Jakarta –
Terrifying! Militants have killed at least 37 fishermen in Borno state, Nigeria North East.
The Boko Haram insurgent group operating in the area alongside its rival Islamic State-linked group, ISWAP, often targets local residents for theft or because they accuse them of being spies for the military or for militias fighting them.
Reported by the news agency AFPThursday (9/3/2023), on Wednesday (8/3) evening local time, 12 fighters believed to be members of the Boko Haramopened fire on a group of fishermen outside the village of Guggo, 18 kilometers (12 miles) from the town of Dikwa, three sources said.
“We found 37 bodies last night along the banks of the river and nearby bushes,” militia leader Babakura Kolo told AFP.
“The figure is not certain and the search for other bodies is ongoing in the surrounding bushes,” added Kolo.
The fishermen were sorting their catch of the day by the river when they were ambushed. Several fishermen fled for their lives, said another militia member, Umar Ari, who gave the same death toll.
“The terrorists chased the fishermen who were trying to escape, shot them dead, but three managed to escape and informed the Dikwa authorities about the attack,” Ari said.
According to the United Nations, since the Boko Haram insurgency began in 2009, at least 40,000 people have been killed and more than two million people have been displaced from their homes.
Violence also spread to parts of neighboring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition to join the fight against the group.
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