Nigeria: In The Bagan Boiling Pot

The Nigeria military is under attack on the retaliation of a soldier's death in the Baga massacre. According to eyewitness reports after the carnage, a soldier was seen throwing a child back into the flames as the whole village burned to the ground. The village, baga, found itself in the middle of the fight between the Nigerian military and Boko haram insurgents.

Women and children gather near burnt houses and ashes in the aftermath of what Nigerian authorities said was heavy fighting between security forces and Islamist militants in Baga, a fishing town on the shores of Lake Chad, adjacent to the Chadian border, April 21, 2013. The bloody gun battle against Islamist insurgents in Nigeria last week involved forces from neighbouring Chad and Niger, officials said on Tuesday, as West African countries increasingly view jihadist groups as a cross-border threat. There was no confirmation of the death toll from Friday's fighting, but a Nigerian military source said dozens may have died, many of them civilians. The Nigerian Red Cross said it was checking reports from locals that 187 people had died, but had still not obtained security clearance to go into Baga. Image: Stringer/Reuters

People stand near burnt structures. Image: Stringer/Reuters

Major General lawrence Ngubani, leader of the Defence Ministry Investigation Team on Baga, speakes during a meeting in Maiduguri in the aftermath of the Baga Boiling Pot. Image: Afolabi Sotunde, Maiduguri/Reuters

A vehicle used by Islamist militants is pictured damaged during the heavy fighting between Nigerian security forces and the Islamic militants. Inage: Stringer/Reuters

Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima speaks to a team of military investigators led by Major-General Lawrence Ngubani from the Defence Ministry during a meeting in Maiduguri in the aftermath of the Baga Boiling Pot. Image: Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters

Burnt houses and ashes are pictured in the aftermath of what Nigerian authorities said was heavy fighting between security forces and Islamist militants in Baga, a fishing town on the shores of Lake Chad, adjacent to the Chadian border, April 21, 2013. The bloody gun battle against Islamist insurgents in Nigeria last week involved forces from neighbouring Chad and Niger, officials said on Tuesday, as West African countries increasingly view jihadist groups as a cross-border threat. There was no confirmation of the death toll from Friday's fighting, but a Nigerian military source said dozens may have died, many of them civilians. The Nigerian Red Cross said it was checking reports from locals that 187 people had died, but had still not obtained security clearance to go into Baga. Image: Stringer/Reuters