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Attack on Transmitters Cuts Power to Nigerian City — Again


FILE - Nigerian security forces are seen on the site of a sabotage attack against electrical infrastructures on the outskirts of Maiduguri, Feb. 12, 2021. Another attack knocked out power again March 27, 2021.
FILE - Nigerian security forces are seen on the site of a sabotage attack against electrical infrastructures on the outskirts of Maiduguri, Feb. 12, 2021. Another attack knocked out power again March 27, 2021.

Residents of Nigeria's northeastern Borno state capital are struggling without electricity after suspected militants damaged two transmission towers just days after power had been restored following a previous attack.

The power outage in Maiduguri occurred just before 6 a.m. local time Saturday.

"Again, two towers along Maiduguri-Damaturu line have been vandalized," the Transmission Company of Nigeria said in a statement. Ndidi Mbah, an official for the company, said it was working to restore power.

Last Wednesday, power was restored to the city of 3 million after militants from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) sabotaged the power grid in late January, French news agency Agence France-Presse reported.

No one had claimed responsibility as of Monday, but ISWAP and Boko Haram both have acknowledged attacks on telecom and electrical equipment. Boko Haram is active in the area where the towers were damaged.

The blackouts are interfering with daily life.

Grema Umar, who sells ice blocks, told the news service, "It is a disaster for us to be left without power … especially in this hot season when people would require ice blocks for cold drinks."

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