Africa

Suspected Boko Haram militants kill 68 in Nigerian village

73d3ca4c-2045-4c8f-a2ba-586ca1965da7

Suspected Boko Haram militants have attacked a village in northeastern Nigeria, killing at least 68 people.

Reports said Thursday that the attack was carried out in Njaba village in Borno State.

The Takfiri militants targeted men and boys and then set the village on fire.

Fatima Abaka, a witness, was quoted by news website Sahara Reporters as saying, “I ran into the bush. Since then I [have] never seen my husband and three children.”

“[I] came back to our village in the afternoon, dead bodies were scattered everywhere,” she added.

Aminatu Mommodu, another witness, said several villagers had been shot or their throats had been slashed inside and outside of the village’s mosque.

Elderly men and children were among the victims of the attack, witnesses added.

Falmata Bisika, who escaped the attack, told reporters that “the terrorists were armed to the teeth.”

Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is forbidden,” controls parts of northeastern Nigeria and says its goal is to overthrow the Nigerian government.

It has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly shooting attacks and bombings in various parts of Nigeria since the beginning of its activities in 2009, which have left over 13,000 people dead and 1.5 million displaced.

Boko Haram has also conducted terrorist activities in Nigeria’s neighboring countries of Cameroon, Chad, and Niger.

Back to top button