ABUJA, Nigeria, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Tens of thousands of people have fled the northern Nigerian city of Damaturu following attacks by an Islamist group, an official said.
Islamist sect Boko Haram was involved in clashes with Nigerian security forces in Damaturu last week. Bombs went off Sunday in Damaturu and near Abuja. Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Ibrahim Farinloye, regional coordinator for the Nigerian National Emergency Management Agency, told the BBC the area was vacated following last week's clashes.
"When there is insecurity, everybody runs for their lives," he said. "That area is deserted."
Farinloye said most of the refugees said they weren't going to camps for the internally displaced because they feared they'd be the target of further attacks.
A bomb was thrown at an Arabic school in the south of the country late Tuesday, injuring at least seven children. It's not clear who is responsible for that attack, which occurred in Sapele in the oil-rich Niger Delta, the BBC adds.
Critics of Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian, accuse him of not taking security issues seriously.
