On 14 January 2019, Rann was overrun by Boko Haram insurgents amid a general increase of insurgent attacks in the area, and destroyed, with many inhabitants fleeing across the border to Bodo in Cameroon. At the time, the town had been home to 35,000 refugees. Though the attack was initially attributed to Abu Musab al-Barnawi's ISWAP, Abubakar Shekau's Boko Haram later claimed responsibility. Though the Nigerian military and allied Cameroonian Armed Forces forces subsequently retook Rann, they later abandoned it, so Boko Haram launched another raid against the town on 28 January 2019. The militants again set the settlement ablaze, murdered local elders, and caused tens of thousands to flee. This time, the refugees from Rann relocated to Goura in Cameroon's Far North Region.