Nigeria, March 8 -- Shortly after Muslims broke their fast last Wednesday in Ngoshe, a rural community in the Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State, gunfire shattered the quiet evening.

Within hours, suspected Boko Haram insurgents had overrun a military base, killed soldiers and community leaders, and abducted scores of women and children-triggering another humanitarian crisis in Nigeria's conflict-scarred North-east.

By morning, hundreds of residents had fled into neighbouring Pulka, carrying with them the latest scars of a conflict that has haunted the region for more than a decade.

But the Ngoshe assault is not an isolated incident.

Across northern Nigeria, a series of attacks since the beginning of Ramadan has left dozens of...