Coordinated suicide blasts have shattered a fragile calm in Maiduguri, killing at least 23 people and injuring more than 100 in one of the deadliest assaults on the Borno State capital in recent years.

The explosions ripped through the city shortly after residents ended their Ramadan fasts. Three devices detonated in quick succession, targeting a crowded market, the entrance to Maiduguri’s main teaching hospital and the busy post office area, according to security officials.

The military blamed the attacks on Boko Haram, warning of an increased threat of suicide bombings as Ramadan draws to a close. The blasts followed an overnight assault on a nearby military post, also attributed to jihadist fighters, underscoring the renewed pressure on security forces in Nigeria’s northeast.

Witnesses described scenes of chaos as the first blast sent traders and shoppers fleeing toward the market exit that leads past the post office. A second explosion tore through the panicked crowd minutes later.

“Many people ran toward the post office area because the market entrance and the post office are not far apart,” said survivor Mala Mohammed, 31. “As they were running, the person with the explosive device ran into the crowd while people were still trying to escape.”

By morning, blood-stained flip-flops, scattered produce and shreds of clothing lay on the ground, cordoned off by police tape. Authorities said 23 people were confirmed dead and 108 wounded, though local militia sources warned the toll could rise.

The attacks have broken a period of relative stability in Maiduguri, the city where Boko Haram was born and launched its 2009 uprising. Years of military operations had pushed much of the insurgency into rural areas, even as violence continued in the countryside.

Despite that apparent progress, analysts say Maiduguri’s security gains were always precarious. “The city has always been vulnerable,” said Confidence McHarry, a conflict analyst with Lagos-based SBM Intelligence, noting that jihadist raids have persisted just a few kilometres outside town.

Borno State governor Babagana Zulum condemned the bombings as “barbaric” and linked the surge in attacks to intensified military operations in the Sambisa forest, a long-time jihadist stronghold.

Police said normalcy had been restored and announced reinforced patrols across Maiduguri and its outskirts. Yet for many residents, the latest carnage is a stark reminder that the epicentre of Nigeria’s long war with Boko Haram and its offshoots remains far from secure.