Nigeria sends more troops to violence-hit northeast

The Nigerian government has deployed more troops to the country’s northeastern region, where gunmen have been involved in brutal militancy.

Reports say attacks have been carried out in several remote villages in Adamawa and Borno states since Saturday, resulting in the deaths of more than 150 people.

The militants killed over 65 people in the attacks on seven villages in Adamawa State, while about 93 others were killed when the gunmen invaded a village in Borno State, reports say. Women and children were among the victims.

Witnesses say the militants surrounded the villages, sprayed the residents with bullets and burnt down dozens of houses.

Sources say many of the villagers remain missing while tens of thousands have fled the area.

The chairman of Madgali local government area, Maina Ularamu, said that, “I have received a report that more than 10,000 people have trooped into Gulak town and many of them are stranded on the streets because the houses that accommodated them were occupied and there was no more space.”

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks, but officials suspect that the group known as Boko Haram is responsible for the carnage.

On January 26, militants, armed with explosives and guns, attacked Kawuri village in Borno State and killed 52 people. The entire village was burned down.

On the same day, militants stormed a church service in Wada Chakawa village in Adamawa State. They set off bombs and fired into the congregation, killing dozens of people before burning houses and taking residents hostage during a five-hour siege, according to witnesses.

In May 2013, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in the three northeastern states of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa.

UN figures suggest more than 1,200 people have been killed in violence in the country since the state of emergency was imposed.