The wives of Nigerian soldiers have protested against their husbands being sent to fight militant Islamist group Boko Haram, a demonstrator has said.
The protest at the main military barracks in north-eastern Maiduguri city came as the government vowed to retake Gwoza town from the militants.
Hundreds of people were killed when Boko Haram seized Gwoza last week, the area's senator, Ali Ndume, said.
Boko Haram is fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria.
The BBC's Abdullahi Kaura in the capital, Abuja, says he understands that about 100 women protested at the Giwa barracks in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.
'Throat slit'
It is the latest sign of growing dissatisfaction with the military top brass, he says.
Soldiers have repeatedly complained Boko Haram has superior firepower and they are in position to confront the militants.
In May, some soldiers opened fire on their commander, Maj-Gen Ahmed Mohammed, at Maiduguri's Maimalari barracks, blaming him for the killing of their colleagues by Boko Haram fighters.
A wife of a soldier, who spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity, said they were opposed to their husbands going into battle.
When their husbands were sent to the front line on 13 March, Boko Haram launched an assault on the barracks the next day, she said.
Her home was burnt, and her neighbour's four children were killed, the woman added.
"Now [the army] want to send our husbands to Gwoza and we said 'no'," she told the BBC.
"Our husbands have been fighting Boko Haram for six years now. If they get killed or injured, they [the army] will not take care for us."
BBC
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