At least 100 villagers were killed in northeastern Nigeria when suspected Boko Haram Islamic extremists opened fire on a market, worshippers, and homes, residents said Wednesday. The attack is the latest in Africa's longest struggle with militancy.
More than 50 extremists on motorcycles entered the Tarmuwa council area of Yobe state on Sunday evening, firing weapons and setting buildings ablaze, according to Yobe police spokesperson Dungus Abdulkarim.
Police attributed the attack to Boko Haram, which has been insurgent in the region since 2009, seeking to impose its radical interpretation of Islamic law. The group's actions have caused at least 35,000 deaths, displaced over 2 million, and led to a severe humanitarian crisis.
So far this year, armed groups have killed at least 1,500 people in the region, according to the U.S.-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED).
Yobe Deputy Governor Idi Barde Gubana reported a lower death toll of 34 from Sunday’s attack. However, community leader Zanna Umar said 102 villagers have been confirmed dead, with many bodies buried before officials arrived or taken elsewhere.
“We are still working to search for more because many people are still missing,” Umar said.
Sunday’s attack is among the deadliest in Yobe this year, a state less frequently targeted than neighboring Borno, the epicentre of the Boko Haram conflict.
Local media reported that the extremists claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was in reprisal for villagers informing security operatives about their activities. A number of Boko Haram members were killed as a result of the information passed on by villagers, the militants were quoted as saying.
Reprisals are rampant in the northeast and villagers sometimes “pay the price” after military operations, said Confidence MacHarry with SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based security firm.
“This is the first time our community has faced such a devastating attack,” said Buba Adamu, a local chief, his voice mixed with grief and fear.
“We never imagined something like this could happen here," AP quoted local media.
“There are some places (in the region) totally out of the control of the Nigerian Army and villagers often live in fear of reprisals,” MacHarry said. In such places, he added, Nigerian security forces only go there for operations but do not have enough manpower to remain on the ground.
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who was elected last year on a pledge to end the conflict with Boko Haram, condemned the attack in a statement that tried to assure villagers of justice but was silent about security measures.
Security analysts have faulted Tinubu’s security policies, saying he has not taken any bold steps so far to resolve the killings and that the problems he inherited, such as inadequate resources and manpower, remain.
(Inputs From AP)
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