The fighters of the dreaded Boko Haram sect laid a siege to some
Borno communities between Tuesday and Wednesday night and killed 145 persons
and injured several others.
Some of
the deceased were killed in some mosques where the villagers had gone to pray
after breaking Wednesday’s fast.
The
attacks occurred in some villages in Monguno and Kukawa local government areas
of the state.
The
Tuesday attack was on Musarram village, located 8km away from Monguno town, in
northern part of the troubled state, where 48 males where picked out by the
insurgents and killed, according to a resident of the village and some fleeing
residents.
In the
second attack on Wednesday, the insurgents attacked Kukawa, a border town with
Niger Republic and killed 97 persons, according to
a fleeing resident, Abba
Modu, who spoke to our correspondent in Maiduguri.
Another
fleeing resident, Idi Isa, said over 48 persons were killed and 17 others
injured when the insurgents attacked Musara, a village that is few kilometres
to Monguno on Tuesday.
Isa,
who claimed he escaped death by a whisker, said the well-armed terrorists numbering
about 40 rounded up the villagers, sorted out the males and opened fire on
them.
Isa
said, “A total of 48 males died on the spot while 17 others escaped with
serious injuries.”
Isa,
who spoke on Thursday in Maiduguri, said the image of the killing was
disturbing and he still felt he was still being hunted by the insurgents.
A
member of the House of Representatives representing the area, Muhammed Tahir
Monguno, who spoke to journalists on the telephone in Maiduguri, confirmed the
sad incident.
He said,
“I received the sad news yesterday (Wednesday) that Boko Haram terrorists had
attacked some communities near Monguno.
“Since
their dislodgment from the Sambisa Forest, many Boko Haram terrorists had
relocated to areas around Monguno where they have been picking on hapless
villagers and killing residents there.
“On
Tuesday, the terrorists attacked the twin villages of Mussaram I and Mussaram
II in the night. They went there when the villagers were resting after the
day’s fasting and assembled them before opening fire on them.”
In the
second attack on the historic Kukawa town on Wednesday, Modu said suspected
Boko Haram terrorists killed about 97 persons.
Modu, a
farmer who fled to Maiduguri, said over 50 suspected members of Boko Haram
stormed Kukawa at about 6.30pm.
He
said, “The terrorists first descended on Muslim worshippers in various mosques
who were observing theMagrib prayers shortly after breaking their
fast.”
He said
after the attack on the worshippers, they rounded up about four different
communities where they went to their mosques and opened fire on the worshippers
who were mostly men and young children.
Modu
said, “They spared nobody and they even took time out to set most of the
corpses on fire.
“They
equally proceeded to houses and shot indiscriminately at women who were
preparing food.”
One of
the bereaved residents of the town, Yusuf Aisami, said the terrorists killed
his aunt.
He
said, “They killed my uncle and his children. They killed his children, about
five of them and set his entire house ablaze. I can tell you that the attackers
killed at least 97 persons in the attack.”
A
member of the vigilante group in the area, Modu Kurawa, said the attack was on
for over four hours.
Kurawa
said, “There was no single soldier in Kukawa when the terrorists came around
6.30pm. The soldiers were in Kuros-Kawwa which is just 11 kilometres away. The
terrorists stole assorted foodstuff from houses and homes and then set
everything ablaze. They left around 11 pm.”
There
was no immediate comment on the attack from both the military and the police in
Maiduguri.
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