pursue their new aim to carve out an "Islamic caliphate" under their black and white flag.

Nigerian army soldiers fled when hundreds of insurgents in stolen military armored personnel carriers, trucks and motorcycles attacked Michika on Sunday, said Marry Dauda, a fleeing resident.

She said an air force jet fighter arrived, but did nothing but surveillance. "The jet continued to hover over the town without attacking the terrorists," she told The Associated Press.

On Saturday, the insurgents took Gulak, an administrative headquarters of Adamawa state, said resident Michael Kirshinga, who also ran away. The nearby towns of Duhu, Shuwa, Kirshinga and others also fell in assaults over Friday night and Saturday, witnesses said.

Further north, soldiers fought off rebels advancing Saturday on Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, headquarters of the military campaign against the insurgency and the birthplace of Boko Haram. The military attacked the rebels' camp at a village outside Kondudga, just 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Maiduguri.

Thunderous gunfire could be heard in Maiduguri throughout Saturday, instilling fear in already panicked residents. Hundreds fled the city even before hearing the sounds of battle.

The soldiers killed dozens of the extremists outside Konduga, said a member of the vigilante group that fights alongside the military. The soldiers were sent to retake the town of Bama, which fell to Boko Haram a week ago, but stopped at Konduga and refused to advance further, said a vigilante commander. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

Bama is littered with bodies, residents who fled the town told the AP. The extremists were killing men, but sparing women and children, they said.

In Gulak, however, the insurgents were trying to persuade people to stay, said resident Michael Kirshinga. "They assured us that they will not attack us, but people begun to run for their lives, some of us have fled for fear that, after subduing the soldiers, the insurgents will turn their (gun) barrels on us," Kirshinga said.

Nearly 26,000 people fled Bama, the Nigerian Emergency Management Agency reported. Those fleeing joined 1.5 million people forced from their homes since Nigeria declared a state of emergency in May 2013, according to U.N. figures. They need shelter and food, and officials warn of a looming food crisis since most refugees are farmers.

A Ministry of Defense statement Friday tried to reassure residents without success. Most fearful are students and staff at the University of Maiduguri, which is alongside a dry riverbed and on the road from Konduga to Maiduguri, a route Boko Haram has used in past attacks on the city.

"We are so very scared. If they are to come attacking, as has been rumored, we doubt if they would spare us because they have to pass in front of our school before getting to the town," student Halima Muhammad told The Associated Press. He said students writing end of term exams can barely concentrate.