100’s found dead in Nigeria carnage

Bodies of hundreds of people have been discovered in the northeastern Nigerian town of Damasak, with the Takfiri Boko Haram terrorist group singled out as the prime suspect in the apparent massacre.

The Monday discovery of decomposing corpses littering the streets of the town came amid emerging reports of fresh attacks by the terrorists in the area as Nigeria’s President-elect Muhammadu Buhari condemned the Takfiri militants as a phony religious group, vowing to adopt a hard line against them when he takes over power next month.

Buhari, who takes office on May 29, was elected last month on a pledge of a tougher approach to Boko Haram than the current administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

The latest discovery of so many bodies, including women and children, as well as the most recent attacks by the terror elements pointed to the brutality of the Takfiri group and its persisting threat to the region.

This is while a coalition of troops from Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria has announced major victories against the militants since February, flushing them out of areas they had previously captured.

The bleak discovery in Damasak “far outnumbered” that of nearly 100 bodies found in a mass grave under a bridge after the town was liberated in early March by Chadian forces, said local resident Kaumi Kusur as cited in an AFP report.

“Dead bodies were found in houses, streets and many more in the Damasak River which has dried up,” Kusur added, noting that the victims were buried in 20 mass graves over the weekend.

The development came right after Boko Haram terrorists stormed the island of Karamga on Lake Chad on Saturday in motorized canoes before sunrise.

Niger’s military confirmed the attack but did not provide a death toll. A security source in Chad said Niger lost 48 soldiers and another 36 were missing.

This is while an official from southeastern Niger’s Diffa region insisted that the toll was much higher, estimating the figure at 80 dead and 30 missing.

Meanwhile on Friday, suspected Boko Haram fighters disguised as soldiers intercepted a group of people trying to return to their homes to collect abandoned food supplies in northeastern Yobe state.

“The men, 21 of them, were stopped at Bultaram [village] by gunmen we believe are Boko Haram who shot them dead,” said Baba Nuhu, an official with the Gujba local government.

The Takfiri terror group claims its goal is to overthrow the government of Nigeria.

The militants have claimed responsibility for a number of deadly shooting attacks and bombings in various parts of Nigeria since the beginning of their militancy in 2009, which has so far left over 13,000 people dead and displaced 1.5 million.